Bullying Depression: Stop It Before It Gets Worse

According to a poll published in Journal of the American Medical Association, in 2011 11 percent of the respondents admitted to bullying others at one point. Moreover, bullying happened as early as the elementary years. Eight percent were being bullied at least once a week. Worse, “Addressing the Problem of Juvenile Bullying” reported that victims are at a very high risk of falling into depression, which, when not prevented, leads to suicide. 

Parents, you need to do something about it ASAP. You can start with these:

1. Understand the nature of bullying. There are a lot of things you don’t know about bullying. For example, majority of the bullies are insecure and lonely. In fact, they themselves are suffering from depression disorder. Thus, they put down other people to make themselves look and feel good. 
   A lot of organizations are painstakingly educating people on bullying. You can search for them online and download their reading materials. Feel free too to contact them if you need more information. 
2. Deal with child depression promptly. One of the ways to get depression help immediately is to catch its early warning signs. Child depression due to bullying often results to a change in mood. A once-talkative child may no longer talk about how school is like. He or she may withdraw from the things he or she loves doing. Most of all, your child gives plenty of excuses to be absent from school. 
   
   Normally the first step is to talk your observations with your child. Sometimes he or she may not talk about it for fear you’ll consider him or her very weak. If the depression symptoms appear to be moderate or even severe (e.g., he starts to think about suicide) request for help from professionals right away. Depression hotlines are abundant. 
    
3. Boost your child’s confidence. Your child may be easily picked on because he or she appears aloof, quirky, too sensitive, and quiet. It’s time to enhance your child’s self-esteem. 
   
   Enroll your kid to self-defense classes, encourage him or her to take up a sport, and develop his or her special talents. 
   
   You can also use the power of subliminal messages. Affirmations have a way of changing a negative perception of oneself into a positive one. These affirmations are packaged in different ways, including subliminal messages videos and mp3 downloads.
   
   Subliminal messages that can be utilized are the following:
   
   I am well loved by family and friends. 
   I am a very special person. 
   I have talents and skills that make me unique. 
    
4. Talk about bullying to school officials. It’s possible that the school administration is not fully aware of what’s happening. Learn how to fight depression by making sure the school can provide your kid with a peaceful and well-protected environment. Otherwise, it’s time to pull your child out of it and look for another. 
    
5. Teach your kid to deal with bullying properly. Teach your child how to respond to bullying. You can provide him with police hotline numbers. You can come up with simulation exercises so you can show him or her the best way to react to various bullying situations.