Bullying has been in the news in recent weeks with a newly-published research identifying friendship bullying as more harmful than physical, verbal or cyber-bullying. This type of bullying had a greater association with poor health and wellbeing among victims than any other form of victimisation.
The University of Hertfordshire study, which was published by the Journal of School Health, describes friendship bullying as a form of bullying which causes harm to the victim through ‘the systematic manipulation and destruction of their peer relationships and social status’.
Typically, the tactics of friendship bullies include ‘threatening to retract friendships, spreading rumours, purposefully ignoring and excluding the victim or using friendship as a bartering tool’, the report reads.
The BBC quotes lead author Kayleigh Chester as saying responses from a representative group of more than 5,000 young teenagers from across England suggest about five young people in every secondary class will have been bullied by friends in the past couple of months.
Too often, teachers, parents and students fail to recognise deliberate social exclusion as bullying, she added, saying she would like bullying by friends to be acknowledged in school policies as a distinct form of the problem which warrants a specific prevention and reduction strategy.
“It can be really difficult to identify and to distinguish from normal conflicts within peer groups, so parents and teachers can be less likely to intervene to help victims,” she said. “I think it really needs to be given as much attention as other forms of bullying, because acknowledging how harmful it is will help in intervening. It’s really obvious it’s a really damaging form of behaviour.”
Bullying can damage self-esteem and cause stress and anxiety which can affect victims and their social interaction, schoolwork and even lead to suicidal thoughts.
But the National Council for Hypnotherapy has well-trained therapists across the UK who can help teenagers conquer their fears and raise their self confidence in just a few sessions of clinical hypnotherapy which can be life-changing.
Hypnotherapy can help bullying victims share their feelings and process them and the NCH therapist can help the victim address the situation by working through the subconscious mind.
The stress and anxiety caused by bullying, if left unattended, can negatively impact the victim’s well-being and how they interact with others. But by addressing the root cause, whether it is a situation, a physical issue, an experience or a relationship, the therapist will then ask the victim how they wish to feel and how they would like to be as well as enquire about things they would chose to do in their lives if free of anxiety.
Hypnotherapy can also benefit the person who does the bullying, even though they might be reluctant to acknowledge their behaviour at first.
In therapy, bullies may begin to understand the impact their hurtful behaviour has on others, explore reasons for why they bully, learn new skills for communicating positively with others, and address personal experiences that may have contributed to their bullying behaviour.
To contact and NCH hypnotherapist near you, click here to access the directory.