Childhood Bullying = Adult PTSD?

Any type of bullying is a really devastating occurrence in someone’s life. Are you aware that participating in bullying, either as the bully or the victim, can lead to very serious health issues as an adult? YES, it can lead either the victim or the bully to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adulthood. This can cause all sorts of mental and physical health issues as an adult. It has been associated with chronic medical issues and can reduce the overall quality of life. PTSD is considered to be a disability by the Social Security Administration and the military because of how debilitating it can be.

Just as victims might grow up to have issues later in life, bullies can also encounter issues. Studies have shown that children who grew up as a bully were 60 percent more likely to have a criminal conviction by the age of 24. A bully is also five times more likely than a victim to have a serious criminal record in adulthood (Lloyd, 2012). According to Dr. Dewar, who has a Ph.D. in Anthropology, children who bully are more likely to develop “antisocial personality disorder” — a condition is colloquially known as “sociopaths” or “psychopathy” (2020). These children have little respect for the rights of other people. They exhibit what psychologists call “callous/unemotional” traits: showing limited emotions, failing to use empathy, and lacking feelings of guilt or remorse (Dewar, 2020).

It might be helpful for you to know what the definition of PTSD is. According to www.rxlist.com, it is a “common anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a terrifying event or even a long term series of events in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Family members of victims can also develop the disorder. PTSD can occur in people of any age, including children and adolescents.

More than twice as many women as men experience PTSD following exposure to trauma. Depression, alcohol, or other substance abuse frequently co-occur with PTSD. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are four categories for PTSD symptoms: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in physical and emotional reactions; symptoms can vary over time or vary from person to person.

Intrusive memories

Symptoms of intrusive memories may include:

Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event
Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)
Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event
Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event

Avoidance

Symptoms of avoidance may include:

Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event.
Avoiding places, activities, or people that remind you of the traumatic event

Negative changes in thinking and mood

Symptoms of negative changes in thinking and mood may include:

Negative thoughts about yourself, other people or the world
Hopelessness about the future
Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event
Difficulty maintaining close relationships
Feeling detached from family and friends
Lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed
Difficulty experiencing positive emotions
Feeling emotionally numb

Changes in physical and emotional reactions

Symptoms of changes in physical and emotional reactions (also called arousal symptoms) may include:

Being easily startled or frightened
Always being on guard for danger
Self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much or driving too fast
Trouble sleeping
Trouble concentrating
Irritability, angry outbursts or aggressive behavior
Overwhelming guilt or shame

For children 6 years old and younger, signs and symptoms may also include:

Re-enacting the traumatic event or aspects of the traumatic event through play

Frightening dreams that may or may not include aspects of the traumatic event (2018)

PTSD in The Workplace

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a terrifying event in anyone’s life. It can have a seriously debilitating effect on someone at any age. But it is most commonly associated with military personnel, although not exclusively. The level of bullying, due to how often the individual has been exposed to negative acts at work, display a stronger interconnection with distress and PTSD than a more unspecified, subjective measure of bullying, along with the time since the bullying took place and how long the bullying was (Matthiesen & Einarson, 2010).

According to Sharie Stines, Psy.D, workplace bullying can be an extremely difficult situation, even for someone with a strong constitution. When you find yourself on the receiving end of workplace bullying, you could end up getting fired or quitting, even though the bullying was not your fault. You might feel ashamed, or embarrassed, or even anxious or depressed. You now have to worry about how to explain to your friends or family what happened. This alone can cause you to develop PTSD. You are now forced to deal with all of this in addition to having to try to find a new job, which can be totally overwhelming since you did nothing wrong (2017).

What makes this even more difficult is just like in grade school. There is the chance that none of your friends or co-workers will stand up for you. The people that you thought were your friends suddenly abandoned you. They either want to look good to the bully or they are just too afraid that they might lose their own job (Stines, 2017). This is particularly true if the bully is someone with authority.

It’s a multiple-whammy; you are devastated emotionally, socially, physically, vocationally, and financially. Unless you have experienced this personally, you have no idea how traumatizing workplace scapegoating can be to a person (Stines, 2017). Now you have an additional emotional issue to deal with through no fault of your own.

Complex PTSD

There is a second type of PTSD that is called Complex PTSD or C-PTSD for short. This term was originated by a Harvard researcher in 1988. According to the article https://www.beautyafterbruises.org/what-is-cptsd, Complex PTSD develops due to chronic traumatization over a long period of time. This can include emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuses, domestic violence, living in a war zone, being held captive, human trafficking, and other organized rings of abuse.

When an adult experiences a traumatic event, they have a better understanding of what is happening, their place as a victim, and that they should seek support even if they don’t want to. Children don’t possess most of these skills yet, or “even the ability to separate themselves from another person’s unconscionable actions.” The psychological and developmental implications of that develop into who that child believes themselves to be — creating “a messy web of core beliefs much harder to untangle than the flashbacks, nightmares and other post-traumatic symptoms that come later” (https://www.beautyafterbruises.org). Complex PTSD can be much more difficult for a child to deal with.

According to https://did-research.org, the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs describes C-PTSD as “resulting from chronic trauma that the victim cannot escape.” C-PTSD contains symptoms that PTSD alone does not accurately describe. The C-PTSD article on this website lists the symptoms of C-PTSD as: problems with emotional regulation (“persistent sadness, suicidal thoughts, explosive anger, or inhibited anger”), problems with consciousness (dissociative amnesia, dissociative flashbacks, or depersonalization), problems with self perception (“helplessness, shame, guilt, stigma, and a sense of being completely different from other human beings”), distorted perceptions of the perpetrator (“attributing total power to the perpetrator, becoming preoccupied with the relationship to the perpetrator, or [becoming] preoccupied with revenge”), problems with relationships to others (“isolation, distrust, or a repeated search for a rescuer”), and problems with one’s system of meanings (“a loss of [one’s] faith or a sense of hopelessness and despair”)(Complex PTSD, 2013).

Pain in the Neck

In addition to mental and emotional symptoms, individuals with C-PTSD are vulnerable to many somatic symptoms including neck pain, back pain, and headaches (including migraines). They may also be at a higher risk for gastrointestinal problems (including irritable bowel syndrome); allergies; thyroid and other endocrine disorders; chronic fatigue syndrome; and a disorder called fibromyalgia which involves widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and problems with sleep, memory, and mood (Kolk, 2001). Trauma, such as that which causes C-PTSD, can trigger or exacerbate existing chronic illnesses or genetic vulnerabilities such as those responsible for autoimmune diseases (including rheumatoid arthritis)(2008).

How to recognize C-PTSD?

According to WebMD, the symptoms of Complex PTSD have some of the same symptoms of PTSD. But they also have these additional factors:

Problems with self-esteem. “Those with complex PTSD may feel worthless or blame themselves for their trauma. They may believe bad things happen because of something in them.”

Emotional dysfunction. “Those with complex PTSD often experience intense emotions, which are sometimes inappropriate. Besides anger and sadness, they may feel like they’re living in a dream. They may have trouble feeling happy.”

Relationship problems. “Complex PTSD can make it difficult to trust others. Some people stay in unhealthy relationships because the situation is familiar. If their trauma involved abuse, their feelings about their abuser may be complicated. Or they may obsess about their abuser or focus on revenge” (Contributors).

Does C-PTSD = BPD

Is Complex PTSD the same as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)? According to the results of a study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4165723/, the findings supported that Complex PTSD was distinguishable from BPD. “Key symptoms that distinguished between the disorders were identified, which may aid in differential diagnosis and treatment planning” (Cloitre et al., 2014).

Extremely Harmful

To give you an idea of how devastating bullying can be when you are young, research has shown that the bullying and harassment you endure as a young person can cause PTSD symptoms that “surpass physical abuse, neglect, and exposure and even community violence.” Other research has shown that childhood victims of bullying can show a level that is “57% higher than is needed to diagnose PTSD as an adult.” There are several studies that show that as much as 75% of the population who are bullied as a child will develop mental problems as an adult (Arzt, 2019).

The typical symptoms that develop as a result of bullying, feelings of powerlessness, helplessness, anger, and fear are strongly associated with those of PTSD (Arzt, 2019). This makes it far more likely that it would trigger an episode of PTSD. Even though PTSD is normally associated with military veterans, it can develop in almost anyone that has suffered emotional or physical trauma. It can even be caused by a sexual trauma like rape. These can all lead to serious issues with your mental health.

Issues with mental health, especially if they’re chronic, can be overwhelming. Your body can have a physical response to depression or anxiety much as it does to physical illness; sometimes, mental health problems can actually be caused by a physical ailment. If you think you are having a mental problem, you should visit your primary care doctor first (Saling).

Getting Diagnosed

Your doctor will ask questions to narrow down the causes: your symptoms, how long you’ve been having them, and whether they are constant or come and go. Your doctor will check for anything physical that could be causing your symptoms and “help you decide what type of mental health professional and what kind of therapy might be best for you” (Saling). But, to get a diagnosis of PTSD or Complex PTSD, you will need to see someone who has special training in how to recognize the symptoms of each one.

References:

Lloyd, D. (2012, May 14). What happens when bullies become adults?: The new bullying. The New Bullying | Anti-bullying facts, strategies, stories, and statistics by Michigan State University journalism students. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://news.jrn.msu.edu/bullying/2012/04/01/bullies-as-adults/.

Dewar, G. (2021, May 10). Bullying in children: The road to psychopathology? PARENTING SCIENCE. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://parentingscience.com/bullying-in-children/.

Marks, J. (Ed.). (2021, June 3). Medical definition of post-traumatic stress disorder. RxList. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.rxlist.com/post-traumatic_stress_disorder/definition.htm.

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2018, July 6). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355967.
Matthiesen, S., & Einarson, S. (2010). Psychiatric distress and symptoms of PTSD among victims of bullying at work. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03069880410001723558.
Stines, S. (2017, July 30). The trauma of workplace bullying. Psych Central. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://psychcentral.com/pro/recovery-expert/2017/07/the-trauma-of-workplace-bullying#3.
What is C-PTSD? Beauty After Bruises. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.beautyafterbruises.org/what-is-cptsd.
Complex-posttraumatic stress disorder. DID-Research. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://did-research.org/comorbid/trauma-stress/c-ptsd.
Complex PTSD. (2013, December 31). Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/PTSD-overview/complex-ptsd.asp.
Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc. (2008). Understanding fibromyalgia and its related disorders. Primary care companion to the Journal of clinical psychiatry. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2292439/.
Contributors, W. M. D. E. (n.d.). What is complex PTSD? The symptoms caused by chronic trauma. WebMD. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-to-know-complex-ptsd-symptoms.
Cloitre, M., Garvert, D. W., Weiss, B., Carlson, E. B., & Bryant, R. A. (2014, September 15). Distinguishing PTSD, Complex PTSD, and borderline personality disorder: A latent class analysis. European journal of psychotraumatology. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4165723/.

Authored by Nicole Arzt, M. S. (2019, June 13). Can being a victim of long-term bullying lead to PTSD later in life? American Addiction Centers. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/trauma-stressor-related-disorders/effects-being-bullied-harassed.

Saling, J. (n.d.). Psychiatry, psychology, counseling, and therapy: What to expect. WebMD. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/guide-to-psychiatry-and-counseling.