A Snake and its Poison

          “Insecure people only eclipse your sun because they’re jealous of your daylight and tired of their dark, starless nights.” This quote asserts and alludes that people who try to blow out one’s candle are only jealous of his bright candle that’s shining even brighter than the sun; their insecurities encourage them to point out other people’s instabilities. Bullying builds character like nuclear waste creates superheroes. It’s a rare occurrence and often does much more damage than endowment. Bullying is a horrible thing that sticks with a person and poisons him or her, only if he or she lets it do so. Bullying is the most widespread issue which turns out to have numerous causes that lead to a variety of drawbacks. Bullying, the tragic act often used nowadays, proved to have many physical and social roots which lead to disastrous health and psychological effects.

          To start with, the physical appearance is the main reason for bullying that has a serious health effect on a person like the existence of eating disorders and the presence of physical complaints with no medical causes. Bullying is a common way used by people to bring others down; a lot of people bully others just because of the way that they look. Being obese is the main reason why a lot of people get bullied. Researches were done by the World Health Organization (WHO) state that sixty-five percent of people in the United States with eating disorders say that bullying contributed to their condition. Moreover, it has been proved that over forty percent of kids in school get teased by their thinner peers due to their overweight.  Vogue interviewed international star Luke Hemmings back in 2014, and during that interview, he opened up about his eating disorder when he was 12 due to the fact that he got bullied due to his weight in his school “Norwest Christian College. Another effect of bullying is the presence of physical diseases with unknown medical conditions. A really good example of that is Calum Hood. He also went to Norwest Christian College where he got bullied because of how his face looked, especially his nose. He got told that he has a nose of the size of a truck. “I started having back pain, so my mum took me to see the doctor, but no medical reason was found. They once broke my nose because they didn’t like the way it looked. You can say that I was pretty much hated by everyone back then.” 

          Similarly, social distinctions, if pointed out in a disdainful manner, might lead to deterioration of a person’s psychology or emotional health and that is by having suicidal thoughts or committing suicide and anxiety. Bullies usually bring others down by criticizing their social class or social background. A really good example of that is Ashton Irwin; back when he was only two years old his dad left him alone with his mum. His mum had to work three jobs a day to afford a living. He got bullied in school because of how poor he was. “This lead me to cut, I had scars all over my wrists. I even once tried to drown myself in my bathtub but then I remembered that this was all nonsense. I would sometimes cry myself to sleep because I didn’t have a father, regardless of my stepdad. I just wanted to have a father figure I can look up to. This really hurt me, I felt unsafe and excluded. Once, on “What does your dad work” day a classmate of mine was like “hey Ashton, what does your dad work” and honestly I wanted to punch him bad, really bad. I did, and we both got detention.” Added to that, bullying can be a traumatic experience for teens for they might suffer from anxiety. Mr. Fred Andrews, the social counselor in Riverdale High, was interviewed by “The Blue and Gold”. He told Jughead and Betty that in Riverdale High there are a lot of teens that have approached him for help because they got bullied by their peers. “Dilton Doiley is one of the students here who came to ask me for help to stop Reggie Mantle, he told me that he gave him a wedgie in the hall in front of all of his classmates. He also said that he couldn’t sleep at night, and now he suffers from anxiety. I was once talking to him in the hall and people out of nowhere started laughing and he thought that they were laughing at him. He moved to the Southside now, this school hasn’t lost contact with him. We always check up on him and see if he’s okay.” It has also been proved that over 37 percent of students develop social anxiety due to bullying. This shows how dangerous bullying is and why there are a lot of anxious people out there these days.

          As a conclusion, bullying which is a viral current issue results from various physical and social factors which lead to a myriad of health and psychological drawbacks. Bullying should be stopped in all ways possible. For example, teachers should support the bystanders in school and the ones that are being bullied too. Instead of asking a student why he or she has a hoodie on top of their head, they should pay attention to the students’ emotions. School should be like a second house, and teachers are supposed to be like second mums, that’s why our schools should take action when such things happen. Some people won't be happy until they've pushed others to the ground. What the others have to do is have the courage to stand their ground and not give them the time of the day. Hold on to their power and never give it away.  Abraham Lincoln once said: “I would rather be a little nobody, then to be an evil somebody.”