[sensatives]

Is it possible for childhood bullying to cause PTSD-like symptoms?

I have read up on PTSD and I've never seen bullying as a cause of it, but I was wondering if it could? I believe all my mental health issues stem from my childhood bullying.

I used to get physically and verbally abused by too many people at school from the age of 7 to 15. And I feel like most of my MH issues are a way of protecting myself from having to go through those memories again.

So, I was wondering if you could experience PTSD-like symptoms from childhood bullying? I hope this isn't insensitive, thank you.

[ensconce]

I'm no professional but I think its certainly possible if it caused enough stress and anxiety. I got it from being abused for so long and for me bullying is a factor for me I remember all the times I was bullied.

Sent from my LG-LS720 using Tapatalk

[IzzyMarie]

I believe it's possible. I never had a safe place while growing up so it didn't matter where I went. School was just as horrible as my home life. When I see someone else getting bullied I get stressed and rage. Other times I hear people laughing and my anxiety kicks in thinking it's about me and I rage. If I catch one person staring at me... forget it -- instant anxiety and I start to think everyone is watching me and I run away. I can attribute all those to bullying.

Part of my ptsd is from being bullied at age 13. So definitely possible.
I am really sorry you were bullied No child should have to experience that.

[sensatives]

Wow, you are all so very understanding. I'm sorry you are all struggling as well. Thank you for taking your time to leave a comment, it's very comforting to know I'm not alone.

[sensatives]

I decided to not make a new thread but post here instead since it's related. Long story shot, last week my doctor told me that bullying can't cause PTSD. And that everyone goes through bullying and if it did, everyone would have PTSD.

I've been feel so upset and invalidated all week. It's normal? Getting verbally and emotionally abused for existing is normal? Getting punched multiple times a week as a child is normal? I have a friend who got diagnosed with PTSD because her boyfriend verbally/emotionally abused her for two years.

What's the difference between what I went through and what she went through? Just because it was in a different environment? I feel so hurt. I've missed out on life because of this, and now it could just be that I've been sensitive this whole time?

I don't mean to compare myself to my friend like that, I know everyone's different. But now I just feel like I should've just accepted all the abuse these bullies put me through. It's my fault?

[marmaduke]

He's a fecking useless doctor. He's wrong wrong wrong. Idiot.
Not everyone gets bullied. He's wrong about that too.

Of course you can get it from bullying. I was bullied it makes life a misery.

Change that doctor asap.

My doctor told me she 'Didn't believe in depression' and 'all you have to do is think happy thoughts and you'll be fine'

She now my ex doctor. My new one is much better.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

[sensatives]

Originally Posted by marmaduke

He's a fecking useless doctor. He's wrong wrong wrong. Idiot.
Not everyone gets bullied. He's wrong about that too.

Of course you can get it from bullying. I was bullied it makes life a misery.

Change that doctor asap.

My doctor told me she 'Didn't believe in depression' and 'all you have to do is think happy thoughts and you'll be fine'

She now my ex doctor. My new one is much better.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Thank you for this, I really needed to hear it. I always feel like my struggles aren't valid because people hardly talk about bullying being traumatic and they make it sound like it's a normal part of growing up. I'm definitely going to find a new doctor. I can't believe yours said that to you omg? She sounds just like that holistic doctor my aunt went to, he suggested breathing exercises for her schizophrenia. jesus.

[DesigningWoman]

I am so glad I stumbled across this thread. I have had severe depression for over two decades. I even had an ex (incest survivor) get angry with me and say "You weren't abused. You were just bullied." She went on to rant about how she couldn't believe I thought i was some sort of victim.
That was the last time I ever brought up the near constant bullying I endured for 7 years in a private school. It only ended the day I graduated and turned in my rented satin robe.
Only in the past year did I bring it up to my therapist, J. That was mostly to provide context to explore the emotional and mental abuse I suffered at home.
After some sessions exploring my history and current mental state (bipolar 2), J says I have PTSD. I was stunned. I had never been in war. I am not a veteran. How could I have PTSD? She pointed out that i meet the criteria and experience the symptoms. But I feel insecure about claiming that. Isn't PTSD reserved for like first responders in 9/11?
Yeah, I had 35 years of mental and emotional abuse at home and 7 years of sheer hell including physical, sexual, emotional, and mental abuse at school. But I feel like a fraud discussing my PTSD. I'm not anybody special. Nothing that exceptional happened to me, I guess.

Anyway, I was glad to see your thread, because it is a topic I am wrestling with too.

[DesigningWoman]

Originally Posted by sensatives

I decided to not make a new thread but post here instead since it's related. Long story shot, last week my doctor told me that bullying can't cause PTSD. And that everyone goes through bullying and if it did, everyone would have PTSD.

I've been feel so upset and invalidated all week. It's normal? Getting verbally and emotionally abused for existing is normal? Getting punched multiple times a week as a child is normal? I have a friend who got diagnosed with PTSD because her boyfriend verbally/emotionally abused her for two years.

What's the difference between what I went through and what she went through? Just because it was in a different environment? I feel so hurt. I've missed out on life because of this, and now it could just be that I've been sensitive this whole time?

I don't mean to compare myself to my friend like that, I know everyone's different. But now I just feel like I should've just accepted all the abuse these bullies put me through. It's my fault?

Your doctor is an idiot.

I was so relieved the day I realized that as an adult I was so much safer. If someone dared to try and do to me today what was done to me as a child, I would call the police and the person would be arrested and tried for a crime. Somehow it's okay for children and teens to harm one another, even in grievous and heinous ways. That I do not understand.

What I do understand is that assaults, physical or otherwise, can hurt and damage through the years?

[bunnifoo]

You're doctor is wrong , or at least isn't up to date because bullying can cause PTSD and it is recognized.

There are also different degrees of bullying and I think some people (especially those who were never bullied or only mildly bullied) see bullying as "teasing". It happens, you shrug it off, and it has no impact. "Just ignore it". Maybe they think of it as an isolated incident unless it's something that shows up on the news and several bullies can be listed and the bullying is "severe" enough.

But what these people don't take into consideration is the bullying that happens every day, day in and day out. That ignoring it makes the bullying worse , or the bullies more creative. When I was a kid trying to get help from an adult meant being ingored or the harassment because more subtle. And sometimes kids can unwittingly become involved in bullying without realizing but it doesn't change.

When I was in middle school the main ringleader behind my harassment gave me a nickname that was unflattering but he shortened it to something that sounded unharmful. He called me that, his friends called me that (as part of hte harassment) , if I told them to stop they continued. Other kids started calling me that some not knowing what the origin was. It wasn't just daily harassment as in, once a day Iwas harassed, but daily I went through a gauntlet of hassasment both obvious and subtle.

Plus I used to shy away from what happened to me and now I get explicit. I don't just ssay I was bullied but - there was a main harasser and his buddies. Over the course of 2 years they - spit on me, threw thigns at me, physically intimidated me in subtle ways, tripped me, called me a *****, fat, out right stated I had a STD, AND that no one would want to have sex with me. They'd deliberately bump into me to push me down, grope me (pull my bra strap), etc. This happened to me several times a day every day. I talked to teachers who told me to ignore it or who lauged it off or said boys will be boys.

Around the same time a group of girls began to harass me. They belittled my clothes and looks, called me fat and stupid, told me I should kill myself and I was a waste of space. Once they emptied an entire bottle of lotion over my head in the school bus (nothing was done - they said it was an accident). One girl , in fact, took the harassment so far that few of her friends finally got her to stop . I can't remember but I think it was when I had broken down in tears several days in a row.

Soem of hte harassment happened off campus. Some of it was just a kid walking by and "running into" . This generally happened after I complained. I learned not to compalin because it did no good and it only made the harassment worse.

Saying stuff like that makes people uncomfortable. I don't do it often but when I hear "there weren't bullies like this when Iw as a kid " (from somoene my age ) I speak up.

Sorry for the typos and long winded ness.

but I had PTSD before I was bullied and it gave me new things to have PTSD about.

[Open Eyes]

Here is a good link that talks about how bullying can lead to PTSD.

Complex post traumatic stress disorder (complex ptsd, pdsd, shell shock, nervous shock, combat fatigue), symptoms and the difference between mental illness and psychiatric injury explained

A regular GP often is clueless about what causes PTSD, even some therapists and psychiatrists are clueless.

[SlayGuy138]

While I don't have an official diagnosis, I strongly believe I suffer from complex PTSD. Looking back there were a number of factors that lead me to believe this, such as my abusive upbringing, lack of consistent stability in where I was living, and incessant bullying that continues to this day being some of them.