Verbal bullying may include name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, insulting remarks or verbal abuse
Words matter.
Just as words can make one feel emotional, happy, inspired and curious, they can also hurt, harm and torment people.
While many might associate bullying with physical bullying, it can also take the form of verbal bullying, which is less-easier to detect.
Verbal bullying may include name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, insulting remarks or verbal abuse.
While some may think that verbal bullying is less harmless than physical bullying, words do matter and it can have long psychological effects on the victims.
According to the Harvard Mental Health Letter, children who are the target of frequent verbal mistreatment exhibit higher rates of physical aggression, delinquency, and social problems than other children.
In addition to this, other researchers have associated childhood verbal abuse with a significantly higher risk of developing unstable, angry personalities, narcissistic behaviour, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and paranoia.
Aside from children, among the people who that are vulnerable to verbal bullying includes people with disabilities and people who are perceived as LGBTQ.
According to a study, 70.1 per cent of LGBTQ students were verbally bullied because of their sexual orientation and 59.1 per cent because of their gender expression, and 53.2 per cent based on gender (Kosciw, Greytak, Zongrone, Clark, & Truong, 2018 ).
Words has the ability to influence, create, shape and change people and the society.
So, frequent verbal bullying or abuse will have huge impacts on one’s mental and psychological state.