What Is Trauma?
Trauma is the psychological and physiological response to an event, or repeated events, that overwhelm a person’s ability to cope. In the U.S., trauma is often associated with combat, natural disasters, or violence. But research shows that bullying can cause trauma just as severe as these experiences.
- About 70% of U.S. adults have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime (National Council for Mental Wellbeing).
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the clinical diagnosis tied to trauma, affects about 3.5% of U.S. adults annually and nearly 9% across a lifetime (National Center for PTSD).
Bullying Can Cause PTSD-Level Symptoms
Bullying is not “just part of growing up.” Studies show that the effects can be lasting and severe:
- 57% of bullying victims develop PTSD-level symptoms such as flashbacks, hypervigilance, and avoidance (Cyberbullying Research Center).
- Among adolescents, about half of severely bullied youth meet the clinical threshold for PTSD,rates comparable to youth in formal PTSD treatment programs (Ossa et al., 2019).
These findings prove that bullying isn’t harmless. It can leave psychological scars equivalent to other life-threatening traumas.
👉 Related: PTSD & cPTSD
Bullying as Complex Trauma (cPTSD)
Unlike a single traumatic event, bullying is often chronic, happening repeatedly over time. This pattern mirrors what leads to Complex PTSD (cPTSD), where repeated trauma reshapes how the brain and body respond to stress.
- Family-based bullying, like sibling bullying, and relational bullying, like gossip, exclusion, or triangulation, are especially damaging because they occur in environments where a child should feel safe.
- In fact, 35% of American children report experiencing sibling bullying, which is strongly linked to long-term anxiety, depression, and trauma responses into adulthood (American Psychological Association).
👉 Related: Relational Bullying
Long-Term Mental Health Impact of Bullying
The consequences of bullying-related trauma don’t end when the bullying stops. Victims are significantly more likely to experience:
- Depression and anxiety (2–9 times higher risk than non-bullied peers)
- Suicidal ideation: Students who are bullied are at twice the risk of considering or attempting suicide (StopBullying.gov).
This shows the direct line between bullying, trauma, and long-term mental health outcomes.
👉 Related: Mental Health Impact
Bullying Is Trauma
Trauma isn’t only about accidents or disasters. Bullying is trauma.
- It overwhelms the ability to cope.
- It rewires the nervous system into survival mode.
- And because it is often chronic, relational, and isolating, the impact can mirror, or even exceed, other forms of trauma.
Taking bullying seriously means recognizing it for what it really is: traumatic abuse. And no one deserves to carry that alone.
