Bullying...will it ever end

I find myself a bit speechless when it comes to bullying. It frustrates me...it hurts my son...it establishes the survival of the fittest societal roles, and is just generally annoying. I must admit it has been so much better so far this year than last. However, it's still not ok.

I was given this checklist at a workshop I attended...
(There is no author to give credit to...sorry) but I found it very interesting...

What does bullying do to my health?

Bullying causes injury to health and makes you ill. How many of these symptoms do you have?

~constant high levels of stress and anxiety
~frequent illness such as viral infections especially flu and glandular fever, colds, coughs, chest, ear, nose and throat infections (stress plays havoc with your immune system)
~aches and pains in the joints and muscles with no obvious cause; also back pain with no obvious cause and which won't go away or respond to treatment
~headaches and migraines
~tiredness, exhaustion, constant fatigue
~sleeplessness, nightmares, waking early, waking up more tired than when you went to bed
~flashbacks and replays, obsessiveness, can't get the bullying out of your mind
~irritable bowel syndrome
~skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis, athlete's foot, ulcers, shingles, urticaria
~poor concentration
~bad or intermittently -functioning memory, forgetfulness
~sweating, trembling, shaking, palpitations, panic attacks
~tearfulness, bursting into tears regularly over trivial things
~uncharacteristic irritability and angry outbursts
~hyper vigilance (feels like but is not paranoia), being constantly on edge
~hypersensitivity, fragility, isolation, withdrawal
~reactive depression, a feeling of woebegoneness, lethargy, hopelessness, anger, futility and more
~shattered self-confidence, low self-worth, low self-esteem, loss of self-love, etc.

The ones listed in red are the effects my son regularly suffers from :( After yesterday's incident (see sidebar dated 8.26.08) he stated that every morning he's excited about school and by the time he gets home he wishes he was dead. That...is the ultimate effect of bullying.

Today...we shall have a conversation with the PE teacher.