Mental Health - General

Bullying MAY ALSO BE a group phenomenon with particular characteristics. This means that there are a number of children and young people who may at times be involved in bullying, but who would not usually take the initiative themselves. These are called passive bullies, henchmen, or bystanders. The group of passive bullies is quite mixed and may include uncertain or anxious students.

Some of the mechanisms THAT may be active in group bullying are:

Children and young people who are potential bullies have a number of common features. Again, it must be emphasized that these points are just the main trends. All the same, it is likely that an active bully will have one or more of the following characteristics.

It has often been presumed that bullies are anxious and unsure of themselves underneath their tough surface. However, research finds that bullies are characterized by either unusually low or about average levels of anxiety and insecurity. Their self-image is also about average or even relatively positive.

Research gives a fairly clear picture of those who are potential victims of bullying. They tend to have at least one, or usually several, of the characteristics listed below. These lists only indicate main trends; in some cases, victims may be quite different. Potential victims of bullying can be divided into two main groups:

The passive or submissive victim

Most children in this category are not aggressive or teasing in their manner and usually do not actively provoke others in their surroundings. However, passive victims of bullying generally signal, through their behavior and attitudes, that they are a bit anxious and unsure of themselves.

Editor's Note:

"Race" is sometimes mentioned as a risk factor in the development of certain cancers and a number of other diseases. When you read this in a discussion about an illness, note that the explanation seldom refers to anything biological. Instead, it usually refers to behavior, such as eating habits. The kinds of behavior usually mentioned as risk factors are culturally determined. They are not genetic or biological.

According to a recent (July, 2006) study in Denmark, living alone can have dire implications for the heart.

Women over age 60 and men older than 50 who live alone have a two- to three-fold higher risk for unstable angina, myocardial infarction, or sudden cardiac death, according to the researchers.

After the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of veterans came home to a hostile culture that offered little gratitude and inadequate services, particularly to deal with the stresses of war. As a result, tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans still struggle with homelessness and drug addiction.

As reported by noharm.org, "The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that indoor air pollution is one of the top five environmental risks to public health, potentially causing eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; loss of coordination; nausea; cancer; and liver, kidney, and central nervous system damage."

Reserachers at Columbia University and the Universities of Alabama, Michigan, and North Carolina have found an association between physical and mental health and racial discrimination.

The study says that racial discrimination is associated with worse self-reported physical and mental health in African Americans, regardless of gender, skin color and socioeconomic indicators.

According to a study published in the June 26, 2006 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, aggressive behavior among nursing home residents who also suffered dementia was associated with four factors: depression, delusions, hallucinations, and constipation.

Up to 30 percent of those diagnosed with epilepsy don't actually have the disorder. They have psychological nonepileptic seizures, or psychogenic seizures, that are caused by psychological conditions, not by the abnormal electrical activity in the brain that causes epileptic seizures. These seizures do not respond to anti-convulsant medication.