The concept of bullying, understood as psychological terror applied by a group against an individual, is well known especially in the context of work. The analogies between the workplace and the school classroom are obvious: being in a closed group for hours every day, interdependence, shared responsibilities. Only the age is lower, which is not always associated with milder forms of aggression.

We speak of mobbing when the majority of the group members apply psychological (it can also be physical) terror to the same person (or to two or three) and which persists over a long period of time, continuously. It does not include a conflict (even a long-lasting one) between two pupils, nor does it include a situation where everyone has, for a certain period of time, picked on a person who, for example, failed to defend a goal and because of this the class lost a match.

There are hierarchies in every class (although of course this does not necessarily lead to bullying). There are pupils who are more liked and those who are less liked, some are also treated as individuals and others as outsiders. If bullying takes place in a class, there are perpetrators, victims and witnesses of bullying.

Thevictim of bullying is usually described by the group as someone who is stupid, ridiculous, repulsive or cowardly. It is not uncommon for insults to be hurled at her in the presence of the teacher and then often take more sophisticated forms after the teacher objects. It is not uncommon for the victim to be left alone with her problem. She closes in on herself and suffers even more than if she had confided in someone. This situation leads to low self-esteem, sadness, depression. It often also causes psychosomatic illnesses such as headaches, gastrointestinal disorders as well as increased muscle tension and increased susceptibility to infection.

photo ojoimages

In my professional work, I met a patient who was admitted to hospital because of severe abdominal pain and exhaustion. After about two weeks, many examinations performed, she admitted that she was a victim of aggression in the classroom. When she changed it (practically as soon as she left the hospital, which was also greatly helped by her parents, who had previously had no idea of their daughter's suffering), the complaints disappeared.

Usually, boys show more physical aggression towards the victim, however, girls' aggression can be more innocent on the surface, but hurt even more severely. Pupils who are different from the rest of the group are particularly at risk of outsider status: they come from a different neighbourhood, speak a different dialect, have physical abnormalities (e.g. are very obese, have a large bite defect), behave differently, have a different outlook on life or religion or support a different football team.

Every victim of bullying wants to relinquish his or her role and therefore takes various action strategies to free themselves from it. These ways, however, usually do not bring any benefit in this respect, which further lowers the victim's self-esteem. These behaviours become entrenched, resulting in an even worse group stance. The most common victim attitudes are:

• the difficult person type, who has become distrustful due to many negative experiences in dealing with others; he or she suspects that many situations (which to others are completely neutral) are an attempt to harass his or her person, a mean-spirited action directed against him or her, so caution must be exercised at all times
• braggart - tries to pretend to be better, boasting about his or her extraordinary achievements (often imaginary) or special possessions; to curry favour with the group often brings expensive equipment to school and returns attention with designer clothes
• class clown
• escapes from the group - by truancy, but also by running away into illness