Bullying and the Bowel

Amy Weber recently wrote a wonderful piece on bullying and how it manifests within society. She focusses mainly on the impact of bullying on children; however her article got me thinking about the ways in which adults are affected by bullying & how other non-psychological aspects of wellbeing are affected.

It is well known that bullying affects not only the psychological and sociological elements of a bully victim, but also the physiological. The big question is how do the physical symptoms manifest? What sort of ailments can occur?

In children, bullying can cause many physiological issues, but one that is prominent is constipation. This is usually related directly to the child’s fear and anxiety and can sometimes be a desperate ‘cry for help. The signs of constipation can range from light tummy pain to involuntary soiling, which children often try and hide especially when they already feel vulnerable from bullying. There is a huge amount of shame that comes with any ‘pooping’ related issues, and children are most susceptible to these feelings of shame. Many parents will scold their children for soiling themselves, which adds further to the child’s underlying anxiety, which in turn can make the constipation issues much more severe. It has been suggested that rather than scolding a child for soiling their pants, you should be asking why they did not ‘poop’ in the toilet. Soiling and other indicators of constipation are a sadly useful way for an adult to ask questions about a child’ distress and the nature of the bullying that could be causing the constipation.

Moving to adults now, research has found that adults who are victims of bullying in the workplace can also suffer from constipation, manifesting in erratic bowel movements and serious bowel discomfort. Again there is a shame that is related to ‘pooping’ and discussing such issues, that adults may ignore these issue, focusing more on the psychological elements of the bullying. Which begs the question if the constipation is relieved, would the victim find some relief from the bullying?

Colon-hydrotherapists, will always take a history of their client, and usually these histories address not only the physical symptoms but also psychological factors that may impact the client’s bowel. This being the case, bullying is one thing that may be picked up by colon-hydrotherapy. If adults really do not like discussing their bowel movements, the colonic treatment provides a space in which they can, which may in fact lead to addressing the impact of the bullying on other elements of wellbeing. In a nut-shell the cure for bullying may well start in a colonic-hydrotherapy treatment room!

Have you as a colon hydrotherapist ever encountered a case where the cause of constipation was bullying? What was your reaction and did you discover an effective way to help your client overcome or confront their issues? Send us your case histories and share your knowledge about bullying and constipation with other therapists.