Adjustment Disorder After Bullying: How Bullying Affects Teen Mental Health

Published: 06/16/2026 | Updated: 06/16/2026

Authored by: Hayley Snelling, Dip. Couns.

Edited by: Jemma Strain, B.S. Psychology

Bullying can leave invisible scars on a teen long after the harmful behaviors end. While some teens gradually recover with support from their family and friends, others may find that stress and emotional wounds begin to affect their daily lives. Everything can feel tainted, from their mood to behaviors, relationships, or ability to carry on with their usual routines.

Adjustment disorder is a mental health condition that can develop in response to life changes and stressful events, like bullying. Bullying can be a huge source of stress, especially during adolescence when peer relationships often feel all-important.

Understanding how bullying, mental health, and adjustment disorders are linked can help you support your teen and get them the help they need to recover. For this reason, this page will cover:

The link between bullying and mental health.
Why bullying can lead to adjustment disorders in teens.
Adolescent signs of adjustment disorder after bullying.
Therapy for bullying-related adjustment disorders.
Where to find professional mental health support for teens.

How Bullying and Mental Health Are Connected

While many people think of bullying as solely involving physical violence, it can actually take on multiple forms, including:

Verbal.
Physical.
Social.
Online abuse.

To understand how bullying is linked to mental health, it helps to understand what bullying is and how it can affect a teen.

What Is Bullying?

Bullying is a set of behaviors that are aggressive, repetitive, and involve a power imbalance between two people:^[1]

The bully.
The person on the receiving end (sometimes known as the “victim”).

Teens who bully others use their power – whether that’s physical strength, popularity, or access to information – to control or harm others.

Some examples of bullying include:^[1]

Teasing.
Name-calling.
Spreading rumours.
Embarrassing someone in public.
Physical violence, like hitting or kicking.
Stealing someone’s belongings.

Bullying can also happen online through messages and social media. This is known as “cyberbullying” and has the potential to follow teens wherever they are.^[2]

Unfortunately, bullying is a common experience, with around one in five high school students reporting being bullied in school, and more than one in six experiencing cyberbullying.^[2]

Effects of Bullying on Teens

Bullying has the potential to cause emotional, social, physical, academic, and mental health issues that may stay with teens into adulthood.

The emotional effects of bullying include depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and feelings of shame. Additionally, some studies have found that being bullied carries a higher risk of self-harm and suicidal thoughts, underscoring the link between school bullying and mental health challenges.^[3]^[4]

On top of this, bullying can cause teens to experience more physical complaints, such as headaches and stomach aches. As a result, they may then begin to miss school due to illness, which could impact their academic achievements.^[3]

What’s more, bullying often leaves teens finding it more difficult to make friends, trust others, and maintain relationships later in life.^[3]

One of the most concerning effects of bullying is the mental health consequences, such as bullying anxiety or developing a mental health disorder. For instance, some teens may develop an adjustment disorder, which can lead to even greater feelings of distress.

What Are Adjustment Disorders?

An adjustment disorder is essentially a strong reaction to stressful changes or trauma. It can make a person react in a way that is out of proportion to the situation itself, such as having intense emotional reactions or sudden changes in behavior. For example, a teen may:^[5]

Be easily brought to tears.
Feel depressed.
Act impulsively.
Take more risks.

It’s often worth knowing that stressful changes can range from:^[5]

Problems at home.
The loss of a loved one.
School difficulties.
Developing an illness.
Bullying.

And while it’s natural to react in some way when big changes happen, an adjustment disorder is more than a “normal” reaction to stress and change.

Adjustment disorders are excessive or unhealthy responses that cause adolescents immense distress. These disorders typically develop within three months of a stressful situation happening, and often last up to six months. However, they can sometimes last much longer.^[6]

You may find it useful to realize that adjustment disorders are actually fairly common in teenagers due to the large number of changes that happen during adolescence. In fact, it’s estimated that more than one in three adolescents experiences an adjustment disorder.^[5]

If you’re wondering why some teens develop adjustment disorders while others don’t, you’re not alone. Many parents have this question.

Why Some Teens Develop Adjustment Disorder After Bullying

To understand why some teens may develop an adjustment disorder after being bullied, it often helps to recognize a simple but significant truth: We are all different.

What this means is that two people can go through exactly the same experience, but have completely different responses. For instance, if you and a friend went to the same party and were treated the same way, you could both still come away with different feelings about how the evening went.

So, if being unique is one reason why some teens develop an adjustment disorder while others don’t, then what are the other causes?

What Causes Adjustment Disorder?

There are often several key factors involved in whether a teen develops a type of adjustment disorder after bullying. These include:^[4]^[7]^[8]

A disrupted sense of safety: Bullying can make routines and environments feel unpredictable, triggering the nervous system into staying in “high alert” mode, making it more difficult to adjust to everyday environments like school settings.

Individual biology and temperament: Some people may be more prone to having intense emotional reactions to situations.

Coping mechanisms: If a teen doesn’t have a healthy outlet for stress, people to turn to for support, or the ability to manage their emotions healthily, they may feel more affected.

Inescapable stress: Being unable to defend yourself or escape harassment can lead to greater and prolonged distress.

It’s crucial to remember that bullying does not automatically mean a teen will develop an adjustment disorder. However, if your teen has some of the above risk factors, they may be more susceptible to the effects of bullying and mental health issues, including teen depression from bullying and adjustment disorders.

Recognizing the signs that an adolescent is dealing with personal challenges following bullying is important for getting them the help they need to recover.

Signs a Teen May Be Dealing With Bullying Trauma

Recognizing when your teen may be coping with bullying can sometimes be difficult, especially if it doesn’t leave visible marks on their skin.

However, some specific warning signs indicate an adolescent is being bullied. There are also potential signs of an adjustment disorder developing. These symptoms often fall into three categories: emotional, physical, and behavioral.^[8]^[9]^[10]

Emotional Symptoms:

Agitation
Anxiety
Stress
Depression
Feeling hopeless
Low self-esteem

Physical Signs:

Unexplained injuries
Feeling sick or claiming to be ill
Appetite changes, like skipping meals or binge eating for comfort
Unexplained aches and pains, like headaches or stomach aches
Feeling tired, difficulty sleeping, or having frequent nightmares
Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry

Behavioral Changes:

Tearfulness
Acting defiantly
Impulsive or reckless behavior
Avoiding, skipping, or not wanting to go to school
Withdrawing from family and friends
Self-harming

If your teen is showing any of these changes, they may be dealing with bullying and mental health challenges, such as an adjustment disorder. Fortunately, parents can support their teens’ mental health, and professional support options are also available to help adolescents recover.

Are You or a Loved One Struggling with anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns?

Mission Prep is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.

Supporting Adolescent Mental Health After Bullying

Parents have an important role to play when it comes to bullying recovery in teens. They can:

Provide their child with support.
Help rebuild their confidence.
Encourage them to spend time with people who treat them well.

If you’re a parent looking for practical ways to support your teen, we have some suggestions that you may find useful.

Listen without judgment: Give your teen space to talk openly about their experiences without worrying about being judged. For example, you could let them vent when they need to, and remind them that you love and accept them just the way they are.

Take bullying seriously: Adolescents can be mean, and bullying can feel inescapable, especially when it happens online. So, it’s important to take your teen’s concerns about bullying seriously, and not ignore or minimize what they’re experiencing.

Validate your teen’s emotions: Some teenagers may worry that they’re somehow to blame for what’s happening to them or that they’re over-reacting. In these situations, it may be helpful to acknowledge how difficult things might be for them and that their pain, sadness, or anger is real.

Encourage healthy coping skills: Teens need to have an outlet for intense emotions, and healthy coping skills can help with this. For instance, you might encourage your teen to do something active, like running or yoga, to help reduce stress. Or, to let their feelings out onto paper by writing or drawing.

Sometimes, even with parental support, adolescents may still experience difficulties with bullying and mental health. This is when seeking professional support may be helpful.

Teen Therapy for Bullying and Adjustment Disorder

If bullying is affecting your teen’s daily routines or causing them distress, teen trauma treatment or bullying counseling may help them cope with the emotional and physical effects of this abuse.

Several therapies may help teens in these situations. One of these is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT can help teens learn to manage stress and challenge the negative thoughts and self-beliefs that bullying can cause.^[11]

Also, Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy can support teens with bullying trauma. EMDR helps teens process traumatic experiences, such as bullying, without having to recount the events out loud.^[12]

Recovery from bullying and adjustment disorder is possible with the right support, allowing your teen to move forward in life with more confidence and calmness.

Find Mental Health Treatment Programs

Mission Prep provides treatment for teens experiencing various mental health conditions. Mental Health support is a phone call away – call 866-901-4047 to learn about your treatment options.

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Get Effective Mental Health Support for Teens With Mission Prep Teen Treatment

Witnessing the effects of bullying on your teen can be highly distressing, and you may not be sure how best to help them. Know that with the right support, teenagers can begin to rebuild their confidence and develop more emotional resilience. Plus, you don’t have to figure this out on your own; we’re here to help you through the process.

At Mission Prep Teen Treatment, we specialize in helping adolescents overcome mental health challenges. Our experienced therapists understand the issues that teens face, and can help them readjust and heal through personalized treatment programs. We go beyond traditional mental health care to provide positive, sustainable change.

To meet each teen’s individual needs, we offer various levels of care, including residential and outpatient mental health treatment. Each of our facilities offers a safe and welcoming environment where teens are able to develop and practice strategies that help lay the foundation for long-term healing.

Mission Prep Teen Treatment accepts insurance and is in-network with most major providers. To check your coverage for treatment, simply complete our confidential online insurance verification form. Private pay options are also available.

Learn more about how we can support your teen by reaching out to us online or calling us at 866-901-4047. Our caring team is available 24/7 for a free, confidential conversation.

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