Have you ever been told, “Bullying is just a part of being a teenager. You’ll be fine”?

A recent study published in Psychological Science says the opposite.

The study finds that kids that were involved in bullying (being either the bullied or the bully) face more difficulties as adults. Some of these difficulties include financial problems, employment problems and health problems.

It was also found by the researchers that people who were bullied were likely to have worse than average relationships with friends and families.

“What we saw for them was this really pervasive pattern where they were impaired across a lot of areas,” stated William Copeland, co-author of the study.

Though this study makes it seem like everyone involved in bullying is doomed to live a mediocre adult life, it does not necessarily have to be that way. The information is out there. Now all that has to be done is work on solving the problem.

One effective strategy for handling a bully or bullies is to find someone you can trust and talk to them about the situation. Whether that person is a grandparent, your mom, your dad, your uncle, your friend or even a teacher, the benefits of talking to a trustworthy person are numerous. Having someone listen to you is a nice feeling, and it can help lighten the burden.

Aside from talking to someone, a good strategy for dealing with a bully is to talk to other people who are being targeted by a bully. Become friends with them. Then you can be each other’s defense mechanisms. A bully is less likely to pick on someone if they have “backup.”

Even if you have never been bullied in your life, you still have the power to help your peers who are being bullied. All you really have to do is reach out to them. Give them your hand. Let them rest on your shoulder. This could give the victim a boost in self esteem that will help them feel better about what they are going through.

Bullying is apart of life, especially in school. That is why you should try to do your part to make life easier for the victims of bullying by helping anyone you see who is being bullied.