Workplace bullying is a serious problem that can lead to a depressing low mood and/or insomnia.
The recipient depends on their job for income — which throws a real huge kink in the chain.
A study that appears in the journal BMJ Open says that even just witnessing bullying on the job increases the odds that employees will be on drugs for depression, taking prescribed sleeping pills or tranquilizers.
The study participants were between age 40 and 60 and they were part of the Helsinki Health Study.
The association between workplace bullying and the use of prescription psychoactive drugs (for depression, sleep and anxiety) was present for both genders.
A hostile work environment can be incentive enough for people to feel so crummy and “depressed” — not to mention being riddled with anxiety — that they ask their doctor to “prescribe something to help.”
This association of medication usage remained after variables (that could influence the study results) were adjusted for, such as being bullied in childhood.
Is there bullying at your workplace?
“We must distinguish between low mood and brain depression,” says Rupali Chadha, MD, former chief of medical staff at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, CA.
“If you have major depressive disorder in yourself or even your family, sure, any stressful situation can cause you to fall into a depression (brain type).
“If not, of course, a stressful situation can demoralize you (just plain low mood, not necessarily needing medicine).
“The best way to tell is to see an MD psychiatrist, not a psychologist, to see if this has blossomed into a brain depression — or is low mood treated better with stress management, therapy, yoga … even maybe a new job (or standing up to the bully with HR).”
In addition to general psychiatry, 
