There are a handful of things that hurt people: heartbreak, school stress, anxieties. But above all of these things, something is proven to hit hard to every person that falls victim is verbal bullying in the form of rumors and gossip.

Rumors give people a wrong impression of who people truly are. They put a false image in people’s minds, take opportunities away and cause confusion and hurt for the person who is subject of the rumors. They’re normally spread by people that you open up to, that take advantage of your trust.

Why?

What is the reasoning behind making up elaborate stories about someone and spreading them with no truth behind them at all?

Why cause someone that pain and heartache, just for the sheer fact that you wanted a way to add to the conversation or have something to say?

Rumors take a tremendous toll on everyone, whether it’s in a school environment causing distraction from schoolwork or in a workplace causing the person to feel uncomfortable around their peers and hindering their work-ethic.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), verbal bullying including rumors and harmful remarks can send young people into a downward spiral socially and academically.

“Children who are shut out start trying to avoid classrooms and school to spare themselves more pain,” APA said.

However, most people don’t always realize that they’re hurting others when talking about these things.

“Other studies have looked at the role of gossip and rumor, which are not ordinarily used maliciously,” APA said. “In fact, research suggests that when younger children who are close friends gossip, they’re usually just venting and bonding – 93 percent of the time, they don’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Rumors and gossip may not seem harmful, but they affect the person more than you more realize.

“Being victimized by social aggression (including gossip) is associated with poor self-concept, especially for girls,” APA said. “Other studies show that victimization is associated with loneliness, depression and anxiety.”

We, people as a whole, have to be more aware of the words we’re putting into the open. We have to realize the words we say have power and weight, the power to alter someone’s life. While we may think it’s playful, harmless “girl-talk” or “locker room talk,”, we have the power to either help or hurt someone, more than we could imagine.