How Bullying Affects Children’s Brains
We all know how harmful bullying is for students who experience it on a daily basis. Its consequences, unfortunately, can be fatal. Therefore, we want to talk to you about how bullying affects children’s brains.
If you know of any child who has been bullied in their life, then you know that the consequences can be both physical and mental. In fact, thanks to the UOC (Open University of Catalonia) we have learned about the study that has been carried out at King’s College London (United Kingdom) and that it is very interesting.
How does bullying affect children’s brains?
According to the study discussed above, it is clear that being bullied continuously can cause adolescents to suffer physical and mental changes, that is, in the brain. This can make them more prone to mental illness in the future.
This is easy to understand, following the words of María José Acebes, a neuropsychologist who works as a collaborator at the UOC:
The prefrontal cortex is also affected, which can cause difficulties in successful problem solving and it is more difficult to manage the most intense emotions. Continuous treatment is needed for the affected person, so that he can correctly manage what he is experiencing and prevent mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety from developing in the future.
In addition, with this constant emotional tension and the trigger for mental illness, you are more likely to suffer from phobias, self-injurious behaviors and even to have suicidal ideas and to carry them out in the most complicated cases.
On the other hand, post-traumatic disorders can also develop due to being continually alert and anxious. This feeling of constant fear and danger can cause the person suffering from the problem to have serious physical and emotional problems, such as those mentioned above. This is how bullying affects children’s brains.
The investigation
The investigation took place in the UK. The brains of different adolescents were studied when they were 14 and 19 years old. Those who had suffered prolonged bullying had a decrease in the brain areas where calm resides, increasing anxiety.
The positive part that the study says is that, in adolescence, the nervous system can be modulated and the brain, while still developing, can unlearn what it has learned and, with the necessary support, be able to reestablish the brain connections that return to it. a state of peace and tranquility. That is, without having to live in a learned and constant state of alertness.
In adolescence, the most common form of bullying is group bullying , that is, in a group one is more cruel and, therefore, one acts “in a herd”. Everything is done in a gang and the victim who is harassed is left out.
Adolescents often want group approval and in bullying the victim they embody those insecurities that they do not want others to realize. Additionally, social media also helps make bullying worse, longer, and deeper.
Solutions against bullying
It is vital to find solutions together to prevent bullying from becoming a bigger problem than it already is. It is important that all educational centers have coexistence regulation decrees so that any type of harassment, whether direct, indirect or online, is marked as a serious offense.
Thus, it is convenient for educational centers to inform the Minors’ Prosecutor’s Office or the corresponding body, depending on the seriousness of the events. In this way, the consequences relevant to the aggressor can be sought and the victim, in addition to being protected, can find the necessary tools to cope with the situation.
In all this it is essential to give prominence to the witnesses of bullying, so that they do not remain silent and report what they witness. That they are also protected and feel the obligation to report the harassment that another partner is experiencing. In this way, it would be easier to solve the problem from the educational center without having to go through criminal proceedings.
Ultimately, both bullies and victims should have quality psychological help. Both of them can suffer mental illnesses in the future that condition their lives. All this can be prevented if we all follow the same path of good coexistence and respect for others and for ourselves.
