Let's Talk About Bullying!

Let’s talk about BULLYING

With the start of the school year, it’s a good time to refocus our energy on teaching kids about bullying.  Bullying is quite common, with over 20% of students indicating that they have been bullied and about 41% of those students relating that they think that the bullying would happen again.  Most of the time, bullying is verbal (like being made fun of or insulted) or rumor-spreading, but some students report physical bullying (like being shoved) or being purposely excluded from activities. About half of students experiencing bullying report it to an adult at school. A rising percentage of children are being bullied online in addition to at school. 

We know that bullying has significant impacts on one’s emotions, self-esteem, psychological functioning, general functioning, and health.  They are at a higher risk for developing things like anxiety, depression, sleep problems, lower academic achievement, and suicidal ideation, but how does it impact our BRAINS?  

Research shows that bullying…

• Harms the prefrontal cortex.  This is the part of the brain that is involved in executive thinking (like inhibition, abstract thinking, reasoning, impulsivity)

• Enlarges the amygdala.  The amygdala is involved in processing emotional stimuli, especially things like fear.  When it becomes enlarged, it can become more hypervigilant and reactive.

• Shrinks the hippocampus.  The hippocampus is in charge of memory and learning.

• Demyelinates the corpus callosum.  The corpus callosum is the bundle of fibers that connects the left hemisphere of the brain with the right hemisphere.  Demyelination means that it’s harder (slower) for electrical signals to pass between the two halves of the brain.  This can have big implications as we depend on the interconnectedness of our two hemispheres to function well.

Here are some resources for additional information into bullying and what to do about it:

• https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/get-help-now 

• https://www.naesp.org/resource/put-a-stop-to-bullying-in-your-school/ 

• https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/sites-for-kids-and-teens.asp