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How Bullying can shape Adolescent brains

https://undark.org/2019/09/09/can-bullying-change-brain/


I want to share a summary of the article above because it really kept me thinking about the invisible scars bullying can cause to young unaware children. And how these scars are usually seen as something normal, accepted, socially common. In recent years, science has revealed something deeply unsettling: bullying leaves not only emotional scars, but also physical marks on the brain. Recent studies, including one led by King’s College London, have shown that chronic school bullying can alter the brain structure of adolescents, affecting regions linked to learning and movement, such as the left putamen and caudate. These changes are associated with higher levels of anxiety and long-term consequences like depression, poor academic performance, and even suicidal thoughts.

Through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and questionnaires administered over several years, researchers from the European IMAGEN project have been able to observe how the constant stress caused by bullying directly influences brain development. The key appears to lie in what's known as "toxic stress", an overload of the body's stress-response system which, when sustained over time, can impair essential functions like sleep, memory, and appetite.

Although the World Health Organization has recognized bullying as a global health issue, awareness of its true impact remains limited. Scientists hope that these findings about brain changes will help drive more effective public policies to prevent this everyday form of violence. As psychologist Tracy Vaillancourt points out, showing brain images can be just as powerful as words in making the invisible visible.


Reading this research forces us to confront a painful truth: millions of young people around the world suffer silently each day due to bullying. Behind every statistic is a child who dreads going to school, a teenager who begins to question their worth, a young person whose brain is being shaped by fear instead of curiosity. We can no longer treat bullying as just "part of growing up." It is a public health issue, a social failure, and a moral call to action. To change this, we must foster school environments built on empathy, inclusion, and accountability. Education systems must integrate emotional intelligence into their core, and adults (parents, teachers, policymakers) must listen, believe, and act. Change begins with recognizing that no child should have to carry invisible wounds into adulthood.















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