The Hidden Effects on Children and How to Help Them Recover
Bullying has become rampant in the school system. Children and teens are often picked on, ostracized, teased, publicly humiliated, or targeted in many ways by their peers at school. Witnessing or being around bullying can also be a traumatic experience for many children.
• 49 percent of children in grades four to 12 reported being bullied by other students at school at least once during the past month.
• 23 percent of youth say they’ve been bullied two or more times in the past month.
• 20 percent of students in the United States in grades nine to 12 report being bullied.
• 71 percent of young people say they’ve witnessed bullying at school.
• 70 percent of school staff report they’ve seen bullying.
• A survey of 1,000 females in the UK revealed that one in five girls and young women are teased or bullied about their periods, with nearly half (49%) saying that they had not spoken to anyone about this issue.
• Approximately 30 percent of young people admit to bullying others at one time or another.
• In recent years, cyberbullying has also become a widespread problem. Cyberbullying is any bullying performed via cell phones, social media, or the Internet. These devices allow bullies to continue their harassment at any time of the day.
What Are The Consequences of School Bullying?
Students who are bullied are more likely to experience sleep difficulties, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Bullied students say that being bullied hurts how they feel about themselves. They report that being bullied affects their friendships and relationships with family members and their schoolwork. Some even report that it has taken a toll on their physical health.
Bullying results in decreased school performance and increased absenteeism. Hormonal changes may also occur. Testosterone can be inhibited by long-term stress, and this can result in failing to develop full height or muscle mass.
School Bullying as a Cause of PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety
Researchers have known for years that bullying has lasting and long-term consequences. When kids are repeatedly bullied, it can affect them emotionally, academically, and psychologically. For instance, they may experience low self-esteem, an inability to trust others, and trouble forming lasting friendships. The effects of being bullied are more than just emotional and psychological. Research shows that there may be structural differences in the brains of teens who are regularly victimized. Being the target of bullying can cause long-term changes to the brain and brain damage.
Research from the University of Ottawa shows the brains of bullied children have both cognitive and emotional deficits that look like the brains of children who have been neglected and who have experienced child abuse. These physical changes can contribute to a wide range of mental health issues later in life including a greater risk of suicide, drug use, depression, and anxiety.
Traumatic Memories From Bullying Can Be Re-Triggered When They Are Not Completely Resolved.
The trauma from bullying can be re-triggered by sights, sounds, words, or smells that activate those unprocessed memories. This re-experiencing leads to ongoing emotional distress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
EMDR and Neurofeedback Are Safe, Natural, Trauma-Resolving Approaches
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) refers to an interactive psychotherapy technique used to relieve psychological stress. EMDR aims to reduce symptoms of trauma by clearing the emotional charge on the traumatic memory. In a nutshell, an EMDR therapist does this by leading you through a series of eye movements as you recall challenging experiences (in small segments) until those memories no longer cause any distress. While originally developed to address war trauma, EMDR also helps relieve residual traumatic symptoms of bullying, shaming, teasing, and other form of school trauma.
A Brain Map Can Provide Essential Information
The depression, anxiety, and poor school performance from bullying trauma is often associated with abnormal brain electrical activity, which may be detected in a Brain Map (qEEG).
Brain mapping helps reveal how bullying has affected the brain and can help design a neurofeedback treatment plan to bring the brain back to healthy balance and regulation. Brain mapping measures brain wave patterns. The mapping information provides the data needed to create a customized training program to correct the brainwave imbalances that are associated with bullying trauma. Neurofeedback is a non-invasive process of retraining your brain’s electrical activity back to a state of healthy regulation.
The Brain Wave Center of Sarasota uses quantitative Electroencephalograph (qEEG) technology to obtain an accurate recording of brain wave functioning and map abnormal activity. This qEEG Brain Map involves scanning the brain waves using a state-of-the-art wireless headset. These scans DO NOT put any electrical current into the brain – they simply record signals or electrical activity coming from the brain. The experts at The Brain Wave Center then compare measurements to a database of established standards of normal brain function to determine if abnormal brainwaves are present.
Neurofeedback Can Get at The Underlying Cause of Ongoing Depression and Anxiety From School Bullying
Neurofeedback is a safe way to retrain a bullied brain back to health. One study revealed that after 30 neurofeedback sessions and heart rate variability training, 57% of people with severe anxiety, and 45% of people with severe depression showed normal brain activity. Anxiety sufferers tend to have repetitive, negative thoughts that make them feel like they’re in a constant state of fear or dread. Medications can help ease symptoms, but they often do not fix the underlying issues, and the side effects can be severe. Neurofeedback is an all-natural, pain-free way to relieve the trauma from bullying that has long-term positive results.
During a neurofeedback session, brainwave activity is monitored while the client watches a video of their choice. The computer system looks for the brainwaves associated with bullying trauma, anxiety, depression, overwhelm, attention deficit, etc. When the computer detects irregular brainwaves, the video is modulated in a way that causes the client to refocus their attention back on the video until the brainwaves return to normal. This can happen hundreds of times during a single session. Eventually, after multiple sessions, the brain learns to maintain brainwaves in a healthy range on its own. As that happens, the client will see a reduction in their bullying symptoms. The best part, results are often permanent.
Nutrition and Supplements May Play in Addressing Trauma
When your body is experiencing stress and trauma, it needs increased amounts of many nutrients. Poor diets can exacerbate the effects that trauma has on the brain. Chronic stress can lead to inflammation in the brain, which has been associated with depression and a wide range of other mental health issues. Researchers have found links between low levels of certain nutrients — such as folate, magnesium, iron, zinc, and vitamins B6, B12, and D — and worsening mood, feelings of anxiety, and risk of depression. There is also a direct link between mood disorders and omega-3 intake.
How The Brain Wave Center Puts it All Together
EMDR, nutritional support, brain mapping, and neurofeedback can successfully address emotional & mental health conditions when other therapies have failed. The Brain Wave Center has a dedicated team of professionals offering innovations in brain health. At the Brain Wave Center, we are focused on assisting children and their families in recovering from bullying trauma.
Schedule your brain map today and find out today how our unique approach can help you or a loved one. Call 941-552-4500. We offer a brief, no-charge, initial consultations with our medical director.
The Brain Wave Center
941.552.4500
BRAINWAVECENTERS.COM
640 S. Washington Blvd., Sarasota, Florida 34236