I found it interesting that bullied people’s brains showed changes in the

areas where anxiety originates. The control group of people who were not bullied didn’t show

the same effect. I suppose it makes sense because if you are bullied, then naturally you will

become more anxious and scared. It is just neat to see research that supports this

behavior. The problem is this theory of the brain changing due to bullying is that perhaps

there were already neurotransmitter imbalances in some of the participants’ brains genetically.

So, it is hard to say if the research is completely valid. But finding a way to stop bullying in the schools

becomes more important after studies like this one.

Bullying has an immense impact on our society and continues to gain relevance in coming generations, particularly with cyberbullying. It is obvious that bullying impacts individuals from an emotional and social aspect, but it is extremely important to aslo consider the lasting impact that it can have on physical and mental health. It is interesting to connect bullying with anxiety, depression, and obesity, this is where we can acknowledge those lasting impacts on the health of a victim of bullying. I also find it interesting that in new research, bullying is being tied in with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), along with abuse and neglect, resulting in trauma. In addition, understanding the hormone responses to trauma is important when studying the effect that bullying has on the mind and body. I found it fascinating that stress hormones can be released for a victim of bullying, causing the immune system to weaken. This shined a light on the idea that there are many individuals who feel constant fatigue or illness with no underlying cause, meanwhile their experiences earlier in life surrounding traumatic experiences are the root of their issues. I believe that it is important to provide early intervention for children exposed to bullying to limit these issues later in life. Rather than allowing the victim to pack away their experiences and their feelings, addressing them will lead to a less complex adulthood and put them on the road to recovery to prevent further issues from developing. 

I found this article very interesting. I never knew that bullying left such awful and negative results on young children and young adults. I never knew that bullying could affect the brain so much that it effects the way the different structure's function. It is really sad to see how bad the outcomes of bullying are and can be. It makes sense that the bullies do have some sort of mental health issue or some sort of abuse from their past to stimulate the bullying. It also makes sense that the people who are being bullied will have some sort of mental health side effect down the road. Overall, it is truly sad to see the results of bullying and there should definitely be more studies and ways to stop bullying.

L Robinson

My perspective on cyberbullying is heartbreaking in so many ways. To think that someone can make a person feel a certain type of way for their own personal reasons is just mean. Harassing, threating, or embarrassing a person for whatever reason is wrong. Sometimes the victim feels that they have no one to turn to and follows through on the bully’s request. After reading the article, I agree that all threats of cyberbullying should be taken seriously the first time. Also, it was interesting that bullying can cause PTSD and that the brain is like "plastic-the connections", meaning that over the years your brain will adapt to environments. This is a scary cold world we live in. I am scared for my children.

It was interesting to learn that the brain structure of those who have been bullied is different from those who have not been a victim of bullying. It is also interesting to learn that bullying is connected to anxiety and depression. Which is interesting but not surprising when you are constantly being put down and made fun of your guard will remain up. Another thing that really intrigued me was that the stress hormone released during bullying can also effect the immune system. Its sad to know that bullying is even a thing let alone cyberbullying.

It is an absolute shame that bullying is till a thing in the year 2025. With the amount of technology there is today and how it continues to progress and change, cyberbullying numbers seem to increase. While reading this article it was very interesting to read how the brain can be affected and how the structure of the brain can actually change due to bullying. The areas of the brain like the putamen and the caudate are specifically influenced. I found this to be absolutely disheartening but also fascinating. It really led me to the question, what is it about bullying that causes the brain to actually change structure? After reading the article a little further, I saw that the immune system can also be influenced by bullying. This was incredibly intriguing to me. Reading that the stress hormones in the human body can be released at the time of bullying and can lead to an increased risk of substance abuse. All in all, after reading the article and discovering all of the adverse effects of bullying, I have been given a further insight on how the brain can be affected by bullying and think (as I always have), that if anyone is having issues with bullying. They should always speak up and never be afraid to say anything.

While reading this article I thought of my experience as a teenager going through high school, when social media outlets such as Facebook and Myspace were just gaining their footing in the cyber world. With these outlets being so new, they weren't as heavily regulated as they are today when it comes to cyberbullying and the types of posts that are monitored to this day and I would often see people talking poorly about others or spreading rumors on the platforms. As someone who would be friends with just about whomever I could hold a conversation with, I would see the effects it would have on those being talked about and how they reacted when those topics were brought up offline. Reading on how bullying causes issues with ones mental health such as depression or anxiety doesn't feel like such a shocking fact reading through the article because while some people are thick skinned, I assume most aren't and any type of bullying would harm them emotionally and mentally. I also think these effects are enhanced when it's someone that you know personally or consider a friend doing the bullying/talking poorly about you online. I am glad to read that schools nowadays are providing the support that I wish was around when I was younger for bullying but fear that cyberbullying with how advanced social media is getting and how easily things go virial, that it is progressively getting harder to help these victims once something irreparable gets out onto the internet.

Reading this article made me think about how deep the effects of bullying really go. I always knew bullying could hurt someone's feelings, but I never fully realized how it can actually change the structure and function of the brain. It’s crazy to think that being bullied as a kid can impact your mental health years later into your adulthood and even your brain development. after doing more reading in other articls the fact that bullying is considered an Adverse Childhood Experience really stood out to me. That puts it in the same category as abuse or neglect, which is tough fact to take.