The Bullied Brain

Our culture is so steeped in bullying and abuse — from children’s playgrounds to the upper echelons of leadership — that we’ve come to normalize the behavior and overlook the wreckage. This bullying paradigm has parents, teachers and coaches believing they must be tough to the point of emotional abuse in order for children to acquire the grit and resilience needed to attain excellence in a competitive world.  Setting high expectations in an atmosphere of safety, trust and empathy is light years away from using threats, humiliation, and cruelty if the goal is high achievement. Neuroscientists have found visual evidence in brain scans of the damage that occurs when subjected to bullying and abuse. The bullied brain correlates with failure to perform, substance abuse, aggressive behavior, chronic disease, and mental illness. Dr. Fraser shares not only how to survive bullying, but how to push back against the entrenched role it plays in society.