How is it possible that our legal and education systems are stuck in outdated policies that favor incarceration over education, while brain science has proven the policies wrong? How can we be so confused?
Imagine three teachers grabbing a 14-year-old boy, two holding him while the third beats his legs so badly with a baton that he has to go to hospital. This happened in 1977 and formed the legal precedent that gives educators the right to use corporal punishment in schools in 19 states and in all private schools in the U.S. The judge ruled that it wasn’t “cruel and unusual” to do this to a child.
However, the research is clear and has been for decades that hitting a child to improve conduct is counterproductive. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t do anything except harm their bodies and more worrisome, their brains. The damage done by corporal punishment and other abuses, such as emotionally neglecting a child or using humiliation and putdowns, have also been shown to fail. They don’t improve conduct, but they leave lasting scars on the brain.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that if you have a bullied brain from the past, your brain is adept at repairing and recovering in the present. It’s not an easy, quick fix, but considering the rampant bullying and abuse in our society, it’s important to understand how to restore your brain’s health.
People with bullied brains frequently think that their struggles are their own fault. But medical research and brain images provide extensive evidence that all forms of abuse — emotional, physical, sexual — correlate with failure to perform, substance abuse, aggressive behavior, self-harm, eating disorders, mental illness, and other adverse effects. Disordered conduct often results from disordered brains.
This isn’t to say that no one is responsible. That’s not the point. In fact, accountability is Step One to getting better.
But knowing that you can strengthen your neural networks, that you can oust brain networks that are destructive and replace them with healthier ones, is a gamechanger in tackling some of our most difficult social issues.
Neuroscientific evidence suggests that working towards brain health is a critical contribution to mental health and it’s something you can do independently or in conjunction with a mental health professional. The idea is to not constantly repeat thoughts or behaviors that limit you, but instead to overlay the traumatic pathways with new ones that better serve you. Norman Doidge, MD, discusses the following technique, adapted here, that was designed by a chronic pain specialist and changed the relentless pain loops in his brain into ones that no longer hurt.
The key components of a successful change in brain health require:
1. Duration. If you’re about to fall into a destructive pattern, you must immediately stop what you’re doing and give full and intense focus to rejecting that thought process and carving out a new one. The brain has “limited cortical real estate,” so the more you give energy to the healthy path or neural network, the less the old destructive habits rule you.
2. Intensity. Overlaying the traumatic pathways with new ones is hard mental work. It’s as challenging as maintaining focus during activities like mindfulness, yoga, and martial arts. It’s not a casual half-hearted act. You must go at changing neural networks like a warrior.
3. Multimodality. Try to draw on all your senses, all brain areas, all aspects of yourself to make the change lasting. When you want to succumb to a destructive habit, throw on a coat and go out the door into the elements. Feel the wind on your face, let the rain splash on you, hear the birds, see your fellow humans, activate your sense of the Earth beneath your feet. While on this journey, give heart and soul to the neural network change you seek to achieve.
4. Novelty. The brain loves new challenges and surprises, twists and turns, adventures and curious happenings. Feed your brain with novelty, don’t bore it by engaging in the same old habits. When you feel the impulse to do something destructive, turn on music and start dancing. Reach out to a friend, commit a kindness, drop to your knees and pray with gratitude. Anything that’s new and breaks the habitual negative pattern will support the process.
5. Personal relevance. There’s no plan to follow. This is about you. Your brain is as unique as your fingerprints, so you need to find your own path. Commit to trailblazing a new neural network that brings you joy, connection, health, and wellbeing.
Recognize the maps in your brain that are outdated. They might have protected you when you were a child, but they’re no longer needed. You can replace these neural maps with ones that no longer hurt you. The research is clear: how your brain operates, what it defaults to, and how it interacts with your mind and body is ultimately up to you and what you practice.
* * *
Written by By Jennifer Fraser
Jennifer Fraser is an award-winning educator, researcher and best-selling author. Her online courses and workshops provide dynamic lessons in the impact neuroscience has on personal development and culture change. Her previous book, Teaching Bullies: Zero Tolerance on the Court or in the Classroom (Motion Press, Aug. 8, 2015), explores what happens when the bully is a teacher or coach. Her new book, The Bullied Brain: Heal Your Scars and Restore Your Health (Prometheus Books, April 1, 2022), delves into how bullying affects the brain and how the brain can heal. Learn more at bulliedbrain.com.
