Original Link - http://www.natureworldnews.com/arti...es-better-future-heart-health-study-finds.htm
The above article really compelled me to share it with other Bluelighters who may be reading this, because, for me, this is something which seemed obvious for a long time, yet, I had no way of providing any sort of evidence to support my view on the matter.
As an adolescent/teenager, I grew up constantly bullied by others at school, and at home by at least two older male individuals who took out their own frustrations on me, as if I was a punching bag. And it severely affected my mental health in the long run, as I began to become isolated from society because I preferred it, and felt safer.
Whenever I did need to venture into a social situation (e.g. school, work, church, doctor's office, hospital, shopping, various appointments, and so forth), I found myself profoundly uncomfortable (usually sweating due to anxiety and nervousness), as if all eyes were on me and judging my body language, the clothes I wore, how I communicated, and much more.
To remedy this situation of constantly feeling like shit (physically, mentally, and emotionally), I eventually turned to using recreational drugs, which, I found were much more effective than the anti-psychotic and anti-depressant bullshit medications some greedy quack prescribed me in order to receive a royalty from the pharmaceutical company which manufactured the Rx drug in question.
I first started with nicotine (smoking tobacco) and alcoholic beverages, and eventually moved on to marijuana, ecstasy (MDMA), cocaine, meth, and the opioids including heroin.
As time passed, I also became fascinated with and began to study drug pharmacology, biology, and an introduction to organic chemistry. And as certain nuances of my life and the choices I made revealed themselves to me in greater clarity, it soon became obvious as to why I made so many life-altering decisions.
Without sounding like I'm asking for pity (because I really am not), or that I'm wallowing in self-pity (again, because I'm not), it's painfully clear to me that bullying greatly influenced my desire to constantly escape my sober pattern of thought, especially when in social situations. And I feel this article is reasonable proof that bullying can literally be the root cause of bad habits and chronic illness, which then may lead to a premature death not just for me, but every human being.
As such, I believe (and have always felt) that bullying should be considered a felonious crime, and that it should be punished severely - regardless of the age of the bully. This shit needs to stop before yet another gun-related school massacre tragically kills dozens of students somewhere in America (among other things). And if you, the reader has also been affected by bullying, I'm sincerely sorry, and I wish you nothing but the best in your future, and thank you for taking the time to read this.
Children who bully their peers have better health later in life due to increase in social status, a new study has found. Bullied children tend to suffer from long-term health problems, including chronic, systemic inflammation.
The study, conducted by researchers at Duke Medicine along with colleagues at University of Warwick, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Emory University, looked at both sides of the issue. They found that bullies have better health in the future due to an increase in social status.
Bullying victims not only suffer from emotional problems, as noted by several other studies, but might even develop chronic health diseases due to increase in inflammation, researchers found.
Data for the study came from Great Smoky Mountains Study, which had collected information from 1,420 individuals for more than 20 years.
Participants were interviewed throughout their childhood and adulthood. Blood samples of the children in the study were collected to look for specific biological compounds. The team measured levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a marker for inflammation and is associated with future heart health.
"CRP levels are affected by a variety of stressors, including poor nutrition, lack of sleep and infection, but we've found that they are also related to psychosocial factors," William E. Copeland, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine and the study's lead author, said in a news release. "By controlling for participants' pre-existing CRP levels, even before involvement in bullying, we get a clearer understanding of how bullying could change the trajectory of CRP levels.
The study included bullies, victims and people who were both bullies and victims. The team found that CRP levels increased across the three groups during adulthood. However, victims of bullies had higher levels of the marker when compared with the other two groups. What's more is that the CRP levels went up with each incident of bullying.
"Our study found that a child's role in bullying can serve as either a risk or a protective factor for low-grade inflammation," Copeland said. "Enhanced social status seems to have a biological advantage. However, there are ways children can experience social success aside from bullying others."
The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The above article really compelled me to share it with other Bluelighters who may be reading this, because, for me, this is something which seemed obvious for a long time, yet, I had no way of providing any sort of evidence to support my view on the matter.
As an adolescent/teenager, I grew up constantly bullied by others at school, and at home by at least two older male individuals who took out their own frustrations on me, as if I was a punching bag. And it severely affected my mental health in the long run, as I began to become isolated from society because I preferred it, and felt safer.
Whenever I did need to venture into a social situation (e.g. school, work, church, doctor's office, hospital, shopping, various appointments, and so forth), I found myself profoundly uncomfortable (usually sweating due to anxiety and nervousness), as if all eyes were on me and judging my body language, the clothes I wore, how I communicated, and much more.
To remedy this situation of constantly feeling like shit (physically, mentally, and emotionally), I eventually turned to using recreational drugs, which, I found were much more effective than the anti-psychotic and anti-depressant bullshit medications some greedy quack prescribed me in order to receive a royalty from the pharmaceutical company which manufactured the Rx drug in question.
I first started with nicotine (smoking tobacco) and alcoholic beverages, and eventually moved on to marijuana, ecstasy (MDMA), cocaine, meth, and the opioids including heroin.
As time passed, I also became fascinated with and began to study drug pharmacology, biology, and an introduction to organic chemistry. And as certain nuances of my life and the choices I made revealed themselves to me in greater clarity, it soon became obvious as to why I made so many life-altering decisions.
Without sounding like I'm asking for pity (because I really am not), or that I'm wallowing in self-pity (again, because I'm not), it's painfully clear to me that bullying greatly influenced my desire to constantly escape my sober pattern of thought, especially when in social situations. And I feel this article is reasonable proof that bullying can literally be the root cause of bad habits and chronic illness, which then may lead to a premature death not just for me, but every human being.
As such, I believe (and have always felt) that bullying should be considered a felonious crime, and that it should be punished severely - regardless of the age of the bully. This shit needs to stop before yet another gun-related school massacre tragically kills dozens of students somewhere in America (among other things). And if you, the reader has also been affected by bullying, I'm sincerely sorry, and I wish you nothing but the best in your future, and thank you for taking the time to read this.
