How Hurtful Words Damage the Brain

RESEARCH ON WORDS: Do They Matter?

How Hurtful Words Damage the Brain

 

 

This research was conducted by R. Douglas Fields, Chief of the Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section at the National Institutes of Health, NICHD, in Bethesda, Maryland.  He is author of the popular book about glia The Other Brain published by Simon and Schuster. Dr. Fields is a developmental neurobiologist with a long-standing interest in brain development and plasticity, neuron-glia interactions, and the cellular mechanism of memory.

From his book, The New Brain, Oct. 30, 2010: he says,“Hurtful words inflict lasting physical effects on brain structure.”

In a study of 18-25 year olds without history of other prior abuses: "Verbal abuse from peers during middle school years had the greatest impact, because this is a sensitive period when these brain connections are developing and becoming insulated with myelin.”

“Verbal abuse from a child’s parents can cause far more than emotional harm.”

“In the developing brain of children, verbal abuse causes brain abnormalities in the corpus callosum.”  The corpus callosum is responsible for connecting the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

WORDS CAN CHANGE YOUR BRAIN

 This research is by Mark Waldman and Andrew Newberg, M.D. 2012 “A single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.”

Dr. Newberg states: “If I were to put you into an fMRI scanner…take a video of the neural changes happening in your brain-and flash the word ‘NO’ for less than one second, you’d see a sudden release of dozens of stress-producing hormones and neurotransmitters.  These chemicals immediately interrupt the normal functioning of your brain, impairing logic, reason, language processing, and communication. “

“In fact, just seeing a list of negative words for a few seconds will make a highly anxious or depressed person feel worse, and the more you ruminate on them, the more you can actually damage key structures that regulate your memory, feelings, and emotions. [1]”

[1]  Some assessments of the amygdala role in suprahypothalamic neuroendocrine regulation;  a minireview.  Talarovicova A, Krskova L, Kiss A. endocr Regul. 2007 Nov;41 (4): 155-62

 “If you vocalize your negativity, or even slightly frown when you say “no”, more stress chemicals will be released, not only in your brain, but in the listener’s brain as well. [2]  The listener will experience increased anxiety and irritability, thus undermining cooperation/teamwork and trust.”

[2]  Hariri AR, Tessitore A, Mattay VS, Fera F, Weinberger DR.. The amygdala response to emotional stimuli:  a comparison of faces and scenes.  Neuroimage. 2002 Sep;17(1):317-23

 “Negative thinking/pessimism is also self perpetuating, and the more you engage in negative dialogue-at home or at work- the more difficult it becomes to stop.”[3] But negative words, spoken with anger, do even more damage. They send alarm messages through the brain, interfering with the decision-making centers in the frontal lobe, and this increases a person’s propensity to act irrationally. 

HOW IS IT LINKED TO MUSIC:

Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle, Greek philosophers, understood the power within music for healing and ascension.  They also understood how music was our creative power and within it lay all the keys to the mysteries of the universe. Their philosophies have not been superseded to this day.  I present 3 key points that are very important to understand.

Pythagoras, in his “Doctrine of Ethos” (Anderson and Mathiesen 2001) The word ethos in this context means "moral character”.

Greek ethos theory concerns the ways in which music can convey, foster, and even generate ethical states.

What does this mean?

1.  Music shapes our morals and values…our personalities.

In Plato’s “Music of the Spheres”, he states: “There is a power in music akin to the power of words for influencing human thought and action, and that therefore, an artist, whether in music or words, is under obligation to exercise this power with due respect for its effect on others”.

2.  Words and music shape how we think and behave.  Both music and spoken word affect others; we need to understand our effect on others.

Aristotle in his “Doctrine of Imitation” states “Music directly imitates (represents) the passions or states of the soul: gentleness, anger, courage, temperance and their opposites and other qualities. Hence, when one listens to music that imitates certain passions, he becomes imbued with the same passion and if over a long time, he habitually listens to the kind of music that rouses ignoble passions, his whole character will be shaped to an ignoble form.”

3.  Listening to music with poor morals/values over time, will shape your personality, your whole character to poor morals/values.  Listening to music with high morals/values over time will shape your personality to high morals and values.

HOW IS IT LINKED TO OUR SPIRITUALITY:

All religions around the world have this is common:  they all talk about the power of the WORD as our creative force.  For example, from the Gospel of St. John in the Bible, it reads:

“In the beginning was the WORD,

and the WORD was God,

and with the WORD was God,

and the WORD is God.”

In the Hindu Vedas, it states:  “In the beginning was Brahman with who was the Word.  And the Word is Brahman.”

In ancient Tantra, the Qabala, and other mystical schools of thought place sincere importance on the power of sound. 

According to Tantra, all objects including non-material objects have their own innate sound, some of which are audible and some of which are beyond human sensory capacity.  In other words, all things in the universe are manifestations of energy, each with their own vibratory frequency.  The manifestation of matter is considered to be the third step in the process of creation, preceded by sound.

Many African legends from different tribes tell about the origin of the world through song.

In the Mayan text, Popol Vuh, the first humans were given life solely through the power of the word.

In Polynesia and the Far East, the gods and goddesses struck gongs or blew conch shells in order to create the world.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the god Thoth created the world by his voice alone.

The Hopi Indians tell the story of Spider Woman, who sang the Song of Creation over the inanimate forms on earth, bringing them all to life.

In Australian Aboriginal tradition, the sound of the didgeridoo was responsible for creating the world.

Our top scientists are now in agreement with this ancient knowledge.  Quantum physicist, Michio Kaku declares “Everything is music.”

 

IN SUMMARY:

So, regardless of religious affiliation or not, we are made in the same likeness as “GOD”, and the “WORD” or “SOUND” is our creative power.  This research is very important to our understanding of the power within ourselves to create our reality, and the power we have in affecting others reality. Positive words have been shown to have a favorable affect on our brains, and negative words have an adverse affect.  Our brains are the managers, or computers for our lives, helping us to understand life itself, and how to solve problems and move forward.  Our brain manages our whole body and all of its functions, affecting our health.  It is very important that we say positive things to ourselves, and about ourselves, as our brain processes the positive or negative thoughts and words, and neuroplasticity is happening all the time.  Equally important, are positive words about others so we empower them, rather than have a negative affect on their well-being.

Other than instrumental music, songs contain words.  The music has meaning, a story, and the words can either empower us, or disempower us, depending on whether they are positive or negative.  Like Aristotle said:  if we listen to immoral songs for a long period, they shape us to immoral values.  Pythagoras said: “Music shapes our personalities. “ 

What songs fill your brain?

To find out more about empowering music, music for healing and ascension, go to www.SacredScale.ca

To email the author:  Carla Rose Kelly, send to:  info@CarlaRoseKelly.com