Analysis Of Sharon Moalem's Essay Changing Our Genes

Bullying is a serious issue that can occur to various people of different age and background. It is considered a serious problem because of the long lasting health problems that comes with it. The many effects of bullying such as, depression and alcoholism can cause changes in our genes which can possibly be passed on to the future generations. In Sharon Moalem’s essay “Changing Our Genes: How Trauma, Bullying, and Royal Jelly Alter Our Genetic Destiny” he discussed about the effects of bullying on the victims and how it causes gene changes. It is important to know how to prevent bullying as the effects can influence a person mentally and genetically which can be passed on to future generations later on.
First and foremost, it is important

to know what exactly bullying is. There are many ways to define it, but it is mainly known as “a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort” (American Psychological Association).This kind of behavior can be performed both physically and verbally. Both forms of bullying will leave deep scars for the victims, but verbal bullying will leave deeper scars. The physical scar can heal with time, but the hurtful words will last for a long time and cause self-issues within the victim. In accordance to the American Psychological Association, bullies tend to have similar characteristics. They have the need to dominate other students to get their way, are easily angered and are aggressive towards adults. In opposites, victims of bullying tend to be sensitive, quiet and have low self-esteem. Bullies will normally target the weak people because they are easy targets and will most likely not stand up for themselves. For the bullies they may not feel any empathy towards their action or words, however, these actions will cause long lasting impact on the bullied ones, such as mental health problems.
According to Cari Nierenberg, a Live Science Contributor, “[…] studies have found a link between bullying and a higher risk of mental health problems during childhood, such as low self-esteem, poor school performance, depression and an increased risk for suicide.” (Live Science). These problems if not treated properly can follow up into adulthood. Mark Dombeck, who was a victim of bullying as a kid proves that these problem are still impacting his life today. He stated, “I'm 40 years old now it's been something like 30 years since that sort of thing last happened. Still, the experience has not left me, it sucked so much. I don't think about it much these days, but I know that having lived through those experiences has shaped me as an adult, and not for the better.”(American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress). Although it has been many years since he was bullied, it is important to note how big of an influence it has on him, as it still takes a toll on his life. These mental health problem will not only affect his life right now, but can be genetically passed on to his kids. These psychiatric conditions can be pass down to the next generation. Even if these conditions improve, the impact will still be left on the genes.
Many people know about the mental issues that bullying cause, but not many know about the relationship bullying has with genetics. Bullying cause changes in our genes. This fact is tested by a group of researchers when they analyzed the genes in twins, one twin was bullied and the other one was not. After many years of waiting, results showed that there was a significant change in the genes of the bullied twin. Even if we moved on from the bullying and sought therapy, our genes will not forget the traumatizing experience. “[…] bullying isn’t just risky in terms of self-harming tendencies for youth and adolescents; it actually changes how our genes work and how they shape our lives, and likely what we pass along to future generations” (Moalem 282). What this quote is implying is that the mental issues that bullying cause can be passed on to the future generations. The complication bullying brings in the victims life will cause complications in their child’s life as well. For example, bullying can lead to depression and it is very likely that the child of the bullied one will also experience depression. For those reasons, we should take serious actions to prevent bullying because it deeply impact our genes and health problems.
As previously mentioned, actions should be taken to prevent bullying because of the many negative impacts that come with it.

To know how to prevent bullying, it’s important to note when these actions first become visible. It can be seen that bullying occurs most often in schools, then at work places. It is known that many schools stress and make efforts to stop bullying because younger kids are more susceptible to bullying. They have more difficulty defending themselves. However, this is not always the case. For example, “[…] the Columbine school shooting tragedy - highlight the serious and sometime deadly consequences of bullying behavior” (American Physiological Association). The teens who were involved in the shootings were bullied and decided to take revenge which led to the killing and injures of many people. In order to prevent further problems related to bullying, it’s important to spread the word. It’s true that bullying is already commonly known, but the health effects to it and especially the genetic effects are not. Spreading these ideas around might just bring in light for many to take serious action because of the implications it has to not just the ones being bullied, but also to the future generations to come. Although bullying may never actually be gone, these acts to prevent it will help lower and limit the amount of

bullying.
In conclusion, it is important to take actions to stop bullying because of the long lasting affects it cause to a person’s mental health. These effects also cause changes to the victim’s genes and can be passed on to their kids. Lastly, it is important to know that every action we take will impact our genes and influence the future generations, so we should always think before we act and speak.