Coast to Coast AM - Oct 06 2013 - Psychology of Bullying

Date: 10-06-13
Host: George Noory
Guests: Lee McCormick, Dr. Peter Breggin

In the first half, psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin talked about the problem of bullying. He discussed a recent news report from Texas about a father who made his son carry an "I am a Bully" sign while standing on a street corner, after the boy was accused of bullying his schoolmates. Breggin suggested that the boy's father was a bully himself and was subjecting the boy to public humiliation to make him feel worthless, and this will probably lead to anger and rage for the boy. Bullies typically come from a position of feeling shamed, worthless, or powerless he said, and "the worst bullies...have been humiliated by their caregivers, usually the father or mother, and then almost trained to strike out at other people rather than the family."

Girls, especially in the middle school years, can be particularly abusive to other girls, with name-calling, spreading of horrible untrue stories, cyber-bullying, and making fun of appearances, he detailed. A lot of kids, scarred by bullying, end up turning to drugs as an escape, as well as suicide and suicidal thoughts. Adolescents are struggling with their identity, and to be subjected to bullying can be quite crushing, Breggin commented. Bullies need to be stopped, and "they need to be shown, usually by adult authorities, that they can't get away with what they're doing," he continued. "I think that one of the biggest issues we have in our culture is that we don't protect young people from bullying, and in doing that we enable bullies."

Awakening the Mind

Appearing during the third hour, author, rancher and innovator in mental health and addiction recovery programs, Lee McCormick, spoke about his documentary Dreaming Heaven, which explores shamanic experiences and spiritual awakenings. We can be in a greatly expanded state, aware of where we are in the here and now, but also cognizant of other realms, he said. We are part of a multidimensional existence, with layers of consciousness, and it's up to each individual to discover this within themselves, he noted. In the Toltec practice, the equivalent of meditation is what they refer to as 'dreaming,' in which people close their eyes and examine what is happening internally, and from this point their awareness can expand.

The last hour of the show featured Open Lines.

News segment guest: Ryan Mauro