Dealing With Bullies

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent, Eleanor Roosevelt.

What is Bullying? It is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual, Wikipedia.

Bullying has been linked to loneliness, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, suicide, and violence.

You may want to read our free e-book I was bullied!  for a gentle introduction to this important topic.

Some tips to deal with bullies are:

1. Try to ignore and avoid the bully as much as you can. If you can take a different route and avoid him or her, do so. If the bully can’t find you, he or she can’t bully you.

   

2. Don’t talk to them. Leave them alone. Don’t try to make friends with them. Talking to them will only draw attention to yourself, it will give them a chance to be mean or disrespectful towards you. If the bully doesn’t notice you, he or she won’t bully you. Bullies are not good friends anyway.

3. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself! Act confident, be assertive, and tell the bully to stop in a firm, confident way. Say things like, “I don’t like being called names, being punched or kicked, I want you to stop right now.”

4. Talk to someone you trust! Whatever you do, do not keep it to yourself. Do not put up with it, but ask for help and advice to tackle being bullied: friends, family, teachers, headmaster, etc.

5. Bullies are cowards, they are less likely to approach someone if you are with a friend. Hang out with other people. You are an easy target when you are alone and have no one to defend you or stand by your side.

Life is hard when you have no one to stick up for you. People push you around, purely because there’s no one to stop them from pushing you around, Edward Bloor, Crusader.

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.