Bullying Behavior

Many of us have memories of bullies from our school years or have children who have been bullied. As adults, we are not immune to bullying behavior. Intimidating bosses or co-workers, a controlling romantic partner or nasty neighbors can be labeled as harassment of the bullying kind.

An imbalance of power can lead to psychological harassment and whether it takes place at school or in the workplace, it can be devastating.

  • Here are a few tips for understanding and dealing with bullies, no matter how old you are:
  • Don’t react. Bullies act out because they have serious insecurity issues. This means you aren’t doing anything wrong. Bullies are looking for people that are willing to submit to their power plays. Keep your cool and don’t take the bait.
  • Take a stand. If a bully keeps pushing, tell them specifically what behavior they are doing that is inappropriate.  Be confident and talk in a calm, respectful manner and stand up for yourself.
  • Defend their targets. When you see someone else being bullied, stand up for the target in the moment.

Don’t let a bully take over your headspace. Do your best to separate yourself from the bully without letting them get the best of you. You can’t change a bully, but you can stand your ground in a calm and assertive way.