gatekeeper bullying in the workplace

Gatekeeper Bullying: 10 Ways Bullies Act as Gatekeepers

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Want to know about gatekeeper bullying? Here are all the ways bullies act as gatekeepers.

gatekeeper bullying

Gatekeepers are those who allow only certain people in and keep others out.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn all about gatekeeper bullying so that you can recognize it when it happens to you.

Once you learn about this sneaky form of bullying, you will be able to find ways to skirt around the gatekeeper and protect yourself.

This post is all about gatekeeper bullying to give you the signs you need to recognize.

Gatekeeper Bullying

This kind of bullying occurs mainly in the workplace. However, it can happen anywhere, at school, in the neighborhood, or even in the family.

Before we get into this topic, let’s find out what gatekeeping is. Therefore, what is gatekeeping? It is the act of taking control over resources, time, materials, information and chance opportunities.

Again, gatekeeper bullying happens mostly in the workforce. However, it can happen anywhere. Gatekeepers can be individuals or groups. They’re the type of bullies who specialize in letting only certain people in and keep others out of the loop.

As a result, they limit the choices and opportunities of those they deem unworthy and give them all to others. Therefore, understand that gatekeeping is a form of bullying.

Why? Because it’s specifically designed to leave out people the gatekeeper either hates or doesn’t like.

Here are all the ways bullies act as gatekeepers.

Gatekeepers are passive bullies.

Why are they passive? Because they aren’t out there, actively doing things to make their victims’ lives hell. In fact, they don’t have to do anything at all.

The problem is not what they do, it’s what they don’t do. These bullies are passive because they take a more indirect approach. Therefore, they’re much harder to detect.

While other bullies are out there, actively doing bad things to ruin their targets’ lives, gatekeepers do their dirt on the sly.

This is what makes gatekeeper bullying so hard to prove.

The weapons this type of bully uses are their talents, resources, time, materials, and their access to information. Therefore, they have the power to either withhold those things or use them as leverage against you. Also, they have the power to control deadlines.

In doing these things to the people they can’t stand, they create undo stress for them. So, what tactics do these people use against you?

1. Gatekeeper Bullying:

They Withhold resources.

These resources could be money or material like paper and ink cartridges for the printer. ‘You see? Gatekeepers like to bully those who are bold, resourceful, innovative, and creative. And if you’re that type, look out!

Why? Because you threaten them. Therefore, these bullies will withhold resources just to slow you down. And when you ask them where the materials are? They’ll only sweetly reply that they either can’t find them or that they’re running low.

Therefore, they’ll make plausible excuses.

But see this for what it is and the goal behind it. They do this to sabotage you on the job. And it’s designed to make you look incompetent or that you just don’t give a crap.

Without the tools to do your job, you appear to be a bad employee. And, who’s going to believe you when you tell them that Sally didn’t give you the supplies you needed to do your assignment?

If nothing else, know this! These bullies have a vested interest in keeping you out of the loop.

2. Controlling Your Access to Accurate Information.

This person will control your ability to have the information you need to complete a task. They’ll do this by either completely withholding it or only giving you bits and pieces of it.

For instance, they might give you a five-step process to an assignment when the job requires ten steps to complete.

Also, if there’s a company meeting that starts at eight o’clock, the gatekeeper may tell you that the meeting starts at eight-fifteen.

They may even “accidentally” forget to tell you about a mandatory Zoom call. Gatekeepers may also discourage others from helping you out.

And you won’t think to question it because this person has probably worked with the company longer than you have. Therefore, you’re likely to trust them.

Even if you don’t, who’s going to believe you when you tell them that Kathy gave you the wrong information?

You must know the intentions behind it. And the gatekeeper’s objective is to make you look like you can’t do your job.

3. Gatekeeper Bullying:

Giving Unrealistic Deadlines.

For example, these types of bully bosses may give you deadlines that are impossible to reach. Moreover, they might pile so much work on you that you don’t have a chance in hell of getting it done in time.

And, are you likely to question the boss? Would you have the guts to tell him that there’s no way you can make that deadline or complete all that work in time?

And if you did, what do you think the boss would say? He’d likely hit you with a barrage of gaslighting.

Make no mistake! Your boss really doesn’t want you to make that due date. He wants you to fail. Why? Because it makes you look bad.

4. Controlling Opportunities.

This bully will block any chances of advancement. For instance, you may be up for a well-deserved promotion and get passed over. Instead, they may give it to someone who isn’t qualified.

In fact, they’ll give it to anyone who isn’t you. Why? Because if they gave it to you, they would have to admit that you’re damn good at your job.

And when you’re good at your job, you outshine them. Therefore, in order for the boss to look like he’s better than you, he has to make you look like crap.

5. Gatekeeper bullying:

Controlling Your Life-Chances.

These bullies might throw a monkey wrench in your life-chances. So, what are life chances?

According to EBSCO Research Starters, they “refer to the probabilities of opportunities to individuals in society, influencing their potential for success and upward mobility.

Gatekeepers love to control your life chances and keep you stuck. Why? Because it gives them a rush of power. Also, it keeps them on top.

So, how do they do it? They do it by giving a potential employer a bad reference when you leave the toxic workplace.

Therefore, how do you protect yourself from an undeserved bad reference? You do it by just putting in your resignation, fulfilling the conditions of your two-weeks notice, and getting the hell out of Dodge!

Also, if possible, you don’t put them down as a reference. I know this sounds dishonest. However, if you quit a workplace you were bullied in, it’s never a good idea to even let on to a new company that you ever worked for them.

Because workplace bullies will find ways to block you from future employment if they get the opportunity to do so. Therefore, it’s best not to give them that chance.

6. Destroying Your Chances of Success.

This is what their shenanigans are all about. To keep you from having any successes. Again, the bully’s entire mission is to set you up to fail.

They trip you up, then stand back and smile as they watch you fall on your face. And they pat themselves on the back for a job well-done.

They’ve contained the threat and now they can breathe easier and work in peace, knowing that their little corner is safe again.

7. Gatekeeper Bullying:

Excluding you from meetings, classes, and workplace social functions.

These bullies will also conveniently forget to tell you about any meetings or social gatherings. Moreover, they’ll make sure no one else tells you either.

Why? They do it simply to make you feel like you don’t belong there. Also, they do it to make success feel like it’s out of reach.

8. Adding more steps than needed to do your job.

Bullies may tell you that your job requires more steps than it really does. Understand that they do this to slow you down.

Why? Because you just might make that deadline and upstage them. Trust me when I say this. These people will pull out all the stops to keep you from finishing tasks.

9. They distract you from your work.

Workplace bullies deliberately distract you from your projects with constant interruptions, which are time-consuming. Why? Because they know that if they can stall you, they may cause you to miss a deadline.

Moreover, they may call your office phone with constant memos and reminders. But realize that it’s all a ploy to throw you off your game.

10. Gatekeeper Bullying:

Giving you meaningless or degrading assignments.

Bully bosses will often take you off you regular work assignments and give you degrading or subservient jobs. For instance, they may select you to clean the office bathrooms.

Also, they may designate you to make coffee runs for everyone else. Or he may give you the task of serving coffee to the rest of the team.

You might even be tasked with emptying all the trash.

However, see this for what it is. He’s doing it to degrade you. In other words, he’s demoting you, only without making it official.

In closing

If you recognize three or more of these signs and they occur repeatedly, it might be time to quietly begin looking for new employment.

You won’t to create an exit plan early in the game. Why? So that you can get out before the bullying has time to do any lasting damage to your mental health.

You must do what you can to protect yourself.

This post is all about gatekeeper bullying on the job so that you can recognize it when it happens to you, cut your losses, and quietly find new employment.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Gaslighting at Work: 5 Surefire Indicators to Watch Out For

2. What Not to Share at Work When You Suffer Workplace Bullying

3. Mobbing in the Workplace: How it Progresses, Step-by-Step

how to stop a bully at work

How to Stop a Bully: 9 Powerful Hacks You Can Use

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‘Want to know how to stop a bully? Here are the mind hacks you need to know about.

how to stop a bully

If you don’t learn the tricks to stop them in their tracks, bullies will continue to steamroll you until you have no self-esteem left.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn how to stop a bully by using clever mind hacks almost no one thinks about.

Once you learn all about these mental tips and tricks, you will be better able to more confidently counter bullies each time they attack.

This post is all about how to stop a bully so that you can spare your self-esteem and dignity from being raked over the coals.

How to Stop a Bully

To stop a bully from bullying you doesn’t only take physical strength. It takes a lot of mental power as well. Remember that bullies are mostly bluff.

To call their bluff, you must know what to expect and be ready for it. Therefore, before we get into the hacks, let’s first talk about the reactions you should expect from your bully and where it comes from.

7 Things That Happen When You Call a Bully’s Bluff

When you finally stand up to a bully and call out their abuse, these are the reactions you should expect.

1. They’ll try to avoid the subject.

They’ll change the subject to an irrelevant topic. Moreover, they’ll do it while appearing to be busy doing a task. Females are notorious for this trick.

2. They’ll become irate and go on a tirade.

They may even yell and curse at you. They may turn it back on you and accuse you of having paranoia. Moreover, they may call you mentally unstable, a crybaby, or any other label that discredits you.

However, realize that anyone who becomes this defensive only looks desperate and afraid. Know that this is just another dead giveaway.

Why? Because most bullies get highly defensive when they’re afraid they’re busted. They will get loud. They will scream, yell, and pound their fists, curse, and swear when they fear exposure.

However, don’t let this scare you because the dramatics and theatrics they display only mean that the bullies are desperate!

3. How to Stop a Bully:

They will lay guilt trips on you.

For instance, if a fake friend is stabbing you in the back and you call them out on it, you’re likely to hear the following.

“Well, if you were my friend, you wouldn’t believe XYZ”

“If you were a true friend to me, you wouldn’t even question my loyalty.”

Don’t buy that garbage. The person is just trying to make you feel guilty. Or they’re trying to intimidate you into silence.

If your so-called friend was the only person you told any secrets to, then you can bet that they’re guilty. Moreover, if enough people tell you that the person is saying things behind your back, they’re likely telling the truth.

4. They will escalate the harassment.

Bullies do this to either punish you or intimidate you and shut you down. Again, understand that the bully is afraid of being exposed and facing accountability.

Moreover, they fear losing face. So, your bully will stop at nothing to silence you.

5. They will justify themselves.

  • “If you didn’t always make trouble, I wouldn’t have had to hurt you!”
  • “If you weren’t so ditzy, I wouldn’t give you such a hard time!”
  • “You made me do it because you always do this when you should do that!”
  • “If you would just do this, I wouldn’t have to do that!”
  • “You won’t shut up, so you deserve it!”

Again, don’t believe a word of it! Continue calling them out. You must protect yourself by speaking just as loud and with just as much conviction as the bully.

Therefore, make plenty of noise because the wheel that squeaks loudest gets the grease!

6. How to Stop a Bully:

The bully will slander you.

Again, understand that this bully is afraid of being exposed. Therefore, they spread rumors and lies to discredit you.

Also, they do it to distract others from their appalling behavior by making you look bad. ‘You see?If the bully can make you look bad and turn everyone else against you, they reap several benefits.

  • The bully can intimidate you into silence and avoid any future risks of exposure.
  • They can discredit you.
  • The bully can make themselves look like the victim and gain sympathy from other people.
  • They can successfully cut you off from any support you might otherwise receive.
  • The bully gets the green light to bully you again later.
  • They get to move up the social ladder and win more friends and allies.
  • The bully gets the satisfaction of maintaining power, domination, and control over you.

Like the old quote goes, “Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty.”

Slander is designed to protect bullies from being exposed and shift blame onto you. People have used this tactic since the beginning of time!

So, don’t shut up no matter what! Continue to call out the bullies’ behavior!

7. They’ll stop talking to you and begin talking about you.

If you have a bully who’s a fake friend and you bust them, they’ll stop talking to you. However, once they quit talking to you, they’ll talk about you to justify themselves to others.

Here is what they’ll likely tell them.

  • “She’s unstable.”
  • “He’s just mad because I called him out!”
  • “She’s so fake.”
  • “She’s too sensitive.”
  • “She doesn’t want to admit when she’s wrong.”
  • “I was just trying to help them.”
  • “She’s just jealous of me because… ”

Again, this person is exposing themselves through their behavior. Therefore, see this as a giveaway and have no more to do with them.

How to Stop a Bully:

Here are all the hacks you can use.

1. See your bullies’ most vicious attacks as a sign of fear and desperation.

Have you ever wondered why bullies are so aggressive with you when they could care less about you? When someone doesn’t care a lick about you, they show no emotion, positive or negative. In other words, they’re indifferent.

However, when the bully is aggressive, it shows that they are bothered by something about you. It could be something you said, did, or conveyed. In fact, it may be your very presence that bothers the person.

Whatever the case may be, there’s something about you that’s motivating the attacks. However, realize this.

It’s not that they care one iota about you. What they do care about is the possibility of your taking your power back from them. The bully is also afraid of you becoming independent of their opinions of you.

Most bullies go into panic mode when you stand up to them. Moreover, they really lose it when you stand up to them confidently.

This is because your bullies are scared to death that they’re losing power over you. Any time you call a bully’s bluff, you automatically put them in the weaker position.

Bullies know this and it drives them batty!

2. How to Stop a Bully:

Maintain a healthy and positive sense of self.

Don’t lose sight of your worth. Find ways to maintain your confidence. And, how you do this is to know what motivates your bully to attack you.

Knowing why your bullies do what they do is the best way to preserve a healthy self-esteem when you’re under siege.

3. Refuse to accept your bullies’ definition of you.

And this goes no matter how powerful or influential they may seem. After all, they’re only people just like you.

To accept someone else’s definition of you, you must first discard your own. When you allow bullies to dictate your inner reality, you lose bits and pieces of yourself.

Also, little by little, you lose the awareness of your emotions each time you allow them to do it. Then, you eventually grow numb.

Many targets fall for the garbage bullies feed them because there’s more to countering the attacks than words or fists. It also takes mind power.

Therefore, never let anyone else define you. Stop caring what people think.

Bullies may think they know you and they may attempt to define who you are. But only you know the definition of who you are.

By trying to tell you who you are, your bullies attempt to force you to replace your definition of yourself with theirs. Moreover, they try to play God.

So, stop allowing your bullies fool you into thinking that they know you better than you know yourself.

4. How to Stop a Bully:

Stand up to bullies, even if you’re afraid to.

When a bully tries to tell you what you are, you can stand with confidence and say, “No, I’m not. You are.” Then, you can walk away with more pride in yourself because you stood up to them.

Moreover, if the bully challenges you to a fist fight, don’t back down. There’s nothing wrong with hitting back if someone strikes you first.

Even if someone doesn’t hit you and gets in your face, you must assume that they’re getting ready to physically attack you. In this situation, offense is the best defense.

Knock the ever-loving hell out of them.

5. Have a clear vision of your value as a human being.

Know beyond a shadow of a doubt who you are and that you’re a great person who doesn’t deserve shabby treatment.

This means having a crystal-clear understanding of who you are. Moreover, it means know what you will and will not put up with.

6. Keep company only with strong people who are positive influences in your life.

Only associate with people who consistently validate and affirm your positive qualities. Keep company with those who know the good you bring to this world.

On the other hand, refuse to have anything to do with those who are toxic. Any time someone makes you feel bad, walk away and stay away.

It’s okay to be selective in who you let into your life. This is how you protect your mental health from unsavory people.

7. How to Stop a Bully:

Hold onto your principles and convictions.

Hold onto your standards. Moreover, stand up for your beliefs, and convictions. Be true to yourself and follow your heart. And do it boldly and confidently.

Don’t be afraid to think critically. In short, have the courage to be different.

This is how you protect your mind from bullies. Your mind and your thoughts are free! Keep them that way!

8. Trust your gut.

Listen to your gut feeling because it will always tell you the truth. Therefore, if something doesn’t feel good, your gut will tell you.

Remember that the sensations of the body never lie. And when something feels off about a person, move away from them.

This is one of the ways you protect yourself from bullies.

9. Set and enforce your boundaries.

This goes back to number four. Set your boundaries. Then, enforce those boundaries if a bully ever crosses them.

If a bully verbally attacks you, don’t ignore it. Counter that attack with a good burn so that the bully thinks twice before messing with you again.

And if they physically attack you, haul off and knock them on their ass.

However, staying strong physically is only part of the battle. Maintaining a strong mind is the very foundation of self-defense and protection. Put them together and you’ll be able to stop a bully from ever bullying you again.

This post is all about how to stop a bully and all the ways to do it so that you can protect your self-esteem and live in peace.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. How to Stop a Bully from Bullying You: 7 Powerful Strategies

2. Raising Self-Esteem: 5 Easy Mind Hacks that Help

3. When You Stop Caring: 9 Positive Results You’ll See

the impacts of bullying at work

The Impacts of Bullying: 10 Negative Outcomes on Victims

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‘Want to know the impacts of bullying on your life? Here are all the negative outcomes you’ll face if you aren’t careful.

the impacts of bullying

It’s true that bullying undermines your confidence. However, the impacts go much deeper.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn the impacts of bullying that you probably haven’t thought about and other reasons it’s important that you protect yourself against bullies.

Once you learn all the deeper issues it causes, you will be more compelled to guard your mental health against bullies.

This post is all about the impacts of bullying and all the deeper issues it causes so that you can beware and be aware.

The Impacts of Bullying

Although bullying can crush your self-esteem and instill fear into you. The consequence go much deeper. It can actually rewire your brain, therefore brainwashing you in nefarious ways.

Here are all the other negative things bullying does to your mental health.

1. Bullying Conditions You to accept Bigger and More Severe Abuses.

Bullies start with subtle attacks. In fact, the assaults are so subtle that if you don’t watch out, you won’t even notice it. This is called gradualism and incrementalism.

In other words, bullies begin by taking teeny-weeny bites out of your self-esteem. It happens drop by drop. They take it up ever so slowly, step by itsy-bitsy step.

Again, they escalate their bullying so slowly and so tiny that it isn’t noticeable. However, you may feel that something is off when you interact with these people.

You may notice that something doesn’t feel too good but you can’t quite put a finger on it. It’s that subtle!

But here’s your first clue.

The Impacts of Bullying:

Your body will know if you pay attention to it.

When you meet your bullies for the first time, you will pick up some pretty creepy vibes from them. Moreover, you’ll feel it in the pit of your stomach.

You’ll sense something about these creeps that feels “off.” And sometimes, you’ll feel it before the first words are exchanged.

You’ll sense your bullies watching your every move. They’ll scope you out, studying you like a specimen.

You may look up from whatever you’re doing or turn around and happen to see them of the corner of your eye. These people will be eyeing you from a distance.

Then you,ll see them look at each other and smirk. And you’ll notice that eerie twinkle in their eyes. You might even see a micro-flash or two of contempt.

Don’t ignore this!

Understand that these bullies are sizing you up. In other words, they’re probing you to see how you respond.

If you respond the way they want you too, your bullies will start committing slightly bigger violations. Understand that bullies do this deliberately. They do it to soften you up by making the abuse virtually unrecognizable.

They will continue to take the abuse up little by little until it’s no longer unrecognizable.

By the time it’s recognizable, the abuse may be so severe that everyone around you sees it too. When you begin defending yourself, your bullies and everyone else will likely gaslight you.

Moreover, the bullying will be so out of control that the bullies can no longer help themselves. In fact, they won’t even try to hide it anymore.

At this point, why would they hide it?

Why put in the work to hide something you’ve gotten away with for so long? When there’s no incentive to stop, they can bully you out in the open. Right?

By the time the abuse becomes obvious, it’s usually too late. Why? Because everyone has grown accustomed to bullying you. In fact, they’ve gotten completely comfortable with it.

And once people have grown accustomed to harming you, it’s almost impossible to get them to leave you alone. And this goes no matter what you do to protect yourself.

Therefore, when you finally get fed up and begin asserting your boundaries, they’ll only ignore you and keep right on abusing you. Through their actions, they’ll implicitly communicate that they don’t give a damn about your feelings or your pain.

Your bullies and everyone else will only see you as their victim. And they’ll damn well make sure you to stay that way.

2. The Impacts of Bullying:

People grow comfortable bullying and abusing you.

 And why not? They’ve been getting a huge, psychological payoff from it. And hell will freeze over before they give up those benefits.

At this stage, your bullies will only respond with anger and resentment when you finally stand up to them. They will be like, “How DARE you! How dare you take away our fun!”

Therefore, bullies get offended when someone they deem inferior finally grows a spine. And they’ll do everything they can to break it! All to keep getting their sick, sadistic jollies!

Again, the conditioning starts small. You must know how to recognize bullying when it first begins. Why? Because, the longer it goes on, the bigger the abuses get.

Moreover, the harder it is for you to defend yourself and put a stop to it.

Again, to recognize bullying in the early stages, you must listen to your body. Why? Because your body will feel it. You’ll sense it in the vibes bullies put out. So, pay attention!

3. It Diminishes Your Ability to Trust Yourself.

Why? Because bullies constantly attack your judgement, decisions, and feelings. Moreover, bystanders may also negate and condemn them.

Therefore, when people bully you, they teach you that, you have no right to be angry or sad because you deserve the abuse. And bullies are experts at blaming you for the bullying you suffer.

The impacts of bullying run much deeper than you realize.

4. The Impacts of bullying:

It forces you to take blame for the abuse.

You may be conditioned by bullies and bystanders. Moreover, people in authority, friends, and family may also condition you.

They may demand that you suck it up and negate your own painful feelings. In that, they’ll train you to deny that they’re abusing you.

Your bullies and their minions will train you to believe that other people’s vile behavior is your fault. Also, they’ll try to make you believe that something is wrong with you.

They’ll make statements, such as, “If you weren’t such a troublemaker, people wouldn’t mess with you all the time!” Your bullies will also snooker you into thinking that everything that goes wrong is because of you.

In short, your bullies will claim that their abuse is somehow justified.

5. You withdraw from people.

As a result, you may withdraw. Why? Because you’ll fear attracting bullies and bullying behavior from the people around you.

Bullies will make you believe:

  • That you take things wrong.
  • You’re too sensitive.
  • That you had it coming.
  • That there’s something wrong with the way you are.
  • There’s something wrong with the way you express yourself.
  • There’s something wrong with the way you come across to people.

6. The Impacts of Bullying:

You stop believing in yourself.

In short, you stop believing in yourself. Even worse, you lose trust in yourself.  You begin doubting your abilities, and capabilities. And once this happens, you become a perfect victim for more bullies.

Bullying doesn’t only attack your physical body, but also your psyche and emotional well-being. It breaks your spirit and your very soul. Therefore, the impacts of it can be devastating!

Being a target of bullying is a hell that no one who hasn’t been there can possibly comprehend. When you’re bullied, you’re in the fight of your life.

Moreover, you fight for your life!

Fighting for your life can mean fighting for your personal power and dignity. It can mean fighting to keep your confidence and self-esteem. Also, it can mean making sure the abuse doesn’t affect your performance at school or work.

You’re fighting to make sure that it doesn’t negatively impact your ability to make smart decisions and life-choices. And you’re fighting to maintain your health and your sanity. Ultimately, you’re fighting to keep the abuse from effecting your entire future.

Why? Because you know that if you allow them to break you, you give them power over your life. You may not end up dead, but you won’t really live. You’ll only exist.

7. Bullying Negatively Affects Your School or Work Performance.

Bullying puts you in survival mode. This can have a devastating effect on grades and performance.

Anytime you are a victim of bullying, bullies forcibly put you on constant alert for an attack. It’s as if you have a target on your back and you must grow eyes in the back of your head.

You become hyper-vigilant. This only breeds anxiety and leads to exhaustion. Not only is your body tire,  but also your mind.

When you need to focus on survival, safety takes priority over school lessons and work performance. How can one concentrate when they’re constantly bombarded with threats, taunts, name-calling, and physical violence?

How can a person work or learn effectively when they’re stuck in fight-or-flight mode? It’s almost impossible!

When you’re in survival mode over a long period of time, the overabundance of cortisol will cause your memory to atrophy. Moreover, it will effect your emotional regulation and ability to maintain positive relationships.

Therefore, should it be any wonder that the majority of victims of bullying have such poor school grades and work performance?

8. The impacts of Bullying:

It causes learned helplessness.

After people have berated you for so long, you begin to believe it yourself. And because it shows up in your every day performance, you simply stop trying altogether.

In conclusion, bullying can impact ALL areas of your life.

9. It Stunts Your Social Development.

Although social intelligence won’t necessarily keep you from becoming a target of bullying, it will most certainly lessen your chances of it.

Social intelligence always has and always will supersede book-smarts. It will get you much further than college degrees, awards, and credentials alone.

It’s the reason high school dropouts have become millionaires. It is also why many college graduates have ended up flipping burgers at McDonald’s.

Social intelligence is THE most important quality you can have. It’s the highest paid skill and most important asset in the entire universe.

Luckily, Social Intelligence can be taught!

In the past, people thought that social intelligence was the one skill that could never be taught. They believed that you were either born with it, or you weren’t. And if you weren’t, it was something that you had to accept.

Thankfully, we now know differently.

Sadly, if you’re a target of bullying, the abuse you suffer can batter your self-esteem into oblivion. As a result, you withdraw from the rest of the world.

When you’ve been bullied for so long, you come to believe that you’re inferior to everyone else. You’re afraid to talk, afraid to mix and mingle, afraid of any social situations.

10. The impacts of bullying:

You creative a fantasy world to live in.

In other words, you retreat into yourself and live inside your own head. You create a fantasy world, where you feel safe, wanted, and loved.

In other words, you create a world of imaginary people who accept you.

As a result, you shut out the “real world” and live in this fantasy world- this safe haven you’ve created. However, this is not good because, when this happens, you stop watching people and the world around you.

Also, you stop learning the social graces and nuances that you need to know in order to nurture relationships. And, before you know it, you become socially awkward.

You become too quiet, shy, and reserved. Moreover, you look through people instead of at them.

Instead of smiling and saying hello, you pass others by without saying a word to them.

Also, you become sullen and spaced out instead of upbeat and engaging. You feel numb instead of the emotions you should feel at different times.

In Closing:

This is why it’s important that you make a conscious effort to save your self-esteem. How you do it is to keep your heart open.

Therefore, meet new people and make friends outside the bullying environment. Create positive interactions and experiences away from your bullies or anyone else who knows you from the toxic place.

Do what you must do to keep your self-esteem intact and continue to grow your social intelligence.

No matter what happens, stay strong. Hold on as much of your confidence as possible. And most of all, know that none of the bullying you suffer has anything to do with you.

 Let me assure you. There are people out there who care. Keep the faith, keep believing in yourself, and stand strong!

This post is all about the impacts of bullying so that you know what to watch for and begin taking care of your self-esteem.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Psychological Effects of Gaslighting: 11 Ways it Impacts Victims

2. Bullying and Self Confidence: 7 Steps to Keeping Your Confidence Up When People Bully You

what bullies hate most about you

What Bullies Hate Most: 9 Things Bullies Despise

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‘Want to know what bullies hate most? Here are all the things bullies despise so that you’ll have something to feel good about and use against them.

what bullies hate most

There are things bullies absolutely despise and if you know how to use it against them, you’ll make yourself less a victim.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn all about what bullies hate most so that you can use it to protect yourself.

Once you learn about these game-changing details, you will be a force to be reckoned with the next time your bullies come for you.

This post will tell you exactly what bullies hate most so that you can use it to your advantage and be less of a target to them.

What Bullies Hate Most

Let’s get right into it! Here are all the things bullies hate most.

1. Constructive Criticism

Bullies don’t take constructive criticism very well. They only take it as a personal attack. Remember that bullies are highly egocentric.

They must always be right about everything. Moreover, if they can’t be right, they’ll make it look as if they are. This is how bullies hide beneath a veneer of total perfection.

But why do they do this? For several reasons.

  • They do it to make themselves look better than they really are.
  • The facade of perfection fools people and attracts followers and admirers.
  • Perfection also protects bullies from accountability and shields them from reproach.
  • Bullies can use their so-called perfection as a weapon against their victims.
  • It gives them status and social capital.
  • It gives them the attention.

Understand that when you give bullies any criticism, constructive or otherwise, they see it as an insult to their intelligence. Moreover, it shatters their fake facade.

Again, bullies hate being told they’re wrong about anytime. Therefore, if you want to expose them, tell them they’re wrong. Then, stand back and watch the fireworks!

2. What Bullies Hate Most:

You Countering Their Attacks

It’s because any time you counter a bully, you restore the balance of power. In other words, you take back your personal power, the very thing your bullies are trying to take from you.

You’ll throw them into panic mode. Why? Because, if they lose power over you, they  lose power over everyone and everything.

Moreover, when someone loses power, they lose face. Also, they lose respect. And when they lose respect, they lose credibility, allies, and support.

Then, they will become the bullied. ‘You see? Bullies have an obsessive fear of going from being the hunters to being hunted.

And why not? You aren’t the only person they’ve bullied. There were many others before you. Bullies know that most average people hate people like them. Also, they know that most others are just itching to see them get what’s coming to them.

Everyone loves to see a bully get brought down. And once a bully is brought down, no one will ever allow them to get back up again.

You become a threat to your bullies’ power.

This is why your bullies will pull out all the stops to keep you under their control. If they can’t control you, they control nothing.

Most people are still under the presumption that targets are weak. Therefore, if your bullies can no longer dominate you, others will notice.

And, chances are, the bullies will be at everyone else’s mercy.

In other words, bystanders will look at them and think, “Wow! If they can’t handle a wimp like her then he really couldn’t handle me! This is a juicy opportunity! I can punk this creep out so easily!”

Your bullies then become the new men on the bottom. Gasp!

Why? Because if you can’t overpower the weakest person in the bunch, then you become the new weakest person! Ouch! Talk about a humbling situation!

3. What Bullies Hate Most:

People Who Prefer to be Themselves

Bullies are fake. They have to be to instill fear in those around them. Therefore, they resent anyone who’s comfortable in their own skin. Here’s why.

1. Most bullies are highly insecure

In fact, they’re more insecure than others. When you prefer to be yourself, you’re naturally more charming, seductive, and graceful.

You captivate others without trying. Because of your openness and fluidity, you draw others to you like a magnet.

Bullies are jealous of anyone who enjoys good relations with others.

Not only are bullies insecure, they’re also vain. When you’re authentic, you outshine them without even trying. In fact, your presence, alone, makes your bullies appear less alluring to others.

Therefore, avoid these bullies like the plague. Why? Because they will find a way to destroy you if you stay around them.

They’ll only force you to suppress your natural charm and goodness. And they’ll do it to keep you from looking like you’re better than them.

2. What Bullies Hate Most:

When you chose to be yourself, you don’t have to make any effort to put on a show.

Everything you say and do comes natural. On the other hand, being fake requires a lot of work. There are also a lot of worries that go with it.

 As mentioned earlier, bullies are fake. Therefore, they fear they might slip up and expose themselves somehow. Then, their personalities just might seep through.

Here’s another reason bullies hate you for being yourself. They resent the fact that you don’t have to work and worry like they do.

But no matter what these idiots may throw at you, never be afraid to be yourself. Never hide anything about you.

Why? Because you’ll only lose a bit of yourself each time you put on an act until you lose yourself entirely.

To be fake, you have to work too hard. So, be lazy!

3. What Bullies Hate Most:

Targets They Can’t Manipulate

It’s the oldest and most used tactic in the book! If they can’t manipulate you, they’ll will hate you. My classmates were no different.

Moreover, bullies will always come back at you with the “mentally imbalanced” label. And they do this to discredit you and control how others see you.

 But see this for what it is. It’s a desperate attempt to get you back under their control. Bullies also do this when they can’t find anything else to pin on you.

It only goes to show that they see you as a threat and they’re both desperate and afraid. When you refuse to be manipulated, it sends several messages to your bullies. And these messages threaten their sense of superiority.

  1. It tells them that you see through their smokescreens.
  2. It tells them that you’re not afraid to tell them to go kick rocks.
  3. It tells them the opposite of what they think of you- that you’re strong and intelligent, not weak and clueless.
  4. It puts them in their place.
  5. It tells them that they can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.
  6. It lets them know that you don’t give a crap about what they say or think about you.
  7. It tells them you could care less about impressing them.
  8. It tells them they don’t matter to you and that you don’t value their insults or do you accept their definitions of you.

Understand that bullies have an over-inflated sense of their own importance. Therefore, they feel entitled. Your bullies despise being told no and they loathe anyone who will not be controlled.

If they can’t manipulate you, they’ll manipulate your relationships, and the way others look at you.

5. Your Confidence

Bullies despise any confidence you have. Why? Because when you’re confident, you believe in yourself. Therefore, you don’t let others define who you are.

Confidence is your first line of defense against bullying. It naturally buffers your self-esteem for personal attacks.

Therefore, you’re more likely to tell your bullies where to stick it when they try to mess with you. And that’s a huge threat to their power.

They may try to push you around one time. But it will be the only time they do it.

It pays to love yourself even when it seems others don’t.

6. What Bullies Hate Most:

Being Called Out

They really hate it when you call them out in public!

Any time you call your bullies out on their bullshit, you expose them in front of any bystanders. Moreover, you do it right to their faces.

Understand that bullies have big egos. And when you call them out, you deflate their egos like popping a balloon!

Also, if there are any witnesses present, you humiliate them. You make them look like weak little punks! And others will notice it and they’ll laugh at them.

They may not laugh right then but once they get off somewhere away from the bullies, they’ll laugh about it behind their backs. And bullies instinctively know this because they’d do the same if they saw it happen to someone else.

7. Being Proven Wrong

For example, you’ve entered a contest and your bullies tell you that you’re going to lose. You ignore them and continue your plans to be in the competition. And you end up winning!

Therefore, you showed them up! Bullies despise it when you prove them wrong. Why? Because you force them to back peddle.

Bullies hate it when you feed them a plate of crow. Therefore, don’t be surprised if they try to get back at you for it.

8. What Bullies Hate Most:

Being Exposed.

Bullies despise it when someone rips their masks off. Especially if that person is you! Understand that they have an image to keep up.

And if you poke holes in their image, look out!

9. Being Stood Up To

This goes back to number two. Again, when you stand up to your bullies, you automatically restore the balance of power.

In that, you put your bullies in a weak position. Therefore, expect them to retaliate against you. Realize that bullies will do anything to restore their sense of superiority.

So, be prepared to dig in your heels until your bullies give up and go find another victim.

This post is all about what bullies hate most so that you can use it to defend yourself against them.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Jealousy and Bullying: 7 Proven Signs Your Bullies are Jealous

2. Standing Up to Bullies: 7 Ways Bullies React When You Stop Taking Their Crap

3. Your First Line of Defense Against Bullying

4. Loving Yourself in an Environment that Hates You

nosy bullies at school

Nosy Bullies: 11 Reasons Bullies Pry into Your Private Business

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‘Want to know all about nosy bullies? Here are all the reasons bullies keep their noses stuck in your business.

nosy bullies

When you’re a victim of bullying, your bullies will watch you closely, clocking every move you make. Bullies love to stick their big noses into your business. For people who hate the very air you breathe, they seem awful interested in the details of your life.

Have you ever wondered why?

In this post, you will learn all about nosy bullies and why they pry into your business so that you will gather the courage to tell these snoops to mind their own damn business.

Once you learn all about these important facts, you will be able to better defend yourself against these types of bullies and preserve your privacy.

This post is all about nosy bullies to give you a peek into their minds and use the information to protect your precious privacy.

Nosy Bullies

If you’re a victim of bullying, you’ve probably wondered why your bullies can’t keep their big, fat noses out of your personal life.

You have the nosy classmate who’s never short of personal and intimate questions about your private life. Maybe, you’re having problems with the  workplace gossip who never shuts up and always seems to know your business before you do.

Or, you know the spying neighbor across the street who forever peers through her window to spy on the neighbors outside.

Whoever they are, they’re bullying the crap out of you. Moreover, these kinds of bullies can be a real hemorrhoid when you want to be left alone and live your life in peace.

Here are all the reasons your bullies can’t stop spying on you. Moreover, they’re the same reasons your bullies ask you such personal questions.

1. Your bullies want to get information they can use against you later.

Most nosy people are, in fact, gossips, busybodies and buttinskies.

A nosy bully may ask you how much you get paid every week.  I know. The nerve! Right? However, you must know why they ask you this question.

They’re trying to gauge whether they should feel jealous of you or better than you. For instance, if your income is low, than they can feel better than you and use the information to ridicule you.

If your income is high, they’ll be jealous of you and talk smack about you just to bring you down a few notches.

Therefore, if someone asks you such personal questions, politely tell them that they’re getting too personal. Let them know in no uncertain terms that you don’t share such private information with anyone.

Then walk away and never have anything to do with this person.

2. Nosy Bullies:

They personally want to see you mess up.

Bullies will watch you closely, waiting with bated breath, for you to screw up somehow. Moreover, they’ll listen in on your conversations, hoping you’ll say the wrong things.

We all make blunders every now and them. You will too, eventually. And your bullies will be right there to pick it up and use your gaffe against you.

Realize that bullies love to see you goof because it gives them the ammo they need to ridicule you with.

3. To see who you associate with.

If you’re a victim of bullying, your bullies will want to know who you associate with. Why? Because they want to know who to turn against you.

Think about it. A salesperson must know who his target audience is. It’s the same with bullies. They need to know who to target with their smear campaigns against you.

4. For gossip.

Gossip is purely judgmental and includes hasty generalizations about your character and private life. The purpose of gossip is to control your status by demoting you on the social hierarchy.

Another purpose is to justify bullying you by convincing others that you don’t deserve respect.

Also, it tightens group connections. And it gives higher status to the people who are privy to the negative information. Moreover, it sets expectations in the group as to how they should treat you.

Through gossip, the group establishes, maintains, or changes social infrastructures. Gossip promotes unity and shared enmity. With the use of it, the group will foster justification for hostility.

Therefore, it gives bullies a way to feel better about abusing you. Why? Because they can say that you deserve it and that they were reacting to “an evil enemy.”

Your bullies may tell others to keep it secret. However, they also ask others to inform them of any new information and updates about you.

Realize that gossip provides bullies reaffirmations that they’re right about you.

5. Nosy Bullies:

They want to find your weaknesses.

You can’t find your enemy’s vulnerabilities unless you get information on them. Therefore, this is another reason your bullies ask personal questions and watch you closely.

Once they find your weak spots, they can easily weaponize them.

6. For future blackmail (leverage).

If your bullies want to make you do something you don’t want to do, they can use anything negative information they find.

For instance, you’re a successful businessman who has to travel frequently. During one of your out of town trips, you cheated on your wife a few years ago.

She still doesn’t know about it. However, your bullies catch wind of it. Later, they decide they want to make you do something that’s against the best interests of you and your business.

Therefore, they threaten to tell your wife all about it if you don’t do what they want you to do.

7. To humiliate you.

Your bullies will ask you some of the most embarrassing questions.

  • “Have you started your period yet?”
  • “Are you a virgin?”
  • “How is your boyfriend in bed?”

The audacity of them will leave you scratching your head because you just can’t believe that anyone would have the chutzpah. Especially if you were raised to mind your own business

Moreover, these kinds of questions will make you cringe! They might even upset you. You may tell them to get a life or just storm off without saying anything to them.

However, the best way to handle these people is to  laugh, make fun of and humiliate them. And enjoy it.

I guarantee you that if you handle it like this, your bullies will never do it again!

8. Nosy Bullies:

For revenge.

Bullies often want to get back at you because they feel you slighted them somehow in the past. Therefore, they’ll dig for any dirt they can find about you.

And, once they find it, they will spread it around just to teach you a lesson.

9. To sow discord between you and others.

Nosy bullies love sowing discord among other people. They just can’t seem to get enough drama. In fact, they thrive on it.

These individuals always have their ear cocked, listening in on your conversations with others. They listen specifically for anything you might say about someone else.

Why? So they can go back to the person you’re talking about and tell them what you’re saying about them.

In fact, what you say may be innocent enough. You may be legitimately concerned about Kathy’s health and may be talking to mutual friends of you both. And these friends may be equally concerned.

However, once your bullies overhear all of you talking, they’ll go back to Kathy and tell her only the parts that suit them. In other words, they’ll twist the story to make it look like you and the rest of her friends have evil intentions behind it.

And before you know it, all hell breaks loose.

Bullies get a kick out of watching others tear each other down. The more they stir shit, the more it stinks. And the more it stinks, the better they smell.

Therefore, the next time someone tries to turn you against a friend, ask yourself who the division would benefit most. You, your friend or the instigator?

Also., you can ask the same question if someone tries to turn a friend against you.

10. Nosy Bullies:

For cheap thrills.

Bullies may ask you personal questions because they know that you don’t know any better. This often happens to victims who are on the Autism spectrum.

Evil creeps ask them embarrassing questions because anyone with ASD likely doesn’t realize they’re humiliating. Therefore, when they answer innocently, the bullies get to watch the person unknowing humiliate themself.

The bullies then get their fun out of it, laughing and ridiculing the person.

11. Just to have power over you.

Make no mistake! Any time, a nosy person searches for intimate details about your life, the end goal is power and control!

In other words, their having a constant nose stuck in your private business can be a form of attempted control.

Why? Because they can’t seem to control their own lives. Therefore, they wish to control yours. And they do it for nothing more than to cause an annoyance or embarrassment.

Even in the adult world, you’re going to have people who have more nerve than a bad tooth. In other words, there will be those who will pry into your business and openly ask you embarrassing questions.

Therefore, you might as well prepare for it now. Why? Because these kids of creeps are everywhere!

How can nosy bullies be so brazen with their questions?

When these idiots ask you such personal questions, they may shock the living crap out of you. After all, you’re the type who knows that asking such questions is shameful.

Here’s why some people have no shame in their intrusiveness.

Most of them are raised in nosy families.

In other words, many of these people had parents who were the same way. They had mothers and grandmothers who would tell them to watch others and report back to them.

I know this because, years ago, I had a next door neighbor who was the same way. We all nicknamed her, “Mrs. I-Spy.”

This woman would sit on her front porch and watch who came in and out of the other neighbors’ houses. She would even have her ten-year-old granddaughter watch everyone, then report back to her.

Therefore, nosiness is generational and tends to run in families.

How do nosy bullies get you to talk?

They Air their dirty laundry to get you to air yours.

Beware the big mouth who airs their dirty laundry.

If you’re a target of bullying, another type of person you should be aware of is the big mouth. These people give you their own personal details, hoping that you’ll give them some of yours.

However, be forewarned! If they tell their private business, they’ll tell yours too.

Here are the red flag topics they talk about.

  •  Their messy home life.
  • A philandering husband.
  • Their lazy wife who keeps a nasty house.
  • Unruly and disrespectful kids they might have.
  • Getting toilet-hugging drunk at a bar.
  • Intimate details about their sex life (Yikes!).
  • Details about their bodily functions (Yuck! Gross! Barf!).

Again, if they will trumpet embarrassing details about their own lives, you can bet dollars to doughnuts they’ll talk about yours. Therefore, keep your private business to yourself!

Any personal details about themselves that make you want to “call Ralph,” should especially make you want to run for your life!

Therefore, avoid these people at all costs. Not only will they embarrass the crap out of you, but they’ll dig for information about you that’s equally humiliating.

In Closing

Those who are nosy are usually toxic people.

Be aware that your bullies may not be so blatant with their personal questions. Many may be subtle and you might mistake it for curiosity instead of nosiness.

Nevertheless, realize that anybody who openly asks you such personal questions about your life has no respect for you. Therefore, politely end the conversation, and excuse yourself.

In fact, you should wave these morons away like that pesky little fly that keeps buzzing around your face.

And you don’t have to get angry with them. Just shake your head and pity them. Because it’s those types who really need to get a life.

Or, if you’re a smart-ass like I am, take the opportunity to have a little fun with them. Just catch it, throw it back at them and shame them with it. And why not? They asked for it.

This post was all about nosy bullies, their shameful questions, and why they ask them so that you know what to look for and how to respond.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Curiosity vs Nosiness: 3 Must-Know Differences to Learn

2. Signs of a Smear Campaign: 3 Indicators of Relational Bullying

3. 25 Signs of a Toxic Person

bullying survival mode

Bullying Survival Mode: 5 Things Victims of Bullying Do Wrong

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‘Want to know about bullying survival and how victims in survival mode can make poor decisions if they aren’t careful? Here are all the mistakes to avoid.

bullying survival

When you’re stuck in survival mode, it negatively effects your judgment and your ability to make decisions.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn about the bullying survival mode effect and how it effects your life.

Once you learn all about this important information, you will be able to make better, more sound choices and avoid the pitfalls that bullying and survival mode can trap you in.

This post is all about the bullying survival mode effect so that you can recognize the signs of it and do what you must do to avoid it.

Bullying survival mode

It’s not enough just to survive bullying. You must overcome it. Why? Because it can have a terrible effect on your life.

Here are all the things you can do wrong if you aren’t careful.

1. You find it necessary to lie.

I’ve never told one lie in my entire life, and that’s no lie! Ha! Shyeah, right!

Let’s face it, we’ve all told some big ones in our lives, myself included. And yes, even you have. No one is perfect and there are many reasons why people lie- too many to list.

However, victims of bullying lie for totally different reasons than most. Most victims of bullying don’t like having to tell falsehoods. In fact, they hate it!

But they do out of fear and terror. Victims of bullying lie because they feel they must just to survive. ‘You see? A person under the threat of being harmed will do anything to remove that threat. And if they have to lie to save themselves, they’ll do it.

Lying becomes a way to survive.

Many targets of bullying must tell lie after lie just to survive! Why? Because they know that the truth could get them hurt.

Also, victims of bullying lie because they think it will make the bullying stop. Sadly, lying becomes a survival method. Even worse, it grows into a terrible habit that’s hard to break.

I must confess that during the years I was bullied, I felt I had to lie to ensure my personal safety. And it sucked!

As a result, many of my relationships suffered. After years of suffering bullying, I became a very sneaky and wily person. In other words, I used cunning and craftiness to get through school.

I felt I had to use trickery and con games just to survive each school day. And I’m not proud of it.

Bullying Survival Mode:

If you feel you must lie to someone, that person has power over you.

If there’s one thing you should remember, it’s this. The people you you must lie to have power over you. They control your life. In other words, by lying, you make yourself a subject to others.

Here’s another thing you should remember.

People can tell when they’re being played. And lies have a way of unraveling. Falsehoods are also hard to maintain. And you must tell another lie to cover up the first one. In other words, it’s a lot of work to keep up a lie.

If this describes you, you must ask yourself these questions.

  • “Who are these people that I should have to lie?”
  • “Why must I work so hard to hide stuff instead of being myself and being free?”
  • “Who do I have anything to hide from?”
  • “Why should I give up my power to people who have no business having it?”

Isn’t time you got sick of all the bullshit? Isn’t it time you just said, “Screw it?”

Lying is Stressful!

Lying is too much work and it’s stressful too. And I’m just too lazy to do it.

Moreover, I’m glad I have the confidence to be honest without feeling a need to apologize for it. I know that I have nothing to hide from anyone. And that means I have nothing to lie about.

If others can’t handle my reality, then screw them! They don’t pay my bills, nor do they sign my paychecks. They have no bearing on my life whatsoever.

And even if they did, I still wouldn’t feel the need to lie to them about anything.

Being myself and standing in my truth allow me to relax and live in peace and harmony. I don’t have to scramble to cover up any lies. This is the life I love and want to continue to live.

Bullying Survival Mode:

Why Bullies Lie

Bullies and abusers are notorious liars. And they do it without even a shred of conscience. Bullies lie for reasons of vanity. Also, they lie to insulate themselves from accountability.

However, the scary thing about it is that they’re good at lying. In fact, their talent for telling such convincing falsehoods is what makes them so dangerous.

And why not, bullies and abusers have been telling fibs all their lives.

They’ve had years of practice. In fact, they’ve been doing it for so long that they’ve gotten down to a fine art. In short, bullies have become masters at deception!

Bullies don’t only lie to cover their butts and conceal wrongdoings, imperfections, and shortcomings. They also do it to discredit their victims, defame others, and destroy people’s reputations.

2. Bullying Survival Mode:

You Bully Other Victims

Bullying hurts. It’s not the physical beatings in the locker room nor having your books knocked out of your arms. It’s not the name-calling nor the threats. Nor is it the cruel jokes or pranks in the company break room.

It’s the cumulative sum of all factors

It leaves you feeling you’ve lost all control over your life. It seems you no longer have any say in what happens to you. It’s the feeling of having power over nothing!

In an attempt to snatch back control over something, you soon begin to bully those who are even more vulnerable than you are.

Through your own victimization, you learn that, to keep from feeling powerless, you must bully too. Therefore, in bullying you, bullies unwittingly teach you how to bully.

Victims who also bully others are called bully-victims. In other words, they’re people who are both bullies and victims of other bullies.

Fighting to stay off the bottom.

So, you bully other victims to feel better about yourself. Also, you do it to ascend a few rungs up the social ladder.

Nobody wants to be on the bottom. Everybody wants to be better than somebody. It’s a sad part of human nature.

Just as people fight like hell to stay on top, others fight just as hard to stay off the bottom. Why? Because shit rolls downhill and lands at the bottom.

Person A at the top bullies Person B, who is second from the top.
Person B then bullies Person C, and so on.

And down the pecking order, the nastiness rolls until it lands on Person Z at the bottom. Then, everyone bullies Person Z because they’re defenseless!

The last person doesn’t bully because they’re the one with the least power of all the others. In fact, anyone on the bottom is going to catch hell because they’re powerless.

Moreover, that person will likely be kept on the bottom because no one wants that position. Therefore, everyone keeps Z down to ensure that none of them ever take their place.
That’s how it works!

Bullying Survival Mode:

You bully to stay off the bottom.

As long as someone else is on the bottom, it keeps you and everyone else safe from being there. It’s why bully-victims get bullied by pure bullies, then go on to select their own victims to degrade and humiliate.

However, most of the time, this doesn’t turn out good. Why? Because sometimes, bully-victims become worse off then pure bullies or pure victims.

Pure bullies are people who don’t get bullied by other people. On the other hand, bully-victims are both bullies and victims of bullying by other bullies.

Moreover, they bully far more than pure bullies do because they have more to prove. Bully-victims are far more hated and ostracized than pure bullies or pure victims.

Therefore, they’re lonelier and have few friends or none at all.

3. You resort to trickery.

If you’re a pure victim or bully-victim, you often resort to trickery and deceit. Many bully-victims are pathological liars, cheats, fakes, and sneaks. They believe that humans are the lowest forms of life on earth. Bully-victims tend to be Machiavellian.

However, understand that these people need help. They need someone to get it through their heads that just because people are bullying them doesn’t make it okay to turn around and bully someone else.

So, tell them lovingly and with patience. Why? Because they’re hurting inside and they need someone to listen to them.

They need gentle guidance in the right direction.

4. Bullying Survival Mode:

Making poor choices just to be accepted.

Sadly, targets of bullying often make poor life choices. Years ago, I made some really bad decisions.

At the time, I didn’t really know why. However, today, there is no doubt in my mind that the reason I allowed myself to get into smoking marijuana and having sex during high school was that I was lonely from being bullied.

You see? When you’ve been bullied for so many years, you’ll do anything to be accepted. After so long, the loneliness, the despair, and the sadness becomes too much to bear. Then, desperation begins to creep in.

The bad choices you make include promiscuity and joining gangs. You may also get into drinking, drugs, and hard partying.

Moreover, you may participate in crime and commit high-risk behaviors, such as drag-racing and daredevil stunts.

Moreover you will sometimes do these things just to feel like you belong.

5. Dating Down.

You may also may begin “dating down”. You’ll settle for a partner you don’t really love. Or, you pick one who’s abusive.

Why? Because you need proof that you’re desirable. Moreover, you want to prove to everyone else that you can find a partner just like they can.

Bullied girls may also deliberately become pregnant because they want so badly to have someone (the baby) to love them.

If you are a target of bullying, I can’t emphasize enough that you don’t have to do these things to feel loved. There are better options.

And if the bullying is unbearable, find a way to get out of the environment and go somewhere you can be safe.

Instead of making unwise choices, practice your talents, and do the things you enjoy. Spend time with the people who DO love you.

Give a little of yourself to help others every day and I promise you, it will pay off sooner or later.

Know that there will come a day when you attract genuine friends into your life. Believe it with every fiber of your being!

This post is all about Bullying Survival and what not to do When you’re being bullied so that you don’t risk making your life worse.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. School Choice: Why it’s a Godsend for Bullied Kids!

2. Effects of Bullying on the Victim: 13 Symptoms of Bullied People

Learning to Love Yourself: 11 Reasons Self-Love is Most Important

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‘Want to know the importance of learning to love yourself? Here are all the reasons why self-love is most important.

learning to love yourself

When you are a target of bullying, loving yourself can be very difficult when it seems that the only thing you hear from others is negativity. Constantly being bombarded with ugly names, cruel taunts, and attacks over a long period of time can have a devastating cumulative effect on your self-esteem.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn the importance of learning to love yourself and how it can drastically improve your life.

Once you know this life-changing information, you will look for the good in yourself. And you won’t pay so much attention to what your bullies tell you.

This post is all about learning to love yourself so that you can begin to turn your life around and live happier and in peace.

Learning to Love Yourself

Your self-esteem can take a beating from all the bullying you suffer. And if you aren’t careful, you too will soon believe the cruel falsehoods others tell you.

However, no matter how viciously others may treat you, you must do everything possible to hold on to self-love! Even if you have to look at yourself in the mirror every day and make positive affirmations.

  • “I AM an awesome person.”
  • “I AM beautiful.”
  • “I AM worthy of being loved.”

Also, you must maintain your self-esteem. Never let anyone brainwash you into thinking that you are less than.

You Must Love Yourself Before Anyone Else Can.

You must love and respect yourself before anyone else can love and respect you. And you must take care of yourself.

Moreover, you must command respect and love from others, including a few toxic family members you love dearly. And you must be willing to make some tough decisions to receive that love and respect.

Sometimes, you have to walk away, knowing that there is always a chance that the person may never see your worth. And this means coming to a place where you no longer care even the slightest about the outcome.

However, there is a strong chance that your value will go up in that person’s eyes. And they will eventually see your worth and treat you better than you ever thought possible.

It may not happen overnight. In fact, it may take up to several years, but it can happen.

Learning to Love Yourself:

But what if the person never changes their behavior?

If, by chance, they don’t change their behavior, realize that you did all you could do. Understand that you didn’t turn your back on the person because you didn’t love them.

You walked away because they didn’t love you enough to treat you with the love and respect you deserve. Therefore, you must love yourself, or nobody will love you.

Never look outside of yourself for love and validation. And don’t depend on them to validate you. Let love come from within your heart!

When you suffer bullying, loving yourself won’t be easy.

When people target you for bullying, loving yourself can be difficult. How can you feel good about yourself when it seems that the only thing you hear from others is negativity?

Having people constantly bombard you with ugly names, cruel taunts and attacks, even for a short time, makes life harder than what it needs to be. Nevertheless, no matter how viciously others may treat you, it’s imperative that you do everything possible to hold on to self-love!

11 Reasons Self-Love is Most Important

1. You’re more likely to attract the right people into your life.

When you learn to love yourself, you attract better people into your life. Instead of attracting users and abusers, you draw healthier people with morals and ethics.

Therefore, if you don’t love yourself, who will? And how can you love anyone else if you don’t first love yourself?

When you don’t love yourself, others can tell. They see it in your demeanor, your face, and your posture. Moreover, they can hear it in your tone of voice and the way you talk.

Why do you think you attract users and abusers? And why do you think you end up with only people who mistreat and control you?

2. Learning to Love Yourself:

You’re able to love others the way they need to be loved.

If you don’t show yourself some love, you’ll never be able to properly love anyone else. Instead, you’ll be codependent. You’ll always search outside of yourself for love instead of allowing love to flow from within.

Moreover, when you finally find someone who loves you, you won’t love them the way they need to be loved. Instead, you’ll only smother them to death because you’ll always need to be right on top of them.

If you’re in a relationship, you’ll be suspicious of others. You’ll wonder if your partner’s going to leave you or if they’re cheating.

Also, you’ll wonder if your friends really like you or if they’re only pretending to. As a result, you’ll end up making a new partner or friend pay for something someone else did in the past.

And that’s not fair to them or to you. Being in constant worry and suspicion is no way to live!

On the other hand, if you do love yourself, you won’t suspect anyone. Why? Because you won’t need to worry about anyone doing anything behind your back. You’ll trust people and they’ll appreciate you for it.

3. You’re Not afraid to be alone.

In other words, you won’t rely too much on others to feel loved and wanted. And you won’t feel that you must always be one half of a couple to be happy.

Instead, you’ll be happy single or in a relationship.

4. Learning to Love Yourself:

You allow relationships to progress naturally.

Put simpler, you won’t want to move too quickly into any relationship. Instead, you’ll take your time and you won’t force it

Why? Because you know that moving too quickly is death to any relationship. And you’ll likely love your partner before they’ve had time to earn that love.

Therefore, you won’t do anything that might scare the other person away. You’ll realize that love needs time to grow.

5. You keep your personal Power

Instead of giving away your power, you hold on to it. In other words, you won’t put yourself at the mercy of someone else nor let them take advantage of you.

You’ll set healthy boundaries and put your needs and priorities first. Why? Because you know that you can’t pour from an empty cup. In other words, you realize that if you don’t take care of yourself first, you’ll have nothing to give to anyone else.

Therefore, you’ll keep your boundaries firmly in place.

Also, you’ll allow yourself the freedom to make your own decisions, rather than let someone else choose for you. And the best part is that people will likely respect you for it.

6. Learning to Love Yourself:

You don’t feel the need to control other people.

You can never control how another person acts nor how they feel about you. Moreover, you understand this and you’re okay with it.

Therefore, if your partner gets tired of you and decides they no longer want to be with you, you won’t force them to stay. Though it will be painful, it won’t completely devastate you.

Why? Because you’ll realize that a break-up isn’t the end of the world. Moreover, you’ll know that if they came into your life, someone else will too.

So, you’ll let the chips fall where they may.

7. You let love and friendship find you instead of searching for it.

Therefore, you won’t exhaust yourself searching for friends and lovers. Instead of spending your whole life searching for love and friendship, you’ll relax and let them come to you.

 As a result, you’ll save your precious energy and won’t be so off-putting to others. Moreover, you won’t waste your time, hopping from relationship to relationship.

And, who knows, you just might be happier by yourself. So, again, if you do have a partner and they get bored with you and leave, you won’t feel you need to search for someone else to take their place.

Most importantly, you’re least likely to have a long string of broken relationships behind you.

8. Learning to Love Yourself:

You’re selective of your friends and lovers.

If you settle for less, you’ll get even less than what you settled for. You realize this, so you won’t settle for less than what you want.

If a friend or partner comes along, you’re willing to give them a chance. However, if that person isn’t the person you thought they were, you quickly move on to something better.

Therefore, you aren’t afraid to be selective of the company you keep.

9. Instead of attracting takers, you attract givers.

Because of this, you don’t mind giving back in return. Therefore, you enjoy happier and healthier relationships.

Again, you’re selective of your lovers, friends and associates. Why? Because you realize that some people are more than happy to be around you just to get something from you.

Moreover, human predators will know that you aren’t one to mess with. So, they’ll avoid you and move onto some poor sucker who doesn’t respect themselves.

10. You take responsibility for your own happiness.

Instead of replying on someone else to make you happy, you allow happiness to come from within. How? By creating happy moments for yourself.

You spend quality time with family and friends. Maybe you do things you enjoy the most. However you do it, you take charge of your own happiness.

You never put your happiness in the hands of someone else. And that’s a part of learning to love yourself

11. Learning to Love Yourself:

You have no time for toxic people.

Therefore, you won’t put up with shabby treatment even if it means you must be alone for a spell. Therefore, you aren’t afraid to give toxic people the old heave-ho!

Again, you’re selective of the people in your life. So, it’s likely that you won’t end up with someone who will only abuse you. Moreover, you won’t accept anyone who’s too lazy to work and expects you to keep their worthless ass up.

Instead, you show them the door, fast!

In Closing:

If you are a target of bullying, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of learning to love yourself! You don’t have to sacrifice yourself for love and acceptance. It isn’t necessary.

You have better options. You just don’t know it yet.

Therefore, learn to love yourself. Practice your talents and gifts. Do the things you enjoy most. And spend time with the people who love you.

Most importantly, give a little of yourself to help others without expecting anything in return. And I promise you. It will pay off sooner or later.

Be selective of the people you allow in your life. And know that there will come a day when you attract genuine friends into your life.

This post is all about the importance of learning to love yourself so that you can give yourself the compassion you deserve and take charge of your life.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Benefits of Self-Love: 13 Reasons to Love Yourself No Matter What

2. Make New Friends: 11 Easy Ways to Attract Buddies

3. Loving Yourself in an Environment that Hates You

how to regain your power over your life

How to Regain Your Power: 9 Ways to Empower Yourself

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‘Want to know how to regain your power? Here are 9 ways to empower yourself that you need to know about.

how to regain your power

Everyone wants to have power. In fact, it’s human nature to seek power. Because to be completely powerless is the perfect description of hell.

However, bullies can strip you of your personal power. And if you no longer have your personal power, you are powerless.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn how to regain your personal power so that you can take back control of your life.

Once you learn all about this important information, you will be a powerful force in your own life. You will get back your freedom and your autonomy. Then you will be able to live your life as you see fit.

This post is all about how to regain your power so that you can overcome bullying and live your life on your terms.

How to Regain Your Power

Everyone wants power, if only a little of it. And sadly, bullies have ways of taking away your power.

Consequently, when a person is totally powerless, they live their life on autopilot. Figuratively, they’re only a leaf being blown around in the wind. They’re a sailboat without a sail- being blown on whatever course life dictates for them.

And it’s a terrible way to live. Without power, you don’t live. You only exist!

Really stop and think about it for a moment. To have power over nothing! Can you imagine it? It’s hard to, isn’t it? It’s the worst thing that could happen to you!

Real Power

Most people do not have to hurt others to achieve power. They feel powerful through their accomplishments. In other words, they get their power from being able to control their own lives, not someone else’s.

People who aren’t bullies get their sense of power through having success in their jobs. Moreover, they feel powerful from having successful home lives. They may have a loving family and a happy home.

Therefore, they take great pride in their families.

Their power may also come from their talents, their finances, and their physical health. This is why people start their own businesses or do strenuous workouts every day. It’s also why they aren’t afraid to display their talents and gifts.

For instance, a husband and father gets his sense of power from his ability to provide for and take care of his wife and children. A writer gets her sense of power through her writing and the ability to achieve readership.

A comedian gets his sense of power from doing stand-up comedy and his ability to make people laugh. And a singer gets her sense of power from her ability to entertain people with her beautiful voice.

An athlete gets his sense of power through competing in and winning at a sport. Also, students get their sense of power through making exceptional grades and through their diplomas and degrees.

But what do all these people have in common? It’s that they can all achieve their power without stepping on others.

Therefore, understand that getting power doesn’t always require hurting others. And there are no winners and losers. There’s equality, cooperation, and mutual respect. This kind of power is known as personal power.

And personal power is real power!

How to Regain Your Power:

Personal Power

In her book, “The Abusive Relationship,” Patricia Evans puts power in two categories- personal power and power over.

Personal power is power over your life’s trajectory. It’s the power to direct your own path- to choose your own wants.

It’s having the autonomy to make choices and decisions for yourself, and to do your own thing. There’s no need to harm another person because you already direct your own life-movie.

Having personal power puts you in the driver’s seat of your life. Therefore, you are the one who chooses your destination and which route you want to take to get there.

You are the captain of your own ship. The winds may change and blow you off course. However, with personal power, you have a rudder to steer your ship back on course.

You may have to take detours and you may have to take the long way to your destination. But you know where you’re going, and you eventually get there.

There are two types of power.

Power Over

Sadly, bullies cannot achieve personal power. Why? Because most bullies are incompetent fools who have no real intelligence. They only know how to act intelligent and fool others.

Moreover, they also have no sense of responsibility. They have no talent and no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

The only way bullies can achieve power is to inflict harm on others. The only way they can achieve satisfaction in their jobs, families, or finances is by steamrolling people.

Bullies are so inept they can’t even survive in this world without hurting others. This kind of power is called power over.

Power over is lording it over another person through force, coercion, and trickery. It violates boundaries.

Power over shows no respect or regard. Moreover, it seeks to oppress and block you from all the good things in life- love, peace, success, happiness- freedom.

In power over there is a winner (the bully) and a loser (the victim). It is a zero-sum game. Always!Power over is against personal power and it only takes it away.

If you’re a victim of bullying, it’s important that you begin taking steps to take back your personal power. Only then will you be free. And you’ll finally begin living instead of existing.

How to Regain Your Power:

Bullies use Power Over.

What do we mean when we mention, “personal power?” Simple. We mean the ability to influence the events that happen in our lives.

When bullies target you for bullying, they find ways of stripping you of your personal power. Most do this bit by tiny bit.

In other words, they gradually escalate the attacks until they leave you utterly powerless. However, there are simple methods you can use to reclaim your personal power and feel more in control of your circumstances.

9 Ways to Empower Yourself

1. Have a strong set of beliefs and principles.

When you have a strong set of beliefs and principles, you’re least likely to fall for any lies and name-calling your bullies bombard you with. Therefore, you’re least likely to allow them to influence how you see yourself.

Moreover, you won’t make decisions and choices based on their approval. Instead, you will do what you know is best for you and what makes you feel most alive.

3. Be okay with who you are.

Realize that you are perfect just the way God made you. However, know that it’s okay if you want to improve yourself. There’s nothing wrong with becoming a better version of yourself because there’s always room for improvement.

And this goes for everyone. The problem comes when you allow others’ opinions of you to change the way you view yourself.

Never put yourself down because bullies and others are putting you down. No matter what they say or how they act toward you, don’t lose sight of your worth.

Continue to value yourself and refrain from thinking that you should be like someone else. You are you. Be okay with it. Practice self-acceptance and self-love while you improve.

3. How to Regain Your Power:

Follow your goals and dreams.

What is your passion? What are the things you love to do the most? Whatever they are, follow them and do the things you absolutely love to do.

Do what makes you feel alive! Not only will you feel more in control of your life, but you won’t have time to worry about what anyone thinks of you.

Additionally, you’ll be so busy working on your goals and pursuing your dreams that they won’t even be an afterthought. And you’ll be much happier!

But be prepared for others to resist your positive change.

Get ready for bullies to notice the positive change in you and put up some resistance to it. How will they do this?  They’ll intensify their attacks.

They’ll ridicule the positive changes you make. Also, they’ll bring up your past.

However, realize that they will do these things because the new you will threaten their power. Moreover, the new happier and more confident you will be something that your bullies won’t be used to seeing.

And it will throw them off balance. But don’t allow the fear of it to stop you. Keep working on you and doing what you love. I guarantee that it will pay off later.

Understand that your bullies have grown comfortable in seeing you depressed, miserable, and beaten down. Moreover, when you begin this positive change, you take your bullies out of their comfort zones.

And most people love their comfort zones and will fight like the devil to stay in them.

4. How to Regain Your Power:

Replace negative self-talk with that which is positive.

In other words, stop beating yourself up. Realize that your bullies and abusers have conned you into believing that you aren’t good enough. But you are good enough and that you’re just as worthy as the next Joe Schmo.

Instead of saying to yourself, “I’ll never be good enough,” say, “I AM good enough now and I’m only going to get better.”

5. Walk away from toxic people.

Toxic people only want to bring you down and keep you there. These people are bullies and abusers. However, they can also be fakes who pose as your friends.

Therefore, know that anyone who even subtly insults you doesn’t deserve one micro-second of your time. You’d much rather be alone than with fake friends who throw zingers and backhanded compliments at you.

You’ll be much happier without them. So,be patient and better friends will come along. I promise you!

6. Get healthy.

When you’re healthy, you’re happy. Get outside and get some sunlight.  Don’t forget to exercise. I promise you that you’ll feel so much better! Also, you’ll have more of your power.

Taking these steps may feel strange at first. Trying new things always does. However, with time, it will become like second nature and you will feel so much better about yourself.

You’ll feel stronger, more confident and freer! Now that is power!

Moreover, you’ll be surprised at how quickly your life will improve!

7. How to Regain Your Power:

Expose the bullies by reporting them to a manager or a school staff member.

Understand that bullies and their followers may call you a snitch. However, when it comes to your personal safety, you’re not being a snitch.

You’re only trying to protect yourself by getting the teacher or supervisor involved. This may or may not work. However, it’s always wise to report the bully if you cannot take care of it on your own.

Maybe you’re a small 5′ 4″, 110 pound female being bullied at work by a 6′ 4″, 225 pound gargantuan male. In cases like these, report it to a supervisor or manager and even police, if need be.

8. Turn your pain into power.

What do I mean by this?

You can take any abuse you suffer and use it for the benefit of others. That’s a success! And it’s the best poke in the eye and slap in the face to your bullies and abusers.

I say this because I get plenty of push-back from a few of my old pals from way back when. Think about this. If you speak your truth and your former abusers lash back, it’s because they know they’re guilty.

If they weren’t guilty, they wouldn’t care so much. Also, If your voice wasn’t so powerful and you weren’t telling the truth, your bullies wouldn’t push back so hard.

The reason why you’ve probably gotten a few nasty or threatening messages is that your former abusers know you’re telling the truth. And they’re scared to death that you’ll expose them.

How to Regain Your Power:

Also, here’s another interesting point you probably haven’t thought of.

Your bullies are probably angry that they failed to accomplish their objective. And that objective was to destroy your life.

In other words, they expected you to drown. They just knew you’d crash and burn, and you didn’t!

Therefore, that’s a huge disappointment to them. It’s a blow to their overinflated egos! And now, they’re coming back to try and finish the job.

Therefore, you should welcome their resentment. Why? Because it only shows that they’re desperate.

This should only inspire you to double down on spreading awareness of bullying. And it should encourage you to keep reaching out to other victims with your message.

Moreover, it should compel you to speak to them about why people bully. And you want to call out the tactics and mindsets of bullies and expose them.

And lastly, your bullies’ behavior should make you want to warn victims of the effects of bullying. You must show other victims what to look for. In short, they only light a fire under you.

Another way you can turn your pain into power is to stop calling yourself a victim and refer to yourself as a target instead.

9. Be successful!

Success is the best revenge against bullies. Therefore, work on your goals and pursue your dreams. Go after the life you want!

Then watch your bullies lose their minds as you achieve success after success!

This post was all about how to regain your power so that you can overcome bullying and take control of your life.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Bullying and Power: 2 Categories of Power

2. Target vs Victim: 5 Reasons Your Choice of Words Matters

3. Why People Bully: 11 Benefits Bullies Reap at Your Expense

physical bullies at school

Physical Bullies: 9 Secrets You Should Know

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‘Want to know secrets of physical bullies. Here are all the secrets they hide so you can use them to your advantage.

physical bullies

They may appear tough. However, physical bullies are the weakest ones of all.

In this post you will learn all the secrets physical bullies don’t want you to know so that you can use them to your advantage.

Once you learn all about these important details, you will feel better about yourself just knowing that you don’t have to result to physical means to get through life.

This post is all about physical bullies and their weaknesses so that you can use them as weapons to protect yourself.

Physical Bullies

The weakest person always uses physical violence. However, the strongest person always uses their brain. It’s also true that the weakest person talks the most and the loudest, but the strongest person gets his message across in few words.

Through experience, I’ve found that these bullies were taught at home that violence is the answer to all their problems. Most of my classmates had the same brutish mentality.

Therefore, if you didn’t give them what they wanted, they resorted to using their fists to force you to comply. Also, they used physical violence any time they felt you weren’t giving them the respect they thought they deserved.

Additionally, bullies like these may even use physical violence to take their frustrations out on you. Whenever they’re in a bad mood, they hold you responsible for it. It’s pathetic really.

But they would never tell you these things!

Here are the secrets they hope you never find out.

1. Physical Bullies are highly insecure with themselves.

Physical violence is weakness. Why? Because people only submit because they don’t the bully to beat them up.

True persuasion is having someone do something for you because they want to do it. Therefore, when people have a choice and they choose to do something you want, it’s so much more rewarding.

Understand that physical bullies see everything as zero-sum. In other words, they feel they either have total control, or none at all. And there’s no in-between.

If they can’t have complete influence, they feel powerless.

2. Physical Bullies:

They compare themselves with others.

Physically violent bullies often compare themselves with others. They see themselves as less effective at persuasion than others.

Therefore, they feel that they’re not as good at getting others to cooperate. And they feel that they should always be in command of circumstances and situations.

In their intense anger and rage, these bullies look at you. And through use of force and violence, these bullies shift the blame. They shift it from their own sense of powerlessness to something you must have done.

They see you as their enemy or their adversary. Therefore, they feel that they must punish and destroy you.

Therefore, their knee-jerk reactions are triggered with a self-demeaning or self-defeating thought and feeling of indignation. And this trigger happens somewhere between your statement or action and their blow-up.

3. They care what you and everyone else thinks of them.

Consequently, the bully has an afterthought that compels them to physically attack you. The afterthought can be something like:

  • “He thinks I’m a wuss.”
  • “He thinks I’m chicken.”
  • “She thinks I’m weak.”
  • “I’m not getting through to this jerk.”
  • “He doesn’t respect me.”
  • “I need to show this person she cannot ignore me and just walk away.”

This is all the result of the bully’s feeling hurt. Therefore, they cover this hurt feeling behind a veneer of anger and toughness.

Moreover, physically violent bullies believe that being calm and cool is a sign of weakness. They feel the same about walking away from confrontation.

 They also think that ignoring an aggressor is a sign of disrespect. However, understand that these bullies place high value on their status and social image.

Therefore, when they feel that you’ve slighted them, they make you responsible for their feelings of indignation.

4. Physical bullies must use violence to keep their power.

In other words, they think they’re entitled to put their hands on you. Why? Because they think that you wronged them somehow. Therefore, you should be punished.

Also, physically violent bullies impose rules of engagement on you that they, themselves, don’t follow. Bullies think they’re exempt from any rules.

Again, physical bullies have a sense of entitlement. They believe that you should respect them at all times. According to your bullies, you should know what they want from you.

In fact, your bullies expect you to do what they tell you to do and never say no to them. Moreover, you should only tell them what they want to hear.

In short, your bullies expect you to satisfy their every whim, even if it means sacrificing yourself for them.

5. They see themselves as the victim and you as the aggressor who must be punished.

In their minds, they’re thinking the following thoughts.

  • “You caused me distress!”
  • “You made me mad, so I must make you pay dearly for it!”
  • “How dare you defy me!”
  • “That loser is not giving me the respect they owe me.”

By reversing the roles and making you the aggressor, physical bullies can blunt the pains of their frustrations and disappointments. Why? Because anger and rage are less unpleasant than hopelessness.

Physical violence may Seem like strength. But, is it?

Physical bullies may look strong and mighty. They may seem tough when they’re whipping and beating up on you, However, they’re really weak.

In fact, they’re the weakest of all other types of bullies. And it’s because they can’t have power any other way. The only way they can get it is to use physical force.

Outside of their use of fear and bodily harm, these bullies are totally ineffective. They have no gift of gab, charm nor seductive powers.

In other words, they aren’t able to persuade people to do what they want.

Physically violent bullies constantly apply evil intentions to you. Therefore, they feel consistent urges to make you pay for being such a pain.

Remember that your bullies are under the delusion that you’re persecuting them when, in fact, it’s the opposite. However, realize that blaming you helps them soothe their self-image.

Fisticuffs give physical bullies psychological rewards.

When physically violent bullies attacks you and beats you down, they get instant psychological rewards. As a result, they relieve their anger and get a sense of power.

Finally, they get to feel a sense of satisfaction and justice.

Moreover, your bullies get to deal with you up close. They get to look into your eyes to see your pain. Also, they want to hear you cry out or scream in pain.

They also get the satisfaction from the possibility of getting you good and bloody. For them, that’s icing on the cake.

Realize that these people are sick individuals. They derive pleasure from inflicting cuts, bruises, and broken bones.

6. These types of Bullies Feel Powerless. they’re are No Different Than Rapists

For example, the reason why most rapists rape isn’t only about power over another. Put bluntly, it’s because they couldn’t get sex any other way.

Maybe they have no game. In other words, they have a hard time seducing a woman to go to bed with them. It could be that they don’t know how to flirt with or court a woman effectively.

Moreover, maybe they’re creepy or unattractive and women find them repulsive. Either way, they’re a turn off to potential partners.

Most rapists are ineffective and powerless with women under normal circumstances. So, the only way they can get sexual gratification is to use force and violence- rape!

7. Physical Bullies Feel Vulnerable during conflicts.

It comes down to the  views of not just others, but of themselves. The reason these bullies use physical force and violence is because they feel vulnerable in conflicts.

Therefore, they go to the only problem-solving technique they know. Physical violence is the only way they can punish their targets and restore their self-esteem.

Here’s another way to look at it. Anytime anyone has to physically threaten you to make you do what they want, it only means that you have all the power, not them. They may beat the crap out of you but you don’t have to resort to that kind of behavior to get your needs met.

Moreover, your scratches, bruises, and broken bones will heal. But your bullies’ stupidity and lack of social intelligence are things they are stuck with forever!

If nothing else, remember this! You have a God-given, animal right to defend yourself from harm. If a bully is pounding on you, it’s no use relying on the school, workplace, or the law to protect you.

You must learn to protect yourself and if that means throwing up your dukes, so be it!

8. Instant Gratification.

These bullies tend to crave instant and immediate gratification. Physical violence gives them that. Moreover, your bullies get an immediate rush of power and dominion.  And they think that they’ve won.

Many physically violent bullies are egocentric and have delusions of grandeur. And when you stand up to them, you shatter their delusions.

Moreover, if you say anything back to the bullies, it automatically puts your bullies on the weaker end. Therefore, they fly into a rage and use violence to restore that sense of power and invincibility.

Understand that these types of people are self-serving. And they feel superior to anyone else. Therefore, they think they have innate entitlements that supersede even your most basic human rights.

Physical Bullies Expect you to take their shit.

These bullies believe they’re entitled to hurt you.  On the other hand, they believe you’re just supposed to shut up and take it. They expect you to take the abuse without question or protest.

Therefore, when you stand up and oppose the abuse, your bullies will take it as a challenge. They may even see it as an insult. As a result, they will use forceful and violent measures to take you down.

9. They are Sadistic.

Physical bullies derive feelings of pleasure when beating you up. Moreover, they feel no shame unless the wrong people find them out.

They’re open with their violence and don’t fear accountability. Why? Because they know that most others are too scared to confront them.

Physical bullies have no qualms about asserting their dominance over others. They feel their entitlements supersede your basic rights.

Therefore, they confidently encroach on your time, your space, and your safety. Where most people would feel shame over hurting someone, physical bullies only feel powerful.

Sadly, there isn’t much you can do to help these types of people. Sadistic people are resistant to any help. Consequently, those who are physically violent usually end up in prison for battery or murder.

Bullies have many secrets and it’s up to you to find out what they are. Also, it’s up to you to defend yourself against them no matter what.

This post is all about the mentality of physical bullies so that you’ll be more emboldened to defend yourself.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. How to Deal with Physical Bullies

2. Physical Bullying Information: 5 Must-Know Secrets Bullies Don’t Want You to Know

3. Secrets Bullies Hope You Never Find Out: 11 Must-Know Facts about Bullies

4. Standing Up to Bullies: 7 Ways Bullies React When You Stop Taking Their Crap

covert bullying examples

Covert Bullying Examples: 7 Must-Know Tactics Covert Bullies Use

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‘Want to know all the covert bullying examples so that you can recognize them when you see them? Here are all the sneaky tactics bullies use so that you can see it and call it out.

covert bullying examples

Covert bullying can be difficult to detect, which is why it’s so hard to defend against.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn all the covert bullying examples and how to stand up to it.

Once you learn all about this important information, you will be better able to recognize it when you see it and defend yourself when it happens to you.

This post will give you all the covert bullying examples so that you’ll spot it and stand up to it when bullies get sneaky about their insults and personal attacks.

Covert Bullying Examples

Bullies are big cowards and most will take tiny nibbles of your self-esteem through subtle insults and sneaky attacks. Here are all the examples of covert bullying and how to stand up to subtle bullies who use stealth abuse to undermine your confidence.

1. They Will Make Softened Statements.

Euphemism- word, phrase or statement that softens a harsher meaning.

Seasoned bullies are well-known for euphemisms. In other words, they soften their words so that they don’t look bad to others.

Anytime bullies soften their insults, they appear concerned for your well-being. They seem sympathetic. However, don’t be misled. In reality, they’re anything but!

By softly putting you down, your bullies persuade their listeners to confirm and justify their atrocious behavior. And when they get the confirmation they seek, they get the green light to continue talking.

Here are the most common softened statements.

  • “I hope she gets the help she needs.”
  • “The poor guy, it’s sad that people treat him so bad.”
  • “I know I shouldn’t say this, but…”
  • “Bless her heart, she’s such a miserable and unhappy person.”
  • “I sincerely hope she can go someplace where she can be happy.”

I want you to understand that when your bullies make these statements, they’re not the least bit concerned about your well-being. They’re only concerned with how they look and sound to everyone else.

They’re only putting on a good front to cover their true feelings.

2. Covert Bullying Examples:

Bullies will use Doublespeak

Bullies are slick with their insults. Many times, they may disguise their vitriol and contempt with the use of doublespeak. And it’s the same as using softened statements.

The term “doublespeak” comes from George Orwell’s book “1984.” Bullies use doublespeak when they words that sound more palatable to the ears. Bullies use doublespeak to lessen their chances of turning other people off.

This form of abuse is covert because it makes the bully sound like a caring, concerned person rather than a vicious one.

For example:

Bullies degrade you in front of others. However, rather than being blunt, they’ll be polite about it.

Instead of, “I can’t stand him, he’s batshit nuts and he belongs in the nuthouse!” they’ll say,

“I’m very concerned about him. I think he has a mental imbalance somewhere that hasn’t been addressed. I hope he gets the help he needs.”

The first version would make the bully sound mean and nasty. The second version sounds so much better. It makes the bully look like a good person who’s genuinely concerned for you.

Here’s another example:

A female bully is putting her neighbor down. But rather than say,

“I’d like to catch her in the street and beat the living crap out of her and leave her to die!” which would make the bully sound like a vindictive and hateful bitch, she says,

“If she doesn’t change her attitude, I’m afraid someone’s going to hurt her really bad!”

Again, the second version sounds so much better because it shows concern rather than hatred. Also, it makes you look like you must be bringing the bad treatment on yourself.

It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it. Moreover, it’s the nonverbal communication you use with it that makes all the difference. It’s just too easy to bully someone without looking like a bully!

You know when you’re being bullied no matter how covert your bullies may be. The trick is to call it out in the early stages before the sneaky attacks become a set pattern.

Never let anyone grow too comfortable with abusing you. Why? Because they’ll escalate their bullying until it gets out of control.

And once bullying gets out of control, your bullies won’t even try to hide it! And that’s when you will be in grave danger!

So, call it out in the early stages. It’s the only way you’ll be able to put a stop to it!

3. Covert Bullying Examples:

Your bullies will make vague excuses.

Your bullies will make these statements When they can’t come up with a good excuse for their rotten behavior

Any time others ask your bullies why they behave the way they do toward you, they will often come up with vague excuses. Moreover, they’ll conjure up something that sounds plausible and makes sense.

For example, your bullies will make one of the following excuses:

  • “She just rubs me the wrong way!”
  • “I just don’t like him.”
  • “I just get a bad feeling about her!”
  • “There’s just something about him that I don’t like!”
  • “She just gives me a bad feeling!”
  • “I just don’t feel good around him!”
  • “Something about her just scares me!”

4. Your Bullies will pull “I just have a bad feeling about” so-and-so routine.

Let’s face it, we’ve all met people who instantly give us the heebie-jeebies. There will be those who make you suspicious of them. And you didn’t have to see them do anything for them to raise your alarm bells.

The person won’t even have to speak. They may even be a nice person and very well-behaved. However, you still won’t feel good around them.

Therefore, these explanations are so plausible. Because some people, regardless of whether they’ve done anything wrong, just seem to creep you out. And you should always follow your gut instinct.

However, these explanations are covert because they’re so plausible and relatable. Therefore, bullies can leverage them. In other words, they can use them to make others suspicious of you. As a result, people may even begin shunning and abusing you.

Covert Bullying Examples:

Others will suspect you too.

Understand that many bullies have the ability to charm and draw others to them.

Therefore, if the bully saying this about you happens to be a trusted and highly thought of person, those listening will automatically think, “Whoa! If so-and-so gives Becky a bad feeling, then what have I been missing here?”

Therefore, they will view you with a cautious eye too. Remember that moods, emotions, and behaviors have a highly contagion effect. In other words, they tend to spread over a group like a brush fire!

Here’s the thing. When people think highly of your bullies, they trust their judgment. Therefore, they’ll likely doubt their own senses and go with the word of the bully.

And they’ll do it simply because they like them. Put simpler, they will trust the bullies’ judgement more than they do their own.

But, know that these evil people are trying to be slick! The purpose for maneuver is to cast doubt on you in the eyes of others and provoke suspicion. Nothing more.

All it takes is one seed of doubt to start a long smear campaign. Therefore, the best thing to do is to see it for what it is. It’s a smear campaign in the making.

And just watch your bullies escalate it from there. Watch them try to “create” bogus stories.

Moreover, they’ll create proof to back it up. How will they do it?

They’ll do it by baiting you into an altercation. If you react, they’ll use your normal reaction and spin it to fit their twisted narrative. That’s how it works. So, be alert!

If possible, the best thing to do is to avoid them altogether. You want to save yourself a ton of drama. Remember! Out of sight, out of mind!

5. Covert Bullying Examples:

They will use Confabulations.

Many times, bullies will blow up on you for absolutely no reason. Later, when people question them about the blow-up, they won’t remember why they lost their temper.

Therefore, they’ll drum up fake memories to fill in the blanks. You must understand that bullies do this to sound plausible instead of ridiculous.

When bullies confabulate, they do it to feel sane. And the way they feel sane is to insert made-up stories to fill in the blanks.

Sometimes, people mistake confabulations for real memories.

When bullies confabulate a justifiable reason for their appalling behavior, they believe themselves. Therefore, is it any wonder that most abusers appear to be telling the truth?

It’s why they’re so good at justifying and rationalizing their abusive actions? When a person believes their own lies, others will likely believe them too.

Bystanders and witnesses

Confabulations have an incredible effect on witnesses. When people hear lies spoken as truths, it is as if you’ve entered the twilight zone.

No one wants to be under a bully’s influence. However, people get sucked in all the time. Many people have had their lives destroyed, even taken because they were persuaded by bullies.

Moreover, those who saw through it and spoke out were silenced. Or, they paid a heavy price for daring to open their mouths. This has also happened to entire cultures and populations.

Understand that confabulations can be a powerful weapon. And it’s why you must learn to properly counter them. Or, you can let the bully drag them out until others get tired of hearing them squawking about it.

6. Covert Bullying Examples:

Bullies use Plausible Deniability

Most bullying is emotional and psychological torture. Sure, there are many physically violent bullies out there. They are psychologically traumatize you enough by using their fists.

However, most physical bullies aren’t socially intelligent. They aren’t persuasive.

Many of these types of bullies attack in groups wearing masks over their faces to ensure anonymity. Maybe they’re so well-connected that they’re almost untouchable.

Or, they don’t care about the consequences they will face.

Again, most bullies prefer psychological violence. And the reason is that there are no visible bruises or wounds to prove it. And without visible marks, there’s no proof of abuse.

The plausible deniability of it is what makes this tactic so covert.

Therefore, when you report the abuse, the perpetrators aren’t likely to get into trouble for it. Also, you stand a pretty good chance of taking the blame.

7. They Use Exaggerations and distortions.

These are the kinds of covert deception bullies love to practice. Bullies understand that a pure lie isn’t likely to be believed. Therefore, it would only discredit them.

However, if they tell a half-truth, people will more than likely believe it. A half-truth is a lie that contains a tiny grain of truth. And the cleverest of liars use them.

Exaggerations and distortions are the same as half-truths. They’re perfect for bullies because, again, there’s always a degree of truth to them.

For example, a bully will provoke you. They will keep provoking you until you get fed up.  You’ll finally to tell the bully to buzz off. And you may use a low, angry growl to do it.

Later, the bully will tell others about it, making sure to blow it up, and make it bigger than it was.  They’ll say that you started the confrontation. Moreover, they’ll exaggerate what happened.

 The bully may tell everyone else that you screamed and cursed them out. And they’ll leave out the part where they kept provoking you until you got tired of their crap and told them to buzz off.

And the part where you told them to buzz off? The bully will distort it by saying that you told them to f*** off.

Therefore, always be prepared when you know you’re going to walk into a snake pit.

Covert Bullying Examples:

How to Defend Yourself

Here are ways to defend yourself by gathering evidence:

1. Document it.

It’s crucial to document each bullying incidence and do it in detail. Use the 5W method (what, who, why, when, where…and sometimes how).

Write down what happened, who was involved, and who the bystanders and witnesses were. Also record why the bullying incident happened (retaliation for reporting a prior bullying incident?).

Be sure to include when it happened (date and exact time of incidence) and where it happened (school bathroom, locker room, behind the school, the company parking lot, etc.).

2. Wear a body camera

If you live in a one-party consent jurisdiction and the laws permit you to wear one, I recommend you wear a body camera. In fact, I can’t stress it enough!

Body cams that record both video and audio are your best bet. However, if you can only get a cam that records video, that’s fine too. With these, you can still capture physical attacks and body language.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a video is worth a thousand pictures. Why? Because if bullying is caught on video, there’s no question that it’s happening.

This is why it’s the best evidence you can get!

3. Covert Bullying Examples:

Keep a digital recorder handy

These are good for recording verbal altercations. Also, many of them can play recordings that  sound clear and not muffled.

4. Make 3-4 Copies of your evidence

Whether it’s documentation, body cam recordings, or digital audio recordings, it’s always best to make several copies of the evidence.

Why? Because schools and workplaces are notorious for deliberately misplacing or losing your evidence of bullying.

Yeah, I know. Convenient, isn’t it?

5. Keep each of your copies in different locations.

This is so important! Because, if you think school districts and companies won’t snoop, you’re only fooling yourself.  In fact, many entities have hired people to break into victims’ houses to search for evidence they can dispose of.

When it comes to the threat of being sued, schools and companies will resort to anything, and I mean anything!

6. Covert Bullying Examples:

Screenshot and save any nasty and abusive emails, texts, or private messages

Very important! Any time bullies resort to cyber-bullying you, they automatically leave a paper trail! Screenshot it, save it, and, if need be, print them all out.

Make copies of them. Store each copy in an entirely different place (your house, your grandma’s house, your lawyer’s office, etc.) Also, you can store them in a fireproof safe!

Realize that schools and companies may snoop through your garbage when you put it out on the street for the trash-men to pick up. Moreover, they may break into your vehicle or  your home to snoop around for any evidence you might have against them.

You must realize that these people will do anything to cover their butts. I can’t count the articles I’ve read about these things happening to targets of bullying, whether in school, the workplace, or community.

And in today’s world, bullies are now targeting their victims with surveillance drones. Also, school boards are targeting parents with electronic surveillance as well, then spreading their private information and pictures of children to some evil entities.

It’s a very dangerous world nowadays and you never know what sick people you’re dealing with.

7. Never count on anyone else to investigate bullying for you.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to gather your own evidence. Therefore, quietly do your own investigation.

It’s pointless to rely on the school or workplace to investigate for you. Why? Because the results will only be in the bullies’ and the investigating entity’s favor, not yours!

So, never, ever trust anyone else to gather evidence or investigate for you. When bullies target you for bullying, you cannot afford to trust anyone but yourself. I’m not joking!

When you’re bullied, it’s not the time to be lazy. The only person you can depend on is you. Only you can gather the evidence you need to prove that bullies are targeting you. And, only you can take legal action, and get justice.

This post gave you all the covert bullying examples so that you’ll know them when you see them in real time.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Psychological Abuse Tactics: 9 Mind Games Seasoned Bullies Use

2. Social Bullying Examples: 7 Reasons Bullies Destroy Relationships

character vs reputation in the bible

Character vs Reputation: 4 Tactics Bullies Use to Smear You

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‘Want to know the differences of character vs reputation? If people have bullied you and unjustly ruined your reputation, know that your reputation doesn’t equal your character. Here, we discuss in detail how the two differ and the tactics bullies use to mar your good name.

character vs reputation

“Your reputation is what others think of you; your character is what you truly are. Reputations can be manipulated; character can only be developed and maintained.”

~ Bohdi Sanders ~

All too often, when a person is bullied, their reputation takes a big hit due to the many ugly rumors and lies spread by their tormentors.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn character vs reputation and how they differ. Also, you will learn how bullies destroy the reputations of good people and how others come to believe the lies.

Once you learn all these bits of information, not only will you be able to see through the lies when they happen to yourself and others. But you will also learn what you must do to protect yourself against smear campaigns your bullies may launch against you.

This post is all about character vs reputation and what you can do to protect your good name.

Character vs reputation

Bullying is a campaign. Just as politicians go about kissing babies and shaking hands with people on the street, giving a spiel of why they’re the best person for the office they’re running for, bullies do the same.

They go from person to person spinning their yarn about why no one should associate with you and why you’re such a contemptible person.

Your bullies will engage everyone, even your friends and family, pulling false accusations out of thin air. Moreover, they make them sound so convincing that others find the lies difficult not to believe.

“Reputation is the cornerstone of power.” – Robert Greene

Bullies attack your reputation to strip you of power. Once your reputation is gone, you’re defenseless and extremely vulnerable to attack.

Therefore, bullies can freely attack you from all directions. Even worse, you’re at the mercy of virtually everyone around you.

You see? Bullies know that if they can poke holes in your reputation, they won’t have to work so hard to bring you down. Why? Because they’ll have public opinion on their side.

They can then stand back and watch with glee as widely held perceptions of you finish you off.

Why Bullies are successful in making people believe the lies.

1. The tiny grain of truth tactic.

Tormentors will use a tiny grain of truth about you. In other words, they may bring up a simple mistake you made in the past (possibly an error which anybody could have made at any time).

They then add their spin to it, making it worse and more significant to make the story even more believable.

2. Character vs Reputation:

The Baiting tactic.

Here’s a good example of the baiting tactic.

Harassers will use subtle provocations, taunts, and assaults to bait you into an emotional reaction. Once they get the reaction from you that they’re looking for, they’ll turn around and use your perfectly normal human response as further proof that you’re mentally imbalanced.

Moreover, even if you don’t give them the reaction they want, your bullies will only double down in their efforts to get you to snap. And sadly, after being attacked for so long, it’s too easy for you to become worn down.

 And once you become exhausted, you’re likely to go the “eye for an eye” route and return the attacks (physically or verbally). Although defending yourself is a perfectly reasonable response, bullies will use it as confirmation that you’re the bad guy.

Therefore, you must be cautious in your counter-attacks. Also, you must carefully choose your battles. Why? Because, again, a well-experienced bully can easily use any reactions to validate any rumors lies about you.

Before long, even those who aren’t necessarily bullies will also shun and brutalize you. This is a sign that your bullies have tarnished your reputation and sadly, a ruined reputation can take years to repair.

3. the use of charm and allure.

You must realize that bullies are sociopathic. They have a wealth of superficial charm at their disposal. Therefore, they are masters in the arts of persuasion and influence.

Also, most superficially charming people are very skilled wordsmiths. This is why they can pull a complete fabrication out of their butts and make it smell sweet and sound plausible.

Because of this oozing charm that most seasoned bullies possess, they can encourage bystanders and sometimes authority (teachers, principals, monitors, etc.) to join in the torment.

4. Character vs Reputation:

Smear campaigns.

How do Smear Campaigns work?

It always starts subtly.  Bullies begin the smear campaign by planting seeds of doubt about your character in the minds of others. Doubt is a powerful tool.

They may start rumors by dropping a suggestion. Moreover, all it takes is one little rumor- just one!

Next, the bullies use repetition. They repeat the same rumor over and over again until it sticks. And sadly, once enough people believe it, it will become the truth even if it is a bald-faced lie.

In fact, by then, people will want to believe it.

And there’s no getting away from public opinion no matter how false or unjustified it is.

In other words, bullies ruin targets by making things up, leaking info they hear, or spreading ideas. Next, they’ll fade into the background because they know that with everything put together, whatever lies they spread will stick.

They’ve done their part, and now they can sit back and let the rumor mill do the work for them. It’s that easy!

Stage 1 of the Smear Campaign.

The bullies provoke you. You blow them off for a while but the bullies are relentless. Therefore, they not only continue but escalate the harassment.

Finally, you get fed up with their crap and, out of exhaustion and emotion, tell them to go to hell in a hand basket. And there! The bullies get the reaction they’ve been waiting for.

Now, the smear campaign begins. Your bullies start by suggesting that you’d be better off if you got professional help, moved, etc . They will say that it’s for your own good to look as if they have genuine concern for you.

Next, they may drop an offhand comment here and another there. Understand that bullies need to slowly and ever-so-gradually ramp up the smears. Why? So, that what they’re doing doesn’t appear so obvious.

Character vs Reputation

In the beginning, you may have friends. Others may like or even love you. Moreover, they may try to support you and speak on your behalf.

However, that’s when the bullies will tell them, “Oh, no. There’s more to it than what he told you.”

Or, the bullies may lie to your friends by telling them that sometime in the past, you criticized them or stabbed them in the back.

Smear Campaign Stage 2.

Now it’s time for the bullies to stand back and let the old rumor mill do its handiwork. And, sure enough, the lies become the truth. People begin reporting things to the bullies and higher-ups in the social hierarchy.

Moreover, they make false statements and accuse you of wrongs you never committed.

And as the rumors and lies spread from person to person, the bigger they grow until they sound so bizarre and outlandish they’d be fit for a horror movie.

You might say, “Aw, but they’re my friends. They’d never do that to me. They know I’m a good person, and I have a clean reputation. All I have to do is tell them my side of things, and this stuff will go away.”

However, you couldn’t be more wrong!

Character vs Reputation:

Smear Campaign stage 3.

Once the rumors get around, your friends will no longer believe you to be right. They’ll only think you’re a thorn in the side with a big mouth.

Therefore, by the time the open bullying is underway, you no longer have a clean reputation.

Character vs reputation:

The results of a successful smear campaign.

Now, everyone thinks you never deserved any respect or friendship. The people around you also feel that the reason you were so well-liked is that you conned your way into their hearts.

They’ll say that you put on a front, and you only weaseled your way into everyone’s good graces. The bullies and their followers may even accuse you of being a kiss-ass.

Moreover, others will make your past wins, accomplishments, successes, or accolades irrelevant. They will also maximize your mistakes and failures and add many more you didn’t make.

In other words, they will rewrite your history.

If you’re on your best behavior and others see it with their own eyes, they’ll only accuse you of being a con artist. Also, any hard evidence of your successes, friendships- anything positive, they’ll chalk it up to you being a smooth-talker who’s good at using charm to manipulate others.

And the friends that your bullies turn against you? They’ll claim that they never liked you from the start. Moreover, they’ll swear up and down that they were only kind to you because they felt sorry for you, or because you conned them.

Your so-called friends will tell others, “who you really are.” They’ll claim that the bullies you bitched about were only reacting to your sneaky provocations.

Also, they’ll say that they only agreed with you about your bullies because you fooled them into it.

Telling your side of things will do no good because they’ll never believe it anyway. Your embittered friends “may have fallen for it at first,” but now they claim to “know better.”

I want you to understand that once people’s minds are already made up, there’s no changing it.

Character vs Reputation: Smear Campaign Stage 4

Stage 4 is the late stage. Therefore, in the late stages of a smear campaign, all bystanders will become willing co-conspirators.

Gossip will be everywhere. And it brings scandal, which means to assassinate the target’s character, integrity, mental fitness, and worth as a student, worker, neighbor, and human being.

Moreover, anyone who questions or disbelieves the lies will immediately become an object of bullying as well. Nobody wants to be isolated, so this forces others to stay in line with the running narrative.

And if the target attempts to defend himself or speak out against the abuse, it will be used against him.

Unfortunately, at this stage, the only way for the target to ensure his safety and escape the abuse is to leave the toxic environment and go to a new place where he can start anew, establish new connections, and reinvent himself.

Here’s an example:

Remember the character, Chris Chambers, in the movie “Stand by Me.” Although he was a great kid, he was considered a rogue and a thief.

Moreover, during the scene where he was crying to his friend, Gordy, telling him about how he got his bad name and wishing he could go somewhere where no one knew him.

During the conversation, the character of Chris Chambers, played by River Phoenix, tearfully tells Gordy that a member of staff took the lunch money out of the teal.  However, he got blamed for it solely because of his family name. It was heartbreaking to watch.

And sadly, that happens a lot. In a majority of cases, targets must leave the school, company, or community to heal and to rebuild their lives.

 Therefore, it’s best just to find a way to get out of the environment altogether and never look back. Moreover, never have anything to do with any of these people again.

You owe it to yourself to kick them all to the curb.

Character vs Reputation:

Focus on your character and not your reputation.

Know that reputation does not equal character. In other words, your reputation is not who you are. Hold on to your self-love because these people do not know you nor do they deserve to.

Know that once you’re free of these people, you can start again, making new friends in your new area. Moreover, these new friends will see the awesome you that people in the old town missed out on. And you will live in peace and be surrounded by love once again.

It happened for me and it can happen for you too.

This post was all about character vs Reputation and the tactics bullies use to destroy your good name. Also, it was about the process and stages of the smear campaign and what you can do to escape it.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. The Cycle of Bullying: Psychological Injuries and Care of Victims

2. How to Spot a Bully: 13 Must-Know Body-Language Examples

3. What Not to Share at Work When You Suffer Workplace Bullying

4. Your First Line of Defense Against Bullying

5. The Horns Effect: Bully-Induced Bias Against Victims of Bullying

bullying and mental health stigma among students

Bullying and Mental Health Stigma: 5 Reasons Bullies Use It

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Bullying and mental health stigma are, sadly, close relatives. This is because the stigma on mental health can lead to bullying. Moreover, it’s the perfect weapon. Here’s why bullies and abusers use mental health as a weapon.

bullying and mental health stigma

You can be a victim of mental health stigma whether or not you have mental health issues. All it takes is for someone to claim that you have mental problems and your reputation will take a huge hit.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn about bullying and mental health stigma. Moreover, you’ll learn why bullies weaponize this stigma so you recognize it for what it is and what it’s designed to do.

Once you learn all about this game-changing information, you will be able to call it out with confidence and protect yourself against it.

Bullying and Mental Health Stigma

Sadly, the mental health label has loads of staying power. Also, it’s the hardest to get rid of. It’s the most common form of gaslighting there is.

Do you ever wonder why most bullies attach labels, such as “unstable,” or “mentally disturbed” to targets who stand up against abuse?

Here are 5 reasons bullies stick you with the cr*zy label:

1. The cray-Cray label is a last option.

Bullies attack your sanity when they’ve run out of bad things to pin on you. Think about this. They can’t as easily label you a whore if you haven’t slept around.

Just the same, they can’t as easily label you a criminal if you don’t have a police record to prove it. And they can’t easily label you a thief if you never took anything that wasn’t yours.

Therefore, the mental illness label is the last option your bullies have.

2. A mental imbalance is the most difficult to disprove.

If you are a target of bullying, and you have the guts to stand up against the abuse, the bully may tell everyone that you’re nuts. Moreover, everyone else may believe it too.

However, the bully can’t prove that you are, in fact, cr*zy, there is also no way you can prove that you aren’t.

You may not even have any record of mental illness. But those records are protected by HIPAA. Therefore, again, you have no way of proving that you don’t have psychological issues.

So, it’s the most difficult to debunk.  In fact, it shouldn’t be this easy and be so successful. But it is.

3. Bullying and Mental Health Stigma:

People tend to see the worst in others.

Another reason the “cr*zy” label is just too easy to stick on anyone is because people have a strong tendency to see the worst in others.

Moreover, the burden of proof is on you. It is damn hard to prove that you aren’t mentally unstable, especially when bullies attack you from every direction and wear you down.

The natural human response is to react and defend yourself when attacked, and others can mistake it for mental illness.

It happens when people walk in on you as you’re telling your bullies where to stick it. Many times they only catch the tail end of the confrontation.

Then they draw the wrong conclusions. Understand that this is what your bullies are counting on. Often, they provoke you just to set you up to look like you’ve completely lost it.

Unfortunately, the label of mental instability is the easiest and most effective label to stick to a person. And the thing that makes it so difficult to disprove is the stress you’re likely under when your being bullied and mobbed.

4. Bullying tends to make you an emotional wreck.

Any target of bullying will be an emotional mess because of the chronic abuse they suffer. This is another reason the MH label is such a clever label for your bullies to pin on you.

‘You see? When bullies label you unstable, it doesn’t mean they actually think that you are.

Remember that bullies are big cowards. If they really and truly thought you were bonkers, they wouldn’t mess with you at all.

In, fact, they wouldn’t come near you. Instead, they would do everything they could to stay out of your way and avoid poking the bear.

They’d go out of their way to be on their best behavior around you. Why? Because they know that if a person is, in fact, a mental case, that person would tear their heads off. That person would go postal and wipe them all out, then go home and eat a sandwich.

If a person with any common sense knows someone who is factually batshit loony, their first instinct is to walk lightly around them. They’ll do their due diligence to keep from setting them off!

5. Bullying and Mental Health Stigma:

To discredit you.

Your bullies aren’t clueless. They know that eventually, you’re likely to get fed up with their crap. They figure that you’ll either report them or stand up to them.

Therefore, if everyone thinks you’re loony, who’s going to take you seriously when you report the bullying?

Understand that bullies do this all the time to discredit their victims and cover their behinds when they know they’re wrong!

Again, if your bullies can make you look like you just escape the nuthouse, then who’s going to believe you when you report them? And who’ll take you seriously the next time you let the bully have it?

They’ll only sigh and think, “Uh-oh! There she goes again! She’s having another mental episode! That girl has gone completely berserk!”

6. To make you afraid to speak out or stand up to them.

Again, just in case you begin standing your ground or speaking out about the abuse, bullies employ this tactic to keep you quiet. In that, they can save their own behinds.

If you know that people think you’re mentally unstable, chances are that you’re going to be too afraid to open your mouth. Why? Because you know that people probably won’t believe you.

They will only say that, because of your “mental instability,” you’re probably just having a bout of paranoia.

You’ll also be too afraid to fight back. You know that the bullies will only reverse roles and play victim. Then, others will only assume that you threw a temper tantrum and began shouting and cursing people out for no reason. All because you’re a “mental case.”

7. Bullying and Mental Health Stigma:

Your bullies don’t really think you’re cr*zy. They think you’re weak.

Your bullies know that you’re as sane as everyone else. However, they push that label because weakness or helplessness in a person does have a certain allure and appeal.

As a result, others may feel compelled to come to that person’s aid. Helplessness sparks a natural tendency in people to want to take care of the person who is helpless.

On the other hand, people are less likely to help the person who is deemed a basket case. Bullies instinctively know this. Therefore, they stick you with the mentally unhinged label to strip you of that allure.

In labeling you mentally disturbed and making it stick, bullies are better able to avoid being held accountable. If they can successfully dodge responsibility for their abuse, then they get to continue abusing you freely and with impunity.

Understand that there’s a method behind the label of mental instability. If you’re aware of the motives behind that label, the better you’ll be able to catch it and counter your bullies with it.

When Bullies Magically Become Board-Certified Shrinks

Isn’t it funny how quickly bullies can become board-certified shrinks? And they can do it overnight, without reading as much as a single word out of a psychology textbook.

As we all know, bullies are legends in their own minds. Also, they only make themselves look foolish when they “diagnose” anyone they cannot manipulate.

This little phenomenon is called “pop-psych,” and, it empowers bullies to conduct, “remote analyses.” All while holding little to zero education in the field of Psychology!

If you’re a target of bullying who’s been diagnosed by bullies, you can counter these accusations of insanity by reading a basic psychology 101 textbook. Then, you can challenge your bullies  by asking questions that challenge their narrative.

Bullying and Mental Health Stigma:

Here’s an Example:

Jack: “Don’t hang out with Jill. She’s cr*zy.”

Kelly: “Cr*zy? That sounds like a pretty serious accusation. Cr*zy in what way?”

Jack: “Uh…I don’t know. Like schizo or something.”

Kelly: There are five categories of schizophrenia, which one do you think she falls into?”

Jack: “Uhhhhh…having paranoia?”

Kelly: “I’ll have you know that paranoia is a common trait in many psychopathologies.”

Jack: “Uhhhh. I dunno. She’s talking about people talking about her and thinking they’re after her or something- that’s cr*zy.”

Kelly: “Jack, have you ever considered that possibility that Jill may be a target of bullying?”

Jack: “Oh, no! We’re not allowed to talk about that.”

Kelly: (Rolls her eyes and scoffs at Jack, then walks away.)

When bullies use pop-psychology, they do it out of ignorance and entitlement. They use mental health and mental illness as a weapon and end up making themselves look ignorant.

With knowledge comes empowerment!

For more information, go to:

https://antiss.net

If They Can’t Manipulate You, They’ll Attack Your Mental Health

It’s the oldest and most used tactic in the book! My classmates were no different. Bullies will always come back at you with the “mentally imbalanced” label to discredit you.

Moreover, they get to control how others see you when they can no longer control you. It only goes to show that they see you as a threat.

Also, it proves that they’re both desperate and afraid. When you refuse to be manipulated, it sends several messages to your bullies. These messages threaten their sense of superiority, positions, and their power.

  • It tells them that you see through their smokescreens.
  • It tells them that you’re not afraid to tell them to go kick rocks.
  • Also, it tells them the opposite of what they think of you- that you’re strong and intelligent, not weak.
  • Your refusal to be manipulated puts them in their place.
  • It tells them that they can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.
  • Moreover, it tells them that you don’t give a crap about what they say or think about you.
  • It tells them you could care less about impressing them.
  • Finally, it tells them they don’t matter to you and that you don’t value their insults or do you accept their definitions of you.

Bullying and Mental Health Stigma:

How to defend Against the Label.

Understand that bullies have an over-inflated sense of their own importance. Thus, they feel entitled.

They despise being told no and they loathe anyone who will not be controlled. Therefore, if they can’t manipulate you, they’ll manipulate your relationships, and the way others perceive you.

Don’t fall for it! Stand up to them! Look them in the eye, and calmly tell them,

“You’re wrong, and you know you’re wrong! I’m not going to debate this any further with you!”

Then walk away and leave them standing there slack-jawed. If your bullies follow you and ask, “What’s your problem?” don’t explain it to them.

They’re not five years old, they already know, and you don’t owe them any more than what’s necessary. So, say as little as possible.

Tell them, “You know what my problem is!”

The bully may continue to follow you and ask, “What did I do to you?”

You say, “You know what you did! Now get bent!”

Short responses are key here.

Don’t beat around the bush. Get to the point and say it like you mean it. Be firm but don’t yell. Yelling makes you look like a basket case.

Your bullies may not change their ways and their attitudes toward you. But I promise! You’ll feel so much better about yourself knowing that you put your foot down. Also, you didn’t look unstable to any bystanders!

Know that there are ways to stand up to the mental illness label.

This post was all about bullying and mental health stigma and why bullies stick you with the mental health label so that you can see it for what it is and what it’s designed to do.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Weaponizing Mental Health: 7 Reasons Bullies Label You Mentally Ill

2. Bullying Those with Mental Illness

3. The Cycle of Bullying: Psychological Injuries and Care of Victims

Confident Person Example: Who Are the Most Confident People?

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‘Want to be a great confident person example? First, you must know who the most confident people are and use them as your guides. Here’s who the most confident people are and they are those you don’t expect.

confident person example

What do confident people do differently? And who are these confident people? You must know the answers to these questions to learn to do what they do.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn which group of people are the perfect confident person examples.

Once you learn all about this life-changing information, you will be able to see these examples and let them inspire you to do what you must do to boost your own confidence.

This post will guide you on how to be a good confident person example so that you can grow and repair your self-esteem.

Confident Person Example

People under 4 years old are the perfect examples of pure confidence. Why? Because they don’t worry about what others think of them.

What Babies can Teach Us about Confidence

Babies are so adorable! They have that charm and innocence that no other age group has. Also, they don’t worry about what others think of them and they never try to impress others.

These little darlings display open sweetness, purity, complete authenticity, and hearts of gold. Babies don’t have a care in the world.

They have no inhibitions whatsoever. They’re not afraid to cry and express their wants and needs. You can see it in the way little toddlers shamelessly coo, laugh, babble, skip, run, and dance.

And they’ll do it in front of anyone. These little sweeties are fearless. They’re not afraid to show their emotions, express their thoughts, or show their creativity.

Furthermore, their precious little souls are completely open. They give, share, and receive love with an open and grateful heart. They love being loved and doted on and will receive it with a squeal of joy.

They are the perfect examples of confidence!

Confident Person Example:

Everything starts with self-love and babies are a perfect example of it.

Sadly, as time passes and these babies grow bigger and lose their confidence, bit by tiny bit. The ways of people and the world slowly and incrementally taint their little hearts.

Many grow up in toxic environments. Some live with parents who excessively criticize and abuse them.

Therefore, as these babies grow, they slowly build a protective wall around themselves. And that do it to try and keep the contamination out.

Because family members and others discount, ridicule, even punish them for their feelings, they learn to mask their emotions. Consequently, babies collect emotional baggage as they become preschoolers, school-aged kids, then teenagers, and finally, adults.

Many are raised by drug-addicted, mentally ill, and neglectful adults. Therefore, they build walls to protect themselves from that as well. Some of these children learn to raise themselves.

No one is born with low self-esteem and lack of confidence. However, bullies and abusers force-feed them to us over time. Also, well-meaning family members, wanting to keep us humble and sweet, can accidentally wreck our self-esteem.

Consequently, many adults cause a baby to grow up thinking that they are unlovable. They don’t feel they deserve to have their wants and needs met. Thus, they grow up angry or sad and depressed.

Confident Person Example:

Life Has Ways of Eroding The Confidence and Goodness We Were Born With.

We all go through these terrible changes, even those who aren’t bullied. Only few people in this world manage to keep that confidence and joy they were born with.

Furthermore, life’s disappointments, hurts, and heartaches have ways of changing us. However, the worse changes happen to targets of bullying and abuse.

Victims of bullying stop expressing emotions and give up asking for anything. Why? Because other people have conditioned them. They programmed them to think that they’re selfish for ever needing or wanting anything out of life.

Therefore, they resign themselves to the attitude that, things are “just the way they are.” They feel that there’s nothing they can do to change anything.

When you wait too late to tell them about self-love, they wince at the idea because it makes them uncomfortable. Again, other people program them to think that self-love is somehow selfish and evil.

I can relate to this because, when I was thirteen and fourteen years old, I did the exact same when I was first told about the idea of self-love and self-care.

The thought of looking at myself in the mirror every day and making positive affirmations felt weird. In fact, it felt downright sickening.

Why?

Because many of the adults in my life had taught me that stuff like that came from vanity. And that vanity was wrong. But confidence isn’t vanity. It’s a necessity!

Confident Person Example:

Learning to love yourself can be Uncomfortable.

Self-love can feel downright painful after you’ve wasted years hating and degrading yourself. After all, it’s not something you’re accustomed to.

So, anything new and out of the ordinary feels painful at first. Like all things, it must first become a habit. And it can only become habit through rigorous learning and practice.

‘You see? Bullies and abusive people will brainwash you. They’ll put ideas in your head that any form of self-care or self-love is self-serving. In fact, they’ll convince you that they’re abhorrent!

Evil people will keep you under the misguided belief that self-degradation and self-criticism is a virtue. They’ll try to tell you that they’re signs that you’re humble and meek.

Therefore, I thought that was what average people did. And why not? I watched a few family members do the same thing.

Some of my family members still do this at times and it breaks my heart. If only they could see their value. If they could only see what I see. In my eyes, their worth is more than gold.

Self-hatred is the equivalent of a ball and chain. You drag it around everywhere you go and it’s exhausting. Therefore, it zaps your energy.

Moreover, it takes the magic, wonder, and excitement from your life. It keeps you stuck and invites more disrespect and abuse from others.

Confident Person Example:

Self-love isn’t Vanity, It’s Virtue!

Self-love can only come from within, never from without. It doesn’t come from a partner, a spouse, or a boatload of friends.

Moreover, it can’t come from a banging body or fancy clothes, hairdos, or makeup. Money can’t buy self-love. Power doesn’t give it to you and neither does prestige. Self-love comes from the heart and only the heart.

Additionally, self-love is about self-acceptance and being perfectly okay with your imperfections. It comes from being comfortable in your own skin and not caring even the slightest what others think or say of you.

Therefore, to find peace and joy in life, self-love is a must-have. It helps you to achieve your goals and realize your dreams and aspirations.

It determines your outcomes- whether you succeed or fail. Also, it helps you to better re-frame bad situations and see them as learning experiences. Self-esteem and self-love give you peace of mind.

Furthermore, self-love gives you complete freedom! It is the key to happiness and joy! Don’t you think you deserve to be at peace with yourself? Don’t you think you deserve happiness and joy?

Therefore, do what babies do. Love yourself. Know that your true colors are vibrant and never be afraid to show them.

So, dance like you’ve never been ridiculed. And play like you’ve never fallen and scraped your knee. Express your emotions. Love, laugh, and live.

You’ll be surprised at how everything changes for the better! I promise!

This post describes the perfect confident person example so that you can get a better picture of confidence and use it as your guide.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Confident Body Language: 11 Ways to Look Confident

2. The Importance of Confidence

3. Benefits of Self-Love: 13 Reasons to Love Yourself No Matter What

confirmation bias and bullying in schools

Confirmation Bias and Bullying

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‘Want to know how confirmation bias and bullying relate? They relate a lot more than most would think. Here are all the details you need to know.

confirmation bias and bullying

Confirmation bias and bullying go hand in hand. When bullies spread rumors and lies to smear you, they have ways of making the lies look truthful. That’s what confirmation bias is, it’s when people go along with what makes lies look like the truth, even when they know it’s wrong.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn all about confirmation bias and bullying so that you can recognize it when you see it.

Once you learn all about this game-changing information, you will know what to look for and you will use what you learned to your advantage.

This post is all about confirmation bias and bullying so that you can use it as a weapon to defend yourself.

Confirmation bias and bullying

People will believe what they want to believe. Therefore, no amount of solid evidence will convince them if they refuse to believe it.

Sadly, the only way confirmation bias has anything to do with facts is when they match the belief. If cold, hard facts don’t match the person’s beliefs, chances are they’ll only deny it and look elsewhere for evidence that contradicts them.

Understand that your bullies do the same when it comes to you. They seek to justify and explain away their cruelty and abuse.

Moreover, they find arguments that support their opinions of you. And this only creates bigger problems for you.

What is confirmation bias?

It’s the tendency to recall, interpret, and favor information in a way that confirms a pre-existing belief.

In other words, if there’s evidence that debunks a person’s belief, that person is likely to reject it. Then they’ll search for evidence that confirms what they believe.

Therefore, there’s where the bias comes in. Hence, it is confirmation bias.

Bullies will find evidence to back up their lies, even if they must invent it themselves.

Any time bullies disregard information that contradicts their beliefs, they usually know what they’re doing. However, they don’t care.

All they care about is making you look bad to everyone else.

For instance, your bullies get caught beating the crap out of you. And later, they are standing tall before a member of authority.

They don’t want to face any accountability for abusing you. So, they tell the person in authority that there’s a good reason why they beat you up.

 Therefore, they make up a cockamamie excuse for their brutality. They blame you, saying that you instigated the fight.

They tell the staff member that you started it by spreading a rumor that could cost them their reputations. So, they just had to teach you a lesson.

Confirmation Bias and Bullying:

CB is another tactic in the bully’s playbook.

Your bullies will have this type of bias when they desperately search for evidence that supports their pre-existing beliefs of you. They will be selective in their stories about you.

They’ll spin the story until it best fits what they want to believe. Therefore, there are good reasons why you should never try to prove yourself to bullies or anyone else. Don’t waste your time trying to clear up any rumors.

Instead, just let them think what they want because they’re going to do that anyway.

Bullies Rarely tell boldface Lies.

Bullies have been lying and telling half-truths for so long that they have it down to an art. Most bullies rarely tell blatant falsehoods. Why? Because the boldface lies are easiest to figure out.

Bullies deceive by telling half-truths and adding their own spin. Therefore, your bullies will deceive by either adding to or taking away from the truth. In other words, they use the “Tiny Grain of Truth Technique.”

This is what facilitates confirmation bias. Here’s how they do it.

Bullies use that tiny grain of truth as a starting point any time they decide to defame you to others. If you are a bully, the beauty of this is that others can mistake it for the whole truth.

With the smallest grain of truth to a rumor, the rumor can be spun, twisted, and completely taken out of context. This not only benefits your bullies, but it causes more damage to you.

Therefore, no matter how much a story has been changed and rearranged, that grain of truth is all your bullies need to make the story believable to others.

Confirmation Bias and Bullying:

No wonder bullies are such believable liars!

As I have said a million times before, bullies are very practiced and convincing liars.  This is one of the ways they make their lies so convincing.

Again, they rarely tell straight up lies, they only take one tiny grain of truth and embellish on it. This is one of the bully’s most powerful deception tactics.

They Use Distortions and Exaggerations

It’s the same thing, really. Bullies either blow it up, water it down, or heavily distort facts. They conveniently take things out of context.

For example, your bullies begin to provoke you. They keep it up until you get fed up and, in a low but angry growl, tell them to buzz off.

Your bullies then tell everyone else about the altercation, making sure to blow it up, and make it bigger than it was.

They tell others that you started the confrontation. Therefore, they distort it. The truth is that there was a confrontation between you and your bullies.

However, they distort it by claiming that you started it when they were the ones who provoked you. They then exaggerate what happened by telling others that you yelled at them and cursed them out.

 Also, they leave out the part where they kept provoking and pushing you and didn’t stop until you got tired of the bullshit and told them to buzz off.

Confirmation Bias and Bullying:

They cherry-pick different parts of the story.

Understand this right now. Bullies do this deliberately. They distort anything to shoehorn it and make it fit their narrative.

Bullies will even cherry-pick different parts of the truth. In other words, they select the parts that fit their beliefs and add their own spin to it.

Then, they’ll glue the pieces together to create their own version of the truth and make it sound believable. Therefore, it now fits the bullies’ existing beliefs.

This is the same thing the media does.

Think about it. The media does this all the time. For instance, a witness may pull out their phone and film something terrible that is happening right before their eyes. They then send it to a news station to be broadcasted.

When the new media gets a hold of the film, they will edit out anything that doesn’t fit their narrative.  They’ll only show the bits and pieces of the film that best fits the story they wish to put out.

If they get an audio recording, they will also edit it and create soundbites. Therefore, they’ll only broadcast snippets of the recording that best fits the story they want to tell the public.

It’s all the same.

Confirmation Bias and Bullying:

Everyone is capable of confirmation bias.

Granted, each one of us looks at things from our own perspective, therefore, we all have a tiny bit of confirmation bias in us because everyone looks at the world differently.

However, bullies will take this to a whole different level. They will twist, distort, embellish, and lie to get the answers they desire.

And if it means denying solid evidence- any solid, concrete evidence which goes to your favor, then that is what they’ll do.

Understand that the reason bullies do this is to discredit you and skew the perspectives of  others. This is all designed to create prejudicial and negative views of and attitudes about you.

It’s so important that you understand the mindsets of bullies, their tactics, and their intentions behind such tactics. Moreover, it’s also important that these tactics have names and that you know those names and how to describe them.

Only then will you be better able to speak out about them and be your own advocate.

People who believe the lies are showing you who you should cut out of your life.

Unfortunately, there will be many people who fall for your bullies’ lies. Some, may even be those you think are your friends.

However, look at it this way. These people are showing you their true colors. They’re showing you exactly who you should cut ties with.

The people who matter will believe you. The ones who don’t believe you don’t matter. Therefore, walk away from anyone who believes any lies and rumors about you. And don’t look back!

It’s the smartest way to handle fake friends who can’t wait to believe the worst of you.

This post is all about confirmation bias and bullying so that you can know what’s happening and call it out when it happens to you.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Bullied for Being Smart? Here are 5 Positive Ways to Look at It

2. The Horns Effect: Bully-Induced Bias Against Victims of Bullying

how to outsmart bullies at work

How to Outsmart Bullies: 4 Unconventional Ways to Do So

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‘Want to know how to outsmart bullies in ways they’ll never expect? Here are the sneakiest ways you can do it!

how to outsmart bullies

There are ways to outsmart bullies that most people don’t think about.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn how to outsmart bullies in the sneakiest ways so that you can lure them out in the open and finally expose them for the creeps they are.

Once you learn all these clever tricks, you will be better able to trick your bullies into outing themselves. Moreover, you will not only have the possibility of exonerating yourself and repairing your unfairly ruined reputation, you’ll also be able to defend yourself more effectively.

This post is all about how to outsmart bullies so that you can take back your personal power and your life.

How to Outsmart Bullies

When you trick your bullies, the last thing you won’t to do is to make it obvious. Therefore, here are the sneakiest ways to out your bullies so that you can keep yourself safe while you use your bag of tricks.

1. Draw Your Enemies Out in the Open

We think we know all the people in our lives, especially those closest to us. However, many are not who they make us think they are.

In life, there will be fakers and imposters. There will be those who infiltrate your inner circle and pretend to be your friends.

These people will seem to latch onto you like a tick to a dog. Then, they’ll figure out everything about you. They’ll suss out your soft spots and most intimate details of your life. T

Moreover, they’ll discover what your goals, dreams and plans are. Then these creeps will work behind the scenes to sabotage and crush you.

But what if I told you that there is a clever way to flush out all the rats? Before we go any further, be forewarned. This won’t be easy.

In fact, it just might be the hardest thing to do. Why? Because it requires unshakeable confidence and self-belief. Here’s what I’m talking about.

How to Outsmart Bullies:

Draw your bullies out by appearing weak.

Sometimes, you must play the loser and appear weak to make the people around you feel safe. Only then can you draw them out and trick them into removing their fake husks. This is what you do anytime you have any shred of doubt about a person or persons.

You must realize that when people feel untouchable, they become brazen. And this is when you see their true nature. Therefore, to make them feel untouchable, you must give them the impression that they’ve already won.

I won’t kid you. This will be hard to do because it will feel like a huge blow to your pride. No one wants to look weak. It feels better to appear strong even if you’re not.

It’s a blow to the ego when you’re defeated. Moreover, it’s the same even when we aren’t defeated but appear that way to the rest of the world.

You’ll be ridiculed, your bullies will gloat, and it won’t feel good at all. In fact, it’ll feel terrible, even humiliating at times.

You can also pull this trick on friends you suspect are fake.

However, this is something most people wouldn’t dream of doing. Why? Because, as I just mentioned, it’s downright terrifying.

Very few want to know of any possibility that a long-trusted friend could turn out to be a snake. I get that. It feels so much better (and safer) to live in denial and act as if everything is peachy king.

But trust me, it is only when you’re at your lowest that you find out who’s really in your corner. And those who aren’t, never were.

So, again, if you can make everyone think that you’ve been knocked on your ass, you’ll be surprised at the snakes who shed their skins. Many will reveal themselves, and some will more than likely be people you’d never expect.

Very few people realize who their enemies are until thing get hairy.

How to Outsmart bullies:

When you’re at your lowest, the snakes will shed their skins.

Any time you appear to be at your weakest and lowest, not only will your secret enemies reveal themselves, they’ll also be more emboldened to act against you.

And when they do, they’ll do it openly! And the reason these people will be so open with their dirt is because they’ll mistake you for being too powerless to fight back.

But realize that this is the only way for you to clear the human clutter from your life. And you do it by unmasking it first. After all, you must know who to get rid of beforehand.

If you do this right, you can ensure your safety and peace of mind in the future. Moreover, you can remove any obstacles to your progress. More importantly, you can make yourself available only to the people who are your tried and true friends.

So, in closing, any time you have doubts about a friend or two, do something to make yourself appear weak or down and out. Then see what they do.

2. Fake a Surrender.

If your bullies are extremely powerful, it’s best to fake a surrender if you want them to leave you alone. This may not feel good. However, sometimes, real power comes with swallowing your pride and giving in to them first.

Why? Because if you fight back, you might be fighting an unwinnable war. Showing weakness can be a strength if you know how to do it correctly.

You can get what you can out of the surrender, then fight later when your bullies are not so strong. Believe it or not, bullies do eventually lose power.

You don’t surrender because you give up. You do it to humor them by fooling them into thinking they’ve won.

Understand that bullies love to show dominance and superiority. Therefore, if you make it look like you surrender to them, it’ll be too easy to trick them.

Submitting, for the time being, makes your bullies feel satisfied and powerful. In this, they become easier targets for a later counter-attack.

3. How to Outsmart Bullies:

Use Their Attacks Against them.

You can do this by dragging out the attacks. For example, when they attack you with insults, you simply say, “That’s your opinion,” or “Opinions vary.”

When you do, you will only force the bullies to repeat the attacks over and over again. Therefore, you drag them out until they become boring and redundant.

I won’t kid you; this technique won’t be an easy thing to do. Any time we are attacked, our first instinct is to jab back with attacks of our own. But sometimes that’s not wise to do.

This method can be effective in the workplace.  However, it’s much harder and usually takes longer to have an effect. Why? Because adults are more tenacious and stealthier with their bullying.

Respond, Don’t React!

This strategy works much better in the school environment. So, respond. But never react.

And how you respond is with short comebacks like those above. Then walk away and leave the bullies standing there, running their mouths and looking defeated. Why?

Because, when you don’t give them the response they want (which is for you to attack them back by name-calling, yelling, screaming, or cursing), their natural reactions will be to repeat, repeat, repeat like a broken record.

In other words, you force the bullies to repeat the same attacks over a long time. By doing it this way, you force them to wear them out until they get so old and stale that others outside the bully/target dynamic get thoroughly sick of hearing them.

And once people get tired of hearing it, they’ll no longer pay attention to it.

In deploying this neat little method, you expose the childishness of their attacks. You also expose the weakness of the bullies’ position, which they thought was their strength.

Instead of winning others over to their side, your bullies only alienate them. Why? Because people get bored after hearing the same old shit for so long.

4. How to Outsmart Bullies:

Rattle Your Bullies to Expose Them

Sometimes, to expose your bullies, you must rattle them. If you’re not sure how to do it, think Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam!

Getting a bully rattled is as easy as smiling. Therefore, say nothing to them; only look at them and smile like you know something they don’t. I promise you. It’ll drive them nuts!

They’ll ask you what the hell you’re smiling at. Don’t get defensive. Don’t say anything. Just walk away, snickering.

Your bullies will be madly bewildered. They’ll look at each other, wondering why you seem so smug.

Next, they’ll wonder what it is you’re up to, and curiosity will get the best of them. You’ll throw them off! Trust me. Bullies always think you’re up to something when you act this way.

Also, They’ll go on the hunt to find answers like hounds sniffing a trail.

Here’s another possibility. Your bullies may think you’re making fun of them and get super angry. But, all the better for you.

Here’s why:

  • When someone is really pissed off, they lose the ability to think straight and control their emotions.
  • When you stir someone up, you throw them off balance. When this happens, they usually screw up and do something foolish.

If they challenge you to a fight, don’t fight unless it’s necessary. You want to get the bully in front of a crowd of people. Then get them so mad they start yelling and throwing a hissy fit in front of everyone.

Your goal is to get them to expose themselves in front of bystanders and those in authority! Oops! BUSTED!

Sadly, this is the only way you can expose a bully by allowing others to see with their own eyes. But before you employ this tactic, be sure that the bully isn’t one who carries a deadly weapon and isn’t criminally violent.

Outsmarting bullies is easy if you know the right tactics to use.

This post was all about how to outsmart bullies so that you can expose them without being obvious and take back your personal power.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Using Your Enemy’s Attacks Against Them: 5 Ways to Counter Bullying

2. 7 Secrets to Instantly Expose Bullies

3. Outsmarting Bullies: 3 Clever Ways that Expose Them