‘Want to know the psychological abuse tactics most preferred by seasoned bullies. Here are all the psychological methods of expert bullying you need to know about.
Psychological abuse isn’t visible to the eyes. Therefore, it’s more difficult to provide evidence of it.
Therefore, in this post, you will learn the most common psychological abuse tactics bullies use so that you can easily spot it, call it by name and describe it to protect yourself from further bullying.
Once you learn all about this life-changing information, you will be better to see it as it happens and defend yourself against it.
This post is all about psychological abuse tactics so that you can avoid it and keep yourself safe from it.
Psychological Abuse Tactics
Seasoned bullies prefer psychological bullying over physical bullying. Why? Because this type of bullying offers easy deniability.
Unlike the physical kind, psychological bullying is less evident to any bystanders and witnesses. It leaves no visible bruises, cuts, or wounds.
In fact, it can be so subtle that even you, the victim, may not realize it’s happening. Therefore, you’ll never be able to prove that anyone ever bullied you.
Moreover, when you finally get fed up with their crap and report them to the higher-ups, it will be easier for the bullies to deny it. Also, if you stand up to the bullies, they’ll be able to play victim and make you look like the bad guy.
What are the mind games these bullies use?
1. Playing the victim.
Bullies will deliberately instigate an altercation. If you defend yourself, they’ll take your defense and twist it to make you look like the bully.
If the bully is female, she may cry those fake tears to garner sympathy. Consequently, if others aren’t wise to her, they’ll fall for her lies and blame you.
2. Psychological Abuse Tactics:
Weaponizing mental health.
Also, they can use your reaction to their abuse to brand you as mentally unstable. With this tactic, bullies can easily destroy your credibility and reputation.
As a result, your relationships will likely suffer. Even worse, your bullies may then retaliate against you by escalating the harassment later.
3. quiet bullying.
Quiet bullying is bullying by dirty looks and using the silent treatment. Moreover, a quiet bully will use exclusion to bully you.
In the workplace, quiet bullying can happen through micro-managing. Also, a quiet workplace bully can assign impossible workloads and deadlines to a targeted employee.
Remember that the most talented bullies are the biggest cowards. Also, they’re the most successful actors and actresses. They have methods of harassment which are well-planned in advance.
4. Subtle Bullying Disguised as concern.
Subtle bullying can also come in the form of glares and the silent treatment. They also use soft smear campaigns.
A soft smear campaign is disguised as concern for your well being. For example, the bully may say something like, “Bless her heart. I’m really concerned about Kathy. I hope she gets the profession help she needs before it’s too late.”
And when you defend yourself against it, the bully can use your reaction as proof that you’re unhinged.
5. Psychological Abuse Tactics:
Subtle bullying disguised as jokes.
Also, subtle bullying can disguise itself as jokes and fun. When you respond to this type of bullying, your bullies will make it look as if you can’t take a joke.
Therefore, understand that these bullies go to great lengths to prevent themselves from being exposed. They’re incredibly crafty. And they commit their attacks ever so slowly and subtly.
Moreover, they will bully undercover and hide behind a veil of superficial charm, fake playfulness, and deceit.
6. Weaponizing their social status.
These type of bullies are often in the popular crowd at school. You’ll also find them in the Good Ole’ Boy clique at work.
These bullies are often able to climb up the social ladder because of their superior social skills. Also, they have the ability to read people and predict others’ reactions.
To top it off, they have a talent for keeping up appearances.
Therefore, they’re usually well-liked by teachers, school staff, supervisors, managers and CEOs. Also, many of them excel in studies and join clubs or sororities/fraternities at school.
Workplace bullies often make themselves out to be high performers at work. How do they do this? They do it by stealing over people’s ideas and taking credit for their work.
These bullies use their popularity as a shield from accountability. Moreover, their extreme likability adds a lot of weight to their words. This is why they often get away with bullying others.
If you live in a small town, these bullies likely come from families who have powerful local connections. This is all the more reason these people keep up appearances.
Psychological abuse Tactics:
Bullies with social status may use minions to do their dirty work for them.
Understand that these bullies likely have followers. They’re too chicken to get their hands dirty. Therefore, if they want to cause you any physical harm, they will often send one of their sycophants to do it for them.
Moreover, they will often these minions incentives to get the job done. They may offer them money and social status. Or they may offer them special favors.
Afterward, the followers will have served their purpose. Therefore, the bullies will likely discard them like a used piece of toilet paper.
However understand that most of their followers don’t really like them. Most will only kiss and cover their butts to get something from them. They may hope to get a little bit of power and social status.
7. Using their talent with words.
Many of these kinds of harassers are highly skilled wordsmiths. Therefore, they’re convincing liars and have the right answer for everything.
They’re good at rationalizing their behavior and justifying their actions. Moreover, these bullies are good at conjuring up a good story. So, they’re great storytellers. You’d think some of them would’ve chosen a career in writing.
8. Psychological Abuse Tactics:
Using their social skills to bully those who aren’t as fortunate.
Bullies on top of the pecking order will use their superb social skills to take advantage of the mentally disabled. For instance, they may taunt kids with Down’s Syndrome.
They may make fun of students with Cerebral Palsy or Traumatic Brain Injury. And they’ll push around those with physical ailments, such as Diabetes, heart defects and food allergies.
Even sadder, they may quietly bully people who are paraplegic. However, they won’t be obvious when they bully these people. Why? Because others tend to look down on those who bully those in wheelchairs.
People with weight issues, those with low self-esteem, or those with smaller builds are also fair game to these types of bullies.
Again, psychological bullies are such sniveling cowards. Otherwise, they wouldn’t select such vulnerable people to push around in the first place.
9. Gaslighting
Bullies gaslight you to brainwash you into believing that you’re losing your mind. Gaslighting always starts out subtle. However, it gradually gets more obvious over time.
Understand that the reason bullies gaslight you is to maintain their power over you. They know that once you get beyond their control, you’re likely to talk about their abuse and expose them for the monsters they are. And they can’t have that!
The term, “gaslighting,” comes from the movie, “Gaslight.” The movie is about a married couple. The husband dims the gaslights, then denies it in a way to make his wife think she’s going cuckoo.
This is why gaslighting is one of the most evil types of abuse.
Psychological Abuse tactics:
Understand that these types of bullies are the most cowardly of all.
Why? Because most of the abuse they dish out is strictly psychological. Moreover, they use these kinds of tactics because they’re afraid that someone just might stand up to them.
These bullies just might run up on somebody who will put them in their place. Even worse, they might do it publicly!
In conclusion:
Sadly, you may have to go to school or work with these types of people. Therefore, there is no way to avoid them or to go no-contact.
The best you can do is to see through these self-entitled, self-absorbed, and self-satisfied wimps. Also, you must learn their weaknesses so that you can find a way to expose them for the creeps they are.
This requires getting into the minds of these bullies. To properly defend yourself, you must think as they do, even though it’s not a pleasant place to be. And I’ll tell you! The souls of such people can be downright ugly!
However, sometimes it takes getting just as low, just as sneaky and just as nasty as your attacker if you ever want to expose them for what they are. Then, they’re more likely to back the hell off.
The more you know, the more you’’ll prepare and the better you’ll protect yourself from such people.
This post is all about psychological abuse tactics so that you can recognize them and protect yourself against them.
Related posts you’ll enjoy:
1. Weaponizing Mental Health: 7 Reasons Bullies Label You Mentally Ill
2. Bullying and Gaslighting: 7 Ways Bullies Gaslight Victims
3. Psychological Effects of Gaslighting: 11 Ways it Impacts Victims
