Things Bullies Hate: 9 Things That Drive Them Up the Wall

August 5, 2025August 4, 20258 Comments

‘Want to know about all the things bullies hate? Here are the most common things they despise.

There are things bullies hate, and if you know what they are, you can use them to gain an advantage.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn all about the most common things bullies hate so that you can weaponize them to defend yourself.

Once you learn all about this critical information, you will be better able to protect yourself the next time they come for you.

This post is all about the things bullies hate most, so that you can gain the advantage you need to ensure your safety.

Things Bullies Hate

Bullies have images to keep up. Therefore, they hate anything that pokes holes in their image. And they hate anyone who sees behind the facades. So, what are the things that might threaten their images of perfection?

1. Constructive Criticism

Bullies don’t take constructive criticism very well. They only react to it as if it is a personal attack. Constructive criticism is designed to help you, not harm you. However, bullies don’t see it that way.

Constructive criticism makes you better. In contrast, destructive criticism tears you down. Let’s give an example of constructive and destructive criticism.

Constructive:

“What you did was foolish.”

Destructive:

“You’re foolish.”

Constructive criticism attacks the deed. Destructive criticism attacks the person. However, bullies can’t tell the difference because they’re too wrapped up in themselves to notice.

Remember that bullies are highly egocentric. They must always be right about everything. Or, more appropriately, look as if they’re right about everything. Bullies have a knack for hiding beneath a veneer of total perfection.

They do this for several reasons.

It makes them look better than they really are.
The veneer of perfection can be used as protection from accountability and shield them from reproach.
It can be used to draw others to them and fool them.
It can be used as a weapon against their targets.
It gives them status and social capital.
It gives them the attention and admiration they seek.

Things Bullies Hate:

Bullies hate getting it, but they love giving it.

Bullies love criticizing you because it makes them look like they’re smarter than you. They will use the veil of constructive criticism to disparage others they deem inferior and unworthy.

They may tell you that they’re only giving you this criticism to help you. However, they’re doing it to show you and everyone else that they’re superior to you. A bully’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.

If a bully ever unfairly criticizes you, you must stand up to them. Tell them in no uncertain terms to mind their own affairs and go on about their business.

And if they keep it up, hit them with their own book of standards. You can always say something like:

“That sounds real good coming from someone who doesn’t practice what they preach. Now, get out of here and go on about your business.”

This is one comeback you can use. It’s straightforward and, even better, it’s blunt. It’s nothing fancy. You don’t have to get cute or witty with it. Just say what you mean, mean what you say, and say it in as few words as possible.

2. Rules

Bullies hate following rules. Remember that bullies have a grandiose sense of entitlement. Moreover, they crave power. And the more power they have, the more they want.

Therefore, they feel that rules don’t apply to them. In their minds, rules are for everyone else.

3. Things Bullies Hate:

Being Stood up to

Bullies despise it when you stand up to them. Why? Because you are challenging their perceived authority. Therefore, they will fight you tooth and nail to reinforce their power over you.

Realize that when you stand up to a bully, things usually get worse before they get better. This is because bullies aren’t used to you defending yourself. In fact, they aren’t used to anyone standing up to them.

This is because others usually kiss their ass and give them free reign.

Therefore, bullies grow quite comfortable with having carte blanche to ride roughshod over you any time they feel like it. And they don’t want those advantages to stop.

Therefore, they’ll fight even harder to keep getting those benefits, even if they do come at your expense.

You must get this through your head right now. Bullies do not care about how they’ve hurt you. They don’t care about how much you’ve suffered from their abuse. The only thing they care about is power and whether they can keep getting what they want from you.

So, they will increase the abuse, not only to punish you, but also to wear you down. Why? Because if they can make you too tired to keep fighting, then they keep the upper hand.

Therefore, they will fight harder to keep you down at first. What you must do is stay strong, no matter how exhausted you may become. And you must also fight harder. This means you have to fight harder than they do.

It’s the only way you will ever get them to leave you alone.

4. Things Bullies Hate:

You proving them wrong

When you prove a bully wrong, you show everyone else that they aren’t so perfect. This puts a dent in their image. Therefore, they’ll try to get back at you to repair it.

5. You outshining them

Upstage a bully, and you’ll get tons of flak for it. To your bullies, you are inferior, and they want you to stay that way.

If you make a significant accomplishment, this makes your bullies look less important. You naturally overshadow anything they’ve accomplished. And they’ll do everything possible to try to reduce you back down where they think you should be.

6. Things Bullies Hate:

Competition

Bullies hate competition. And they despise it especially when it’s you they must compete with. If someone they deem inferior outmatches them in any competition. Oooo! Talk about a blow to the bully’s ego. Ouch!

Understand that bullies see any successes or accomplishments you achieve as a threat to their superiority. Why? Because the bullies’ sense of self-worth is drawn from a sense of one-upmanship and winning over.

Therefore, if you make a huge accomplishment or win any award or prize, bullies will see it as competition with them. As a result, they will escalate the bullying to punish you for that success.

Bullies will get angry and say things like:

“You think you’re better than us!”
“You think you’re hot stuff!”
“You think you’re so f***ing cool, don’t you?”

I’ve come to realize that any time a bully makes any statement that begins with, “You think you’re…,” it usually means jealousy. And it means anger, or resentment aimed at you for a success or desirable quality that you have. Always!

Understand that those three little words can say so much.

7. Taking Orders

Remember that bullies are primarily concerned with exerting power. Therefore, they despise taking orders. Why? Because to take orders means that they must be in a position of inferiority.

Bullies have an attitude of superiority. They don’t follow orders; they give them.

8. Things Bullies Hate:

Someone treating them the way they treat their victims

Bullies are notorious for expecting you to be okay with treatment that they would never be OK with. In their minds, it’s OK for them to treat others with disrespect.

However, when you kick the shit back their way, they become outraged. This is because bullies think that they’re exempt from having to suffer negative treatment.

Bullies think that they’re entitled to respect and admiration. And they become quite angry if you don’t give it to them. Moreover, they may even retaliate vengefully if they feel you aren’t giving them the recognition they think they deserve.

Therefore, see them for who they are… a bunch of smug, self-important turds who think the world should bow before them. Instead of kissing up to them, give them the treatment they give you. Regard them with indifference and dismissal.

9. Being ignored.

I’ve met many bullies who despised being ignored, even if they were acting like total jackasses. Realize that bullies crave attention, and they will do anything to get it.

They want to be the center of attention. “All eyes on me! Look at me! I’m special!”

Therefore, the best thing to do with them is to give them the attention they don’t want. And that is to stand up to them and tell them to get a life. Also, you can give them a dismissive look and walk away.

Things Bullies Hate:

In Closing

Bullies hate anything that doesn’t focus on them. Therefore, the worst you can do to them is dismiss them and keep going about your business. Sometimes, you must give bullies a dose of their own medicine to keep your self-esteem intact.

If you know what your bullies hate most, you can leverage it.

This post was all about the things bullies hate so that you can use them to your advantage.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

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

2. What Bullies Hate Most: 9 Things Bullies Despise

Punished for Defending Yourself: What You Can Do

July 7, 2025July 4, 202517 Comments

Want to know why you get punished for defending yourself and what you can do? Here are all the details you need to know.

Sadly, many victims of bullying end up getting punished for defending themselves. Therefore, in this post, you will learn why you get punished for defending yourself if you’re a victim of bullying. Also, you will learn what you can do about it.

Once you learn all this vital information, you will be able to push back effectively and protect your right to self-preservation.

This post is all about why you get punished for defending yourself and what you can do to assert your rights to safety.

Punished for Defending Yourself

You can take a lot of crap from bullies and no one else says a word. However, once you get sick of the bullshit and begin defending yourself, suddenly, they are surprised! But not only are they surprised, they’re pissed off.

It’s like, “How dare you,” and “Who do you think you are!” That is essentially what everyone else thinks once you stand up to bullies.

Bullies not only CONDITION you to Accept Bigger and More Severe Abuses, they condition bystanders to get comfortable with seeing it.

Gradualism and Incrementalism- drop by drop, bullies start by taking teeny-weeny bites out of your self-esteem. They take it up ever so slowly and step by itsy-bitsy step.

In fact, they escalate it so slowly and so subtly that it isn’t noticeable. Yet you feel that something is off and that something doesn’t feel good. But you can’t quite put a finger on it. It’s that subtle!

But here’s your first clue: 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 these people, and 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 will sense them watching your every move, scoping you out, studying you like a specimen.

You may look up from whatever you’re doing or turn around. Then you’ll see, out of the corner of your eye, a few of these people eyeing you from a distance.

Then you’ll see them look at each other and smirk. And, when they do, you’ll also notice that eerie twinkle in their eyes. You might even notice a micro-flash or two of contempt. Don’t ignore this!

Understand that these bullies are sizing you up and probing to see how you respond or react. But, more importantly, these bullies are slowly conditioning you and everyone else that it is normal for them to bully you.

Punished for Defending Yourself:

Bullies Always size you up at first.

Next, bullies start committing slightly bigger violations. Understand that bullies do this deliberately to soften you. Again, they start by making the abuse almost unrecognizable. That is, until it isn’t anymore.

By the time you recognize it, the abuse is so out of control that your bullies can’t help themselves. And they don’t even try to hide it anymore.

Why continue to put in the work to hide something you’ve gotten away with for so long that there’s no incentive to stop? Right?

By the time the abuse becomes obvious, it’s usually too late because everyone has grown accustomed to bullying you. And once they’ve grown accustomed to it, it’s almost impossible for you to get them to leave you alone, no matter what you do to protect yourself.

Therefore, when you finally get fed up and begin asserting yourself, bullies and everyone else become outraged. You must understand that they don’t give a crap about your pain. Why? Because you’re their target and they intend for you to stay that way.

They get a psychological reward from bullying you. And hell will freeze over before they give that up. This is why, at this stage, bullies respond with anger and resentment when you finally stand up to them.

Bullies have big egos. And when ego is involved, bullies become offended when someone they deem inferior finally develops a backbone. Therefore, they’ll do everything they can to break your will. And they’ll do it to keep getting their sick, sadistic jollies.

The unspoken message is, “How dare you take away our fun!”

Punished for defending yourself:

This is why you should always put a stop to it in the early stages.

Conditioning always starts small. Therefore, you must stand up to it in the early stages. You must know how to recognize it when it is barely recognizable.

Why? Because the longer bullying goes on, the more severe the abuses become. And the bigger the violations get, the harder it is to defend yourself and put a stop to it. I can’t stress this enough!

And how you recognize it is by listening to your body, because your body will feel it. You’ll also sense it in the vibes the people put out. So, pay close attention.

Bullies Want You TO BE Dependent on their approval.

Deep down, many targets are brainwashed into thinking that they must depend on their bullies for something. It’s true. I know this leaves you scratching your head. You may ask, “Depend on bullies? For what?”

Your bullies want you to be dependent on their approval and acceptance. They want to have control over your ability to meet people and make friends. In short, they want to have power over your social life.

It’s how they keep you begging for it. They dangle carrots of acceptance to keep you under their thumb and doing what they want you to do.

Punished for Defending Yourself:

Domestic Abusers Do the same to their PARTNERS.

Think about it. Domestic abusers do the same to their abused partners. They keep them dependent to maintain control and domination over them.

Only spousal abusers keep their victims dependent on financial resources. How? They do so by controlling the purse strings. They withhold money from them. Also, they shut down opportunities for the partner to make their own money by forbidding them from working.

Another control tactic of the spousal abuser is cutting the partner off from their family and friends. They do this to cut their partner off from any support they may get from them.

Again, know the early signs of bullying and abuse. If you defend yourself in the early stages, others are less likely to punish you for it.

Why? Because they haven’t gotten comfortable with seeing others bullying you yet.

Abuse is abuse, whether it comes in the form of bullying in school or the workplace, or domestic abuse in the home.

Oppressive Governments do the same to their CONSTITUENCIES.

Socialist and Communist governments also do the same to their citizenry. They manipulate events and media narratives. Moreover, they deliberately crash their countries’ economies to force the people to become dependent on them.

They even set up terrorist regimes to beat any dissenters into submission and burn their homes and businesses. This is nothing new. Those in power have used these tactics throughout history!

And they have done it solely to wrest control of the people’s behavior, thoughts, and very lives. Why? Because if you can keep someone dependent on you, you can make rules for them to follow.

In other words, you can tell them what to do and have complete domination over their lives. You can also force them to put up with the most unspeakable and evil of abuses. And you can silence them by keeping them in a state of fear.

You can make them afraid that you will withdraw whatever it is they need from you. With bullies, it is approval, acceptance, and the ability to make friends with others. With spousal abusers, it is love, money, or even food and medicine to keep you alive.

And with government despots, it’s basic needs like food, water, and other vital resources. And they can have complete control over every aspect of your life if they can keep you dependent on them for your very safety and survival.

Again, it always starts small. So, defend yourself before others have time to grow accustomed to it. This way, you won’t wait too long and get punished for it.

Punished for Defending Yourself:

Bullies will strip you of freedom and autonomy if you let them.

Understand that when control freaks use these methods of control, they strip you of your freedom and autonomy. They keep you too afraid to be your own person and exercise your human rights.

Also, they take away your ability to speak freely, be creative with your life, and flourish. They also keep you too afraid to stand up to them, call them out on their abuse, and assert your God-given right not to be controlled and abused.

The controlling person does this by keeping you under the threat that they will retaliate and unleash even worse pain on you if you disobey or step out of line.

The problem with this is that bullies, abusers, and oppressive governments only get drunk on their power. You can never satisfy them, and they can never get enough power. They must always up the ante and take more and more control.

Reasons You Get Punished for Defending yourself

Here’s something you need to realize. In your bullies’ minds, you’re only here for their convenience, their purpose, their agenda, and their pleasure. Never your own.

They need you to stay powerless. In other words, they need the scales of power to keep tipping in their favor.

Therefore, when you defend yourself against a bully, you automatically restore the balance of power. In other words, you reclaim your power. You snatch back the very thing your bullies are trying to keep from you.

When this happens, your bullies panic! Why? Because they feel that if they lose power over you, they’ll lose power over everyone else.

As a result, they will lose face. The bullies will lose respect, credibility, allies, and support. Then, they will become the bullied.

Bullies fear becoming targets.

Bullies have an obsessive fear of going from hunters to the hunted. And why not? You aren’t the only person they’ve bullied. There were many others before you. Moreover, bullies know all too well that most average people hate people like them.

They also know that most love to see bullies get their comeuppance. And once someone brings a bully down, no one will ever allow that bully to get up again.

This is why bullies will go to great lengths to keep you under control. If they cannot control you, they control nothing. Most people are still under the presumption that victims are weak. Therefore, if a victim stands up to a bully, others will see that and the bully will be at everyone else’s mercy.

Others will look at the failed bully and think, “Wow! If he can’t handle a wimp like them, then he really couldn’t handle me! This is a juicy opportunity! I can punk this creep out so easily!”

The bully then becomes the new man on the bottom. Gasp! Because if they can’t overpower the person who’s deemed the weakest link in the bunch, then they become the new weakest link! Ouch! Talk about a humbling situation!

Punished for Defending Yourself:

Bullies fear becoming the new man on the bottom.

Therefore, the bully and everyone else punish you for daring to defend yourself once the bullying reaches the late stages. And with each provocation from the bully and each counter you deliver, the more determined they are to tip the scales of power back in their favor.

With your counter jab comes pain and humiliation for bullies. Therefore, the human reflex is always to punish or eliminate the cause of that pain and humiliation.

When you stand up to a bully, they feel vulnerable because you just upset that power imbalance. Therefore, the bully punishes you to restore the power imbalance.

What do you do?

In a situation like this, you have three choices: either keep defending yourself with counterattacks or give up and feel even worse about yourself later. Or, you can leave the toxic environment altogether.

My advice is to defend yourself. However, you must punish the bully so severely that they won’t ever want to mess with you again. You must give the bully a traumatic memory they never want to relive.

It’s the only way they will stop. And if you can’t do this, then the next best thing to do is to remove yourself from the environment and relocate to a place where you can live in peace.

This post is all about what happens when you’re punished for defending yourself and what you can do about it.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Defending Yourself from Bullies: 11 Best Defenses

2. Self-Preservation Instinct: Defending Yourself from Bullies is Okay!

3. The 4 Stages of Bullying

4. Bullying and Psychological Conditioning

5. Conditioning: 5 Signs You’re Being Conditioned

Bullying is Abuse: 9 Ways Bullying and Abuse are The Same

September 10, 2024July 28, 20255 Comments

Did you know that bullying is abuse? ‘Want to know how they are one and the same? Here are the characteristics bully and abuse share that targets of bullying must know about.

Bullying is terrifying to their victims and leave them with life-long injuries and even cause death. As someone who survived and overcame bullying at school and in the workplace, I’m giving you the characteristics and long-lasting effects that bullying shares with it’s brother, abuse.

You will learn how the two match so that you can more confidently speak against it.

Once you learn these similarities, you will better be able to classify bullying as a form of abuse and see it exactly as it is. Moreover, you will be able to recite the characteristics and effects they both share so that you can contrast the two.

This post is all about the shared features and consequences of bullying and abuse and the reality that most people, especially victims of bullying don’t think about.

Bullying is abuse

This is probably a statement you haven’t heard much and you may even wonder how. Here are nine exact matches you must be aware of.

1. They both instill fear in their victims.

Bullying and abuse are designed to instill fear and anxiety. Moreover, bullies thrive on their victim’s fear to get a desired outcome from their behavior and from their victims.

Victims of both are usually so overwhelmed with fear that bullies can easily force them to comply with their wishes and demands. Victims are afraid that things will only get worse.

Also, they’re frightened of being physically attacked or socially ostracized. Therefore, they feel powerless to stand up to their abusers because they know that chances are good that they’ll suffer brutal retaliation if they dare to even speak up for themselves, much less fight back.

A healthy amount of fear is a good thing. However, victims of bullying and abuse are overwhelmed, even paralyzed with it.

This isn’t healthy because excessive fear only stunts growth and development. Moreover, it’s an invisible prison that keeps you stuck in life. An excessive amount of fear can also cause a psychological condition called, “Learned Helplessness.”

Moreover, the two can use fear of harm to induce classical conditioning in a very negative way. Think, Pavlov dogs and you’ll get a better understanding of this section.

2. Bullying is abuse: Both involve the use of force.

Bullying and abuse involves the use of force to get their victims to comply with their demands or not to say or do anything to make the perpetrators uncomfortable. Put simpler, the fear of harm compels victims to do everything they can to satisfy and even gratify (reward) their violators.

The targets often feel they have no choice. It’s either do what they can to please their offenders, or else.

3. They both include an imbalance of power.

This is a no-brainer. Bullying and abuse automatically strip their targets of personal power and hand over ALL power to the abusers. Understand that the perpetrators of both get a huge rush of power when abusing their victims.

Therefore, bullying and abuse are all about power and making their victims powerless. Thus, an imbalance of power arises if targets are too afraid to take a stand against their oppressors.

Understand that anytime bullies/abusers feel that they are losing power and control over their victims, they will immediately escalate the aggression to try and reinforce power over them.

For example, verbal or emotional bullies/abusers may escalate to physical bullying with beatings or they may destroy the victim’s property to get their point across.

Here’s a scenario. You have a verbal bully/abuser get in your face, yelling and cursing you out for a perceived slight. You get tired of hearing the tirades, so you put your hand up, turn your back on the person, and walk away.

Suddenly, as you’re walking away, your bully pursues you from behind and in a fit of rage, grabs you by the hair, and pulls you back before beating you up.

Therefore, understand that bullying and abuse always escalate! Always!

4. the goal of both is to gain power, control and dominance over another person.

Bullies and abusers love the thought of having absolute power over their targets and there’s nothing they will do to keep that power for themselves.

It’s a dark part of human nature. The one and only thing abusers desire more than money is to have the ability to tell others what they can and cannot do. In other words, they want control over the lives of others.

Bullies and abusers are tyrants and authoritarians at heart and they have an obsessive need to dominate. This is the only way they can feel powerful and in control. Always remember this.

5. Bullying is abuse: They both strip away your confidence, self-esteem, freedom, and autonomy.

Both bullying and abuse work to psychologically condition their targets. In other words, victims may initially being happy, strong, and confident people. However, bullies and abusers can slowly erode those healthy qualities and break down the target over time.

This is what has happened to many super confident women when they married abusive and controlling husbands. The women may have started out with a healthy self-esteem.

However, as time went by, the abuse from their partners slowly chipped away at their confidence and, bit by tiny bit, these women spiraled downward. In the end, the abusers broke these once-vibrant ladies down and the women became powerless shells of their former selves.

Moreover, it took a long time healing before these women could learn to make their own decisions again and feel free to be themselves.

This is what bullying and abuse both do to victims.

6. Bullying and abuse are repetitive and tend to escalate.

Always! Why? Because, sadly, most bullies and abusers get rewarded for their atrocious behavior. Moreover, most people, even those in authority, only side with the abusers/bullies and blame the victim.

It happens all the time. Because the target is usually the one with the least power, it’s much easier for bystanders and authority to blame them rather than hold the offenders responsible and risk becoming the next victim.

Let’s face it, most people, especially bystanders and authority, are cowards and butt-kissers.

Therefore, if bad behavior is what works, if it has always gotten them what they wanted in the past, then why would they stop?

Here’s something else you must know. Because bullies/abusers often get away with their abuse, they become more and more brazen with time.

As a result, they will escalate the aggression. In other words, they may transition from verbal and emotional abuse to physical abuse. Then, occasional slaps and punches may progress to full-fledged beatings and worse and worse it gets.

Therefore, understand that bullies/abusers don’t recognize boundaries nor limits.

7. they both leave lasting emotional trauma.

If a victim suffers bullying/abuse, especially if it’s chronic and long-term, it leaves emotional scars that can be difficult to heal. Targets of abuse often suffer from PTSD, depression, anxiety, excessive fear and trust issues.

Moreover, they can have problems in relationships and friendships later own and can even become suicidal if they don’t find professional help.

Bullying and abuse both have the same long-term after-affects.

8. Bullying is abuse: Moreover, both come from an authoritarian and tyrannical attitude and a place of perceived superiority and entitlement.

Bullies/abusers tend to have authoritarian and superiority complexes. In other words, they have a “Divine Right of Kings” mentality. In other words, they think that everyone else, especially their victims is supposed to bend knee and kiss the ring.

Another thing to point out here is that many bullies/abusers have Dark Triad personalities, such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.

These people can be abusive partners in the home or sadistic teachers and principals in schools. They can be bossy classmates or puffed-up coworkers trying to climb the ladder at work.

Moreover, they can be tyrannical upper managers in the workplace or politicians and government officials in a town, state, or country.

Sadly, in today’s atmosphere, we seem to have a society where most people will kowtow to these monsters and carry their water for them.

Consequently, this only emboldens these human predators. Therefore, they will become brazen and keep pushing boundaries until they ruin the lives of many people before finally dying or are forcefully held accountable

9. Both involve unwanted aggression.

Bullies and abusers are notorious for inflicting unwanted aggression on their victims. The good news is that you don’t have to continue being a victim. However, this is for another post.

In Conclusion:

Bullying and abuse share the exact same types and features. Males and females are capable of bullying.

Moreover, there is verbal bullying just as there is verbal abuse. It’s the same with other types of bullying and abuse. There are physical and emotional bullying and abuse, as well as psychological, relational, and social.

Moreover, the features and aftereffects of both are the same as well. Therefore, the questions remain? Why don’t more people equate bullying with abuse? They each have the same characteristics.

Also, why do we continue to separate the two as different things when, in fact, they’re one and the same?

Feel free to ask these questions and do your research. Moreover, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

this post was all about the features of bullying and abuse as well as the realization that bullying is abuse.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

1. Stop Victim Blaming: 8 Reasons People Blame Targets for Bullying

2. Gaslighting Phrases: 7 Most Common Statements to Be Aware of

3. Signs of Gaslighting: The 7 Signs You Must Know

4. Phrases to Shut Down a Gaslighter: 9 Powerful Statements to Use

5. How to Stop Being Too Nice: 5 Powerful Changes that Win Respect