‘Want to know all the bullying characteristics? Here is all the information you need to know.

Bullying exhibits both evident and subtle characteristics.

Therefore, in this post, you will learn about several bullying characteristics so that you can recognize them immediately and deal with them accordingly.

Once you learn all about this game-changing information, you will be able to notice bullying when it happens and stand up to it confidently.

This post is all about recognizing bullying characteristics, so you can identify even subtle forms of bullying when they occur and defend yourself against bullies.

Bullying Characteristics

If you watch closely, you will notice that bullies and bullying have certain characteristics. Here’s what they are.

1. Craving Power and control over others.

One of the main characteristics of bullying is the desire to have power and control over others. Most bullies can’t control their own lives. Therefore, to compensate for this, they seek to exert power and control over their victims.

Now, bullies know that they can’t ride roughshod over just anyone. Therefore, they are very careful in who they select to take power over. In other words, bullies choose their victims wisely.

Therefore, if they choose you, let them know that they chose the wrong person to bully. Stand up for yourself. Make them regret they ever looked in your general direction!

2. Targeting those who are weaker.

Picking on those who display weakness is also one of the main characteristics of bullying.

For example, school bullies often target individuals who are weaker than they are. These are kids with low self-esteem and those who are shy.

Additionally, they may target individuals who are physically smaller and weaker than they are, those lacking social skills, and loners.

Why? Because these are the students who will least likely defend themselves. Children with low self-esteem may believe that they don’t deserve respect. Therefore, they don’t fight back.

Kids who are smaller may be too afraid to stand up to bigger bullies. And those who have the least social intelligence may not know how to stand up for themselves.

Therefore, these kids are the most susceptible to being bullied.

They rarely pursue other students who are confident and have healthy self-esteem. The reason they are selective is that they are cowards. They know that the confident students will likely stand up to them.

Therefore, bullies like to pick easy targets. If you are one of those victims, start standing up for yourself. And do it with strength!

3. Bullying Characteristics:

Trying to Bring down those who are confident.

This happens mainly in the workplace. School bullies go after the weak. However, workplace bullies are different than school bullies.

Bullies at work like to target coworkers who threaten their positions. Therefore, they target the people who are the most confident and knowledgeable.

Now, bullies on the job may target those who are weaker. However, they primarily target the confident and competent coworkers.

Why, because they are highly jealous of those who outshine them. Remember that workplace bullies are often trying to advance in the corporate hierarchy. And they do this by taking down anyone who performs better than they do.

For instance, if you are confident and intelligent, they may undermine your confidence by pointing out your mistakes during a meeting. They may also talk over you to make you look weak.

Here’s how you defend yourself against this form of bullying. When the bully talks over you, keep speaking. Don’t pause, no matter how hard it may be not to. Also, stay confident. You do this by knowing where the bullying comes from.

4. Psychological Warfare.

Physical bullying is too apparent. Therefore, most seasoned bullies in school and adults at work use psychological warfare against you.

Moreover, psychological bullying is one of the least noticeable characteristics of bullying. So, why do the most talented bullies use psychological tactics to bully you?

It’s because psychological bullying doesn’t leave any bruises or cuts. In other words, it’s the least evident and hardest to prove.

Psychological bullies bully by inflicting verbal abuse. They may also spread rumors and lies to tarnish your reputation and destroy your relationships.

Again, counter this kind of bullying. If it’s verbal, counter it. If it’s social bullying, stay true to yourself. This will reveal who your true friends are.

5. Bullying Characteristics:

Relational Bullying

The destruction of relationships and severing social connections are also characteristics of bullying. Moreover, they are forms of psychological bullying.

Bullies destroy your relationships and social life by spreading rumors and lies about you. They sow division between you and your friends by telling them that you’re talking badly about them behind their backs.

Moreover, bullies in power may threaten to harm your friends if they continue to associate with you. Why do they do this?

They do this to instill fear in your friends, hoping they will turn against you.

The reasons bullies do this are to isolate you and cut you off from any support. Your bullies know that if they can do this, the least likely people will stand up for you.

And they realize that the best way to keep others from aligning with you is to alienate you from them. They alienate you by instilling fear in your friends and loved ones.

Moreover, they know that if they plant seeds of doubt in your friends’ and loved ones’ minds about you, they have better chances of turning these people against you.

If your bullies can turn everyone against you, then they get to bully you anytime they want without the risk of turning everyone against them.

To protect against this kind of bullying, stay true to yourself. Those who genuinely like and love you won’t fall for their garbage. And those who do will only reveal their true slimy selves to you.

6. Bullying Characteristics:

Verbal Bullying

There are two ways bullies may verbally abuse you. They may be sneaky about it. Or, if they’re brazen, they may do it openly.

However, they do it, bullies verbally assault you to tear down your confidence and make you feel bad about yourself. Verbal bullying is a form of brainwashing.

Why? Because it can cause you to doubt your worth. All they have to do is inflict the abuse repeatedly and for long enough.

And, the more they repeat it, the more likely you are to start believing them. Bullies know that if they can get you to believe them, then you’ll likely live up to it.

And if you live up to it, then they’ll no longer have to work so hard. Why? Because you’ll begin confirming what they claim to have known all along.

That you really are no good!

Therefore, to keep this from happening, you must counter this type of bullying. Say something back. For instance, if the bully tells you that you aren’t worth a damn, you can say, “Maybe to you I’m not, but to many others, I’m the world.”

7. Non-Verbal Bullying

Non-verbal bullying is bullying through gestures and body language. Bullies may also use facial expressions to let you know that they’re watching you.

For instance, a bully may glare at you. They may stare you down. And, they may do it for a long time, without blinking.

Why do bullies do this? Simple. They do it to dominate and intimidate their victims.

Your bully may also pound their fist into the palm of their opposite hand. They may flip you off.  Also, they might look at you, then take their thumb and make a cutting throat motion.

Understand that all these gestures and expressions are designed to intimidate you.

Moreover, non-verbal bullying is sneaky. Bullies use this kind of bullying to keep others from catching them in the act.

How you stand up to this kind of bullying is to mirror the same body language back to the bully. For example, if the bully gives you a dirty look, return the gesture.

8. Bullying Characteristics:

Keeping victims confused

Being bullied by someone who is passive-aggressive is the most demeaning and humiliating experience for a person. I say this because when these types of people insult you, they’re slick about it.

They catch you off guard. They taunt you in such a way that it can be tricky to figure out who it’s aimed at. Sometimes, you don’t even know it’s directed at you. That is, until it’s too late for you to deliver a good comeback.

Why? Because the bully may not necessarily address it to you.

While you may be unaware, any bystanders nearby will immediately know who the covert nastiness is meant for. It’s funny how we tend to see more clearly from the outside.

What’s so terrible about this is that the stealthy insults are usually hurled at you in front of an audience. Moreover, they can quickly fly over your head. And you end up looking weak and like a clueless idiot for not catching it in time.

Even though the bully’s words are vague and unclear, they will still nibble at your self-esteem. They will take a chunk out of your pride whether you want them to or not.

Why? Because you usually figure it out sooner or later. It only goes to prove how vicious these covert attacks can be.

But understand that although the bully and a few others might think he is witty. Even if the creep slapped you with a good burn, there are reasons why they’re so slick with the mouth.

It’s because, again, they’re cowards. And, again, they want to confuse you to keep you from standing up to them.

But stand up to them anyway. There are ways you can stand up to this type of bullying.

9. Bullying Characteristics:

Physical Bullying

Physical bullies may beat you up to make you do what they want. Understand that this is a weakness because people only submit because they don’t want to get whipped.

In other words, they never do it because they want to, but to keep themselves safe from harm.

True influence is when someone does something for you because they genuinely want to do it. When people have a choice and they choose to do something you want, the result is so much more rewarding.

Understand that these bullies see everything as zero-sum. They either have total control or no control at all. There’s no in-between. If they can’t have complete influence, they feel ineffective and powerless.

Bullies usually get physical when they’ve tried everything else. In other words, when nothing else works, they turn to physical abuse as a last resort.

Anytime someone physically attacks you, you must defend yourself. Also, you can call the police. Whatever you do, don’t just do nothing. You must stand against this type of bullying.

10. Cyber-Bullying

Cyber-bullying is the most malicious and dangerous form of bullying. This is because a much wider audience sees the attacks. Also, there’s a high degree of anonymity. Why? Cyberbullies hide behind fake screen names and profiles to avoid exposure.

Cyberbullies are cowards. They fear being detected for the sick creeps they are. So, they use your private message inbox to unleash their vitriol onto you.

Even if you delete the person from your friends’ list, they can still flame you through the inbox.

Many cyberbullies think that you will be so emotional that you won’t think to take a screenshot of the message. Therefore, they will be emboldened to continue this behavior until you properly address the situation.

So, stay calm. Never react to the vile messages by sending evil messages of your own. Don’t call them names, even if they start out name-calling you. Do not react by cursing the cyberbully out or using all caps.

Instead, don’t respond. Just delete and block them. They may make more fake accounts. However, block them too.

This post was all about bullying characteristics so that you can recognize them and stand up to them.

Related posts you’ll enjoy:

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

2. The Perfect Victim: 9 Traits Bullies Look for in Potential Targets 

3. Cyberbullying Tactics: 9 Common Tricks of Cyber-Bullies and Trolls