Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow to Deal With Being BulliedThings to AvoidDealing With Being CyberbulliedHow to Help

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Table of Contents

How to Deal With Being Bullied

Things to Avoid

Dealing With Being Cyberbullied

How to Help

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While it might seem like dealing with bullying is a thing that only children might go through, you can be confronted with bullies at any stage of your life. You can have a bully at work, the gym, or even in your own home.

Being bullied is a frustrating and painful experience. When you arebeing bullied, it can often feel like things are out of your hands. While the onus is never on you to stop the bullying, and it’s never your fault, there are some things you can do to handle being bullied.

At a GlanceIf you or someone you know is being bullied:Remove yourself from the situationTry to talk to the bullyTalk to someone you trustStay confidentEnforce your boundariesGet help from someone elseExplore more valuable tips to deal with a bully and protect yourself healthily and safely.

At a Glance

If you or someone you know is being bullied:Remove yourself from the situationTry to talk to the bullyTalk to someone you trustStay confidentEnforce your boundariesGet help from someone elseExplore more valuable tips to deal with a bully and protect yourself healthily and safely.

If you or someone you know is being bullied:

Explore more valuable tips to deal with a bully and protect yourself healthily and safely.

If you are being bullied, it’s essential to know that it’s not your fault. The only person at fault in such a situation is the bully. Nevertheless, here are some things you can do to deal with it:

Don’t Engage

Verbal bullies hope that you engage with them so that they have an excuse to keep picking on you. If the bully isn’t disrupting your personal or work life, don’t engage with them. When the bully starts verbally attacking you, remove yourself from the situation if you can. If it’s safe for you to do so, simply walk away.

Have a Conversation With the Bully

Many people who bully have many unresolved issues that cause them to act out. While this doesn’t excuse their behavior, having a conversation with the bully might help them realize just how much their actions are hurting you and hopefully deter them from continuing.

Report It

If the bully refuses to let up after having a conversation with them, you should take the issue to a higher authority.If it’s happening at work, you should take it to your boss, or if it’s happening at school, you can report it to a teacher. If you feel at risk of physical harm from the bully, you should consider involving the police.

Recite Positive Affirmations

Try as you might to ignore the bully when they are saying ugly things about you; some of these things might stick in your mind. It’s important to remember that, in many cases, bullies are only projecting their insecurities onto you and none of what they are saying about you is accurate. Usepositive affirmationsto remind yourself that you are a great person and nothing your bully says matters.

Protect Your Personal Space

If a family member is bullying you in your home, draw firmer boundaries and protect your personal space. This might involve telling a family member living with you to move out or moving out yourself if you can afford to.

Get Help

Getting help to deal with a bully, especially as an adult, might seem embarrassing, but don’t hesitate to get help when you feel like you need it. Tell a friend or loved one that you are being bullied.

Things You Shouldn’t Do When You are Being Bullied

If you are being bullied, remember that you are the victim, and it’s not your fault. However, there are a few things youshould avoidin any scenario that you are being bullied:

Don’t Blame YourselfBullying is never your fault. It’s only the bully’s fault, so don’t blame yourself for their shortcomings.

Don’t Blame Yourself

Bullying is never your fault. It’s only the bully’s fault, so don’t blame yourself for their shortcomings.

Don’t Bully Others

Don’t Disrupt Your Life

Don’t disrupt your day-to-day life because of a bully. Skipping work, school, or a family function can be tempting because you’ll be confronted with the bully. Don’t let them disrupt your life. The exception to this is if it’s unsafe for you to be in close proximity to the person who is bullying you.

Don’t Retaliate

While it might seem tempting to pay back the bully’s actions in kind, you shouldn’t retaliate if you are being bullied. Many bullies hope to elicit an adverse reaction from you when they bully you. Denying them this satisfaction can take away some of their power.

Cyberbullying is a phenomenon that has become more common.Cyberbullyingtakes place in digital spaces like social media, and you might never meet the person bullying you.

The first thing you should know is that you shouldn’t engage with them. Cyberbullies, like every other bully, feed off your response. You can also block their accounts from viewing and interacting with yours.

If your life or physical well-being is being threatened, don’t think it’s just the internet. Treat it like a real threat and report it to the police.

How to Help Someone Who Is Being Bullied

If you observe that your child, friend, or loved one is being bullied, there are some things that you could do to help them get out of the situation in the safest and healthiest ways possible:

How Social Support Contributes to Psychological Health

Takeaway

There’s no one way to deal with bullies. Different tactics apply in different scenarios. Bullying is a horrible thing to deal with, and no one deserves to be bullied. While you can try to work out issues with the bully yourself, report to a higher authority if you feel threatened or overwhelmed.

For instance, if yourmanager is bullying youat work, take the issue to their boss. If you find that you are having a difficult time dealing with the emotional aftermath of being bullied, please don’t hesitate toreach out to a mental health professional.

How to Confront Workplace Bullying

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.StopBullying.Gov. What is bullying.November 5, 2021Smith CR, Palazzo SJ, Grubb PL, Gillespie GL.Standing up against workplace bullying behavior: Recommendations from newly licensed nurses.J Nurs Educ Pract. 2020;10(7):35. doi:10.5430/jnep.v10n7p35Zhang X, Ra CK, Zhang D, Zhang Y, MacLeod KE.The impact of school social support and bullying victimization on psychological distress among California adolescents.Calif J Health Promot. 2016;14(2):56-67.StopBullying.Gov.What is cyberbullying.University of Delaware.Bullying at School: Recommendations for Teachers and Parents.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.StopBullying.Gov. What is bullying.November 5, 2021Smith CR, Palazzo SJ, Grubb PL, Gillespie GL.Standing up against workplace bullying behavior: Recommendations from newly licensed nurses.J Nurs Educ Pract. 2020;10(7):35. doi:10.5430/jnep.v10n7p35Zhang X, Ra CK, Zhang D, Zhang Y, MacLeod KE.The impact of school social support and bullying victimization on psychological distress among California adolescents.Calif J Health Promot. 2016;14(2):56-67.StopBullying.Gov.What is cyberbullying.University of Delaware.Bullying at School: Recommendations for Teachers and Parents.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

StopBullying.Gov. What is bullying.November 5, 2021Smith CR, Palazzo SJ, Grubb PL, Gillespie GL.Standing up against workplace bullying behavior: Recommendations from newly licensed nurses.J Nurs Educ Pract. 2020;10(7):35. doi:10.5430/jnep.v10n7p35Zhang X, Ra CK, Zhang D, Zhang Y, MacLeod KE.The impact of school social support and bullying victimization on psychological distress among California adolescents.Calif J Health Promot. 2016;14(2):56-67.StopBullying.Gov.What is cyberbullying.University of Delaware.Bullying at School: Recommendations for Teachers and Parents.

StopBullying.Gov. What is bullying.November 5, 2021

Smith CR, Palazzo SJ, Grubb PL, Gillespie GL.Standing up against workplace bullying behavior: Recommendations from newly licensed nurses.J Nurs Educ Pract. 2020;10(7):35. doi:10.5430/jnep.v10n7p35

Zhang X, Ra CK, Zhang D, Zhang Y, MacLeod KE.The impact of school social support and bullying victimization on psychological distress among California adolescents.Calif J Health Promot. 2016;14(2):56-67.

StopBullying.Gov.What is cyberbullying.

University of Delaware.Bullying at School: Recommendations for Teachers and Parents.

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