Bullying

Ever been beaten up? Threatened? Ridiculed over and over? Ever watched on helplessly while someone was humiliated in front of you? Ever picked on a weaker person because it made you feel better about yourself? Most of us have either seen or experienced bullying.

A bully is a person who hurts, frightens, or isolates another who may be smaller or perceived as weaker. They aim to hurt, frighten, isolate, injure (externally or internally) and they do it intentionally. This last point is important because bullying is a strange, and un-cool sort of relationship that goes beyond teasing.

Teasing happens amongst friends and peers and it is generally carried out to get a reaction or to poke fun. The teaser will stop when asked and if they don't then they are moving towards a bullying or harassing sort of action. This is not cool!

Bullying sucks! No doubt about it, and it can result in the worst kind of consequences. The bully generally plans to harm their victim. They want to exert and maintain control and will go to great lengths to carry out their mission.

Bullying is a nasty, nasty business.

The victim can have a miserable life and that misery can last a lifetime. These are the people who through no fault of their own are hurt, embarrassed, insulted, humiliated, persecuted, injured, tortured and in some cases killed by an act or circumstance of bullying.

It's a Kid Thing... Not! Wrong!

Some rules to keep in mind if you are being bullied:

Stay away from secluded places where you know the bully or the gang might hang out.

Don't put yourself on the level of the bully by retaliating or fighting back. You will generally end up losing.

Remember that bullies pick on victims that show some vulnerability or weakness. Therefore, try to work on self-confidence, be self-assured and remember to smile.

Select your friends wisely; the people you hang out with make all the difference so - as a victim do not succumb to thinking that it is the world that is against you. Far from it, you still have lots of people to hang out with so don't let the stress get any worse by isolating yourself. This makes the situation worse.

As a victim it is not uncommon to have mood swings, cry for no reason, develop sleeping/eating disorders and get angry with the people you feel closest to. You might be irritable with you friends and folks and not want to go to school. This does not mean that you are crazy, rather it means that you are hurting on the inside. It means that you need to talk to someone who you know will listen and hear.

Remember, that you do have some control to do something about it!