Bullying: Don’t Be or Become a Victim To It!

Bullying in schools is a growing community concern. Bullying can damage both the
physical and mental health of vulnerable teens. It can lead to a loss of self-esteem,
increased anxiety, and difficulty in forming trusting relationships.

Bullying can happen anywhere, anytime to anyone. It’s not just a school or teenage
problem. You can be bullied at home, in your neighborhood, in the mall, at work, on
the net and lots of other places. Even adults get bullied (I recently had a nasty
experience with this, it was not very pleasant). So it’s real important to learn how to
combat bullying, especially before you learn to drive, before bullying can become
“road rage”.

If you are being bullied, is there anything you can do to stop it? Is it something you
just have to put up with or is there some way to put an end to the abuse? These are
good questions.

There are steps you can take to stop the bullying. Remember, they don’t always
work, all bullies are different and many are very unpredictable.

First, don’t let yourself become a victim. Sure, that’s real easy to say, but there are
some ways to accomplish this. Fighting back against a bully will only escalate the
situation, most of the time that is exactly what they want you to do. Arguing with
them is usually frustrating, impossible or dangerous — especially if the person is
impaired on alcohol or on drugs. Sometimes just ignoring them just doesn’t work
either. If you can’t just ignore them, the person, you may have to think fast and
reply in a non-threatening or insulting manor. This takes the fun out of the taunting
for the bully. There is nothing they can reply with if they think their name-calling
isn’t getting to you in any way, unless they are very creative and come up with a fast
comeback. Do not try this on someone who you don’t know at all, they could be
capable of anything.

If the bullying is physical, try to avoid any situation where you will be alone with that
person. Also, don’t act like you’re scared, even if you are. Stand up straight and tall
and look the bully in the eye if you are confronted. If it’s a group of people, DON’T
do this, run like the wind or yell, “FIRE!” If they have a weapon or a gun, yell “FIRE”,
run and report them to the school principal or call the police!

Of course, some situations are more serious, and will require intervention by other
people. In a serious situation, you need to tell someone else about it. Go to an older
person you can trust, your parent or a friend’s parent, the school principal, a
counselor, the school nurse, or a sports coach. Keep telling people until you find
someone who will deal with the situation. It may be hard to believe, but the bully
needs help just as much as you do to keep the bullying from becoming a lifelong
habit.

Finally, realize that you don’t deserve to be bullied. No one does. Don’t live with it
thinking that it’s something you’re doing wrong. You are a great person, so put an
end to the bullying now. I learned how to stop it, but it wasn’t so easy and it took a
lot of time. Let’s see who the “bully person’ really is. Here is kind of a bully “profile”,
it will help you understand what’s going on with them.

Ten Things You Should Know About Bullies:

Bullies come in all ages, sizes, genders, races, and religions.

Bullies use many tactics to threaten and harass people including, but not limited to,
words and physical violence.

People who behave in openly hostile behavior, who threaten others to make
themselves feel powerful, or who build themselves up by tearing others down are
bullies.

Women are more likely to bully with words while guys most often resort to physical
attacks. For this reason bullying by females is often ignored or not taken as
seriously as bullying by men. The reality is that both types of bullying are very
serious.

Words can be just as harmful as physical violence and can cause lasting
psychological damage to victims. The old adage, “Sticks and stones can break your
bones but words will never hurt you!” is simply not true.

Never try to handle a bully alone. Always go to a person with authority over the bully
such as; a teacher, a principal, a school liaison officer or a parent.

No matter what a bully threatens to do, you must tell somebody in a position of
authority and your parents. Never suffer in silence. No matter how popular a bully
seems you do not have to handle him/her alone. Responsible adults will help you if
you tell them what is happening. Studies have shown that bullying stops when
adults step in and telling an adult rarely makes the situation worse.

Bullies often model what they see at home. Sometimes a bully is really crying out for
help. Bullies often act out because they feel they have no control over their own
lives; they bully in an attempt to take control. Telling an adult about a bully may end
up helping both of you.

Ignoring bullies does not make them stop. Only adult intervention and awareness
can end the harassment. Bullies thrive on the reactions of their victims and ignoring
them can make them step up their efforts. However, if you tell an adult and then
start ignoring the bullying behavior the bully will tend to back off. Only start
ignoring the behavior after you have made as many adults as possible aware of the
problem.

As children grow into teens, bullying behaviors often escalate. Death threats, taunts
urging suicide, group attacks, and violence with weapons can occur. This sort if
behavior is criminal and should always be reported to the police as well as to school
officials and parents. Don’t hide, speak out and tell someone!

Cool Nurse was created to help today’s
teen and young adult achieve and maintain a high level of health, fitness and well-
being.

The founder & president of Cool Nurse, is a registered nurse, a writer and an
educator. She has devoted her life as an RN to the welfare of teenagers. Cool Nurse - Health for Today’s Teen and Young Adult