Basic Principles On How To Deal With Bullying

By Nelda Powers


Bullying is a problem that most of us have had to deal with in one part of our lives or the other. For a good number of people, it is a constant problem that they have to face every day. Bullying can be defined as the repeated act of aggressive behaviour to dominate others. It can be in form of mockery, threats, abuse and coercion towards particular targets. It has been linked to variation in gender, physique, class, religion; race, just to name a few. Bullying is one of the factors contributing to increased suicide cases especially among teens. As a result, various movements and laws have been created on how to deal with bullying.

There are three basic types of abuse as regards this vice. These are emotional, physical and verbal abuse. Within the three categories, there exists physical violence, insults, coercion and intimidation. There is some differences in the manner in which abuse is perpetrated in the female and the male genders. This behaviour in females is associated with emotional abuse while male tend to be more physically aggressive. In isolated cases, both sexes may choose mockery such as when the victim looks more masculine or when both parties are adults who do not want to be considered immature.

The vice may be classified as either indirect (social aggression) or direct. The aim of bullies in the indirect form is to make the victim feel lonely. They do this by gossiping about the target, laughing at them, calling them names and even staring at them. Direct bullies openly take advantage of individuals by pushing and pulling, shoving, biting, and pinching among others

So what do bullies stand to gain by hurting other people? That is the big question. The common denominator in a majority of the bullies is the low self-esteem among them. By acting aggressively towards other people, they conceal their weaknesses; it makes them feel better about themselves. The other reason for this aggression is jealousy. Some perpetrators simply are not happy about the success of their victim.

Some bullies may be obsessed with tormenting others because they suffer from psychiatric conditions. Bullies are usually characterised by high a temper and feeling too good about themselves outwardly though this may not be the case in reality. In addition, bullies report poor performance academically

Victims usually end up feeling depressed, lonely and unwanted. There self esteem is greatly lowered and gradually lose interest in life. In the long run, it can lead to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Victims accumulate bitterness and hatred that may in future may present violently. The good side of bullying can be where victims are able to stand up for themselves and gain the respect of the people around.

Parents, teachers and guardians are encouraged to attend anti bullying training programs to be help children cope. Schools can also come up with policies and peer counseling sessions. The state can actively participate by instituting laws against such behaviour.

Targets can be able to deal with bullying by being on the defensive rather than feeling inferior. This can only be possible when one puts on a positive attitude towards the situation. Bullies prefer weak people and can only retreat when they have been confidently challenged.




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