Understanding bullying

No one is born a bully – true story. Bullying is a learnt behaviour and not an
innate characteristic of anyone. According to Ditch the Label research, there
are lots of reasons why people bully and these are explored further in Why
People Bully, The Scientific Reasons.

The dictionary definition of bullying is “the use of strength or power frighten or

hurt weaker people.”This is not a very nice definition if you ask us. First things
first, being bullied does not mean that you are weak.

What’s more, this definition doesn’t account for many facets of bullying such
as online abuse, subtle bullying within friendships such as manipulation,
intimidation and social exclusion, as well as indirect bullying such as the
spreading of harmful rumours, be it online or elsewhere.

Persistence is key
Another important thing to note is that for something to qualify as bullying – it
is persistent. A one-off comment made about your appearance is hurtful and
horrible to have to go through but a common factor of bullying is that it is a
regular and persistent occurrence that takes place over time.

Are you in denial?

“I’m probably overreacting?”
“I’m just being over-sensitive”
“It will probably stop soon”
Sound familiar? Well, these are all things we tell ourselves when we are
in denial. We somehow coast through life thinking, “yeah bullying sucks but it
can’t happen to me…” then it does and it hurts, so we ignore it or pretend that
it’s nothing.

Denial is a trick to make us think that everything is fine, even when it’s not.
The first step to overcoming bullying is to acknowledge the fact that you are
being bullied. This can sometimes be the hardest part: no one wants to admit
that their ‘friends’ are bullying them.

How bullying makes you feel

The best way to determine whether you are being bullied is to analyse how it
makes you feel and if it makes you feel this way on a regular basis. Take
the Ditch the Label quiz if you’re still unsure about whether or not you’re being
bullied:

I’m being bullied – what should I do?

The most important thing you can do when being bullied to protect yourself is
to talk about it.

Start by joining the Ditch the Label Support Community to speak to a digital
mentor and take the first steps to overcome bullying. If you’d rather speak to
someone in person, drop us an email here.

Alternatively, pick a friend who you trust, a family member or teacher and tell
them what’s been going on. Don’t forget to tell them how it makes you feel
and how long it’s been going on.
 If you don’t feel like talking right now, that’s OK – check out some of these
resources that have helped thousands of people overcome bullying…

 Top 10 Tips for Overcoming Bullying

 Top 9 Tips for Overcoming Cyberbullying

 How to Speak to Someone who is Bullying you

Are you bullying someone?

Statistically speaking, those who experience bullying are likely to go on and
bully other people. The very best way to overcome bullying once and for all is
to understand those who bully and the reasons behind why they do it.

By showing compassion towards those who bully, no matter how hard that
might seem at the time, we can truly overcome bullying. Read this to find out
more…

Not only do we work closely with those who are being bullied, but we are also
determined to help those who are doing the bullying. If that’s you, have a
browse through the resources below for information on how to stop: