Recognising bullying behaviour in others is quite easy but are we able to see those behaviours in ourselves as we are all capable of bullying behaviour?
If you have been told by others that you are demonstrating bullying behaviour towards another person, it is important to stay calm recognise it and endeavour to stop it. Where others have been hurt, it is important to take action to put things right.
If you’ve been called a bully, it means that someone is telling you that your behaviour is not okay. That’s because bullying behaviour is a serious issue that can cause all people involved real harm. For the person being bullied, it’s a very stressful experience that can have a serious and long-term impact on their life. It also can cause stress for the people who see it happening, who may feel helpless and afraid that they’ll be next.
If you’ve been called a ‘bully’, you have a chance to:
Being bullied can seriously affect a person’s physical, emotional, academic and social well-being. Many sufferers of bullying lack confidence, feel bad about themselves, have few friends and spend a lot of time alone. If you are displaying bullying behaviour towards somebody, is this how you really want to make them feel? Probably not. Which is why it is important to address your behaviour.
Think about why you’ve behaved in that way. Has anything upset or hurt you to lead to you displaying this kind of behaviour? Although not an excuse for bullying someone, sometimes when a person has been hurt, they do take it out on someone else.
According to research from http://www.ditchthelabel.org some people display bullying behaviour because they are looking to gain a feeling of power, purpose and control over another person. But of course, there are other reasons too:
Whilst this doesn’t condone what they do, understanding what might be behind their behaviour can sometimes help the situation and ensure they receive the relevant help and support needed to encourage them to explore their own feelings, understand what led to the behaviour and what needs to change.