She humiliates you in front of the whole class. He threatens to punch you if you don’t give him your lunch. She pressures you into drinking when you know you’re over the line.

If you’ve been bullied, you know how it can make you feel…scared, alone, helpless and angry…

Bullying is often about one person having power and dominance over another. Bullies are creatures of habit – their target experiences their bullish and abusive behavior, over and over.

Physical Bullying

  •  slapping, shoving, spitting
  •  damaging or taking someone’s things (mp3 player, money, books, etc)
  •  tripping someone on purpose to make other people laugh at them
  •  humiliating acts such as “wedgies” or shoving someone into a locker or small place

Verbal Bullying

  •  mocking, teasing
  •  humiliating or threatening someone
  •  using racial slurs and negative stereotypes
  •  discriminating someone repeatedly because of their sexuality

Social Bullying

  •  purposefully not including others
  •  gossiping or spreading rumours
  •  setting someone up to look bad
  •  telling others someone’s personal information or secrets

Cyber Bullying

  •  sending text messages or emails to punish, put-down, spread rumours or make fun of someone
  •  posting photos of someone online without their consent, in order to humiliate them
  •  hacking someone’s email to spread nasty messages using their identity

How To Deal With It

No one deserves to be bullied.

Bullying is complicated, and there are no simple solutions. However, there are steps you can take to help you cope:

Try to stay calm:

It’s going to be difficult, but if you can, try to appear in control and confident during incidents of bullying. Don’t be afraid to look the bully right in the eye.

Ignore the bully online:

Block the bully/bullies from your instant messaging program, email, profile on social networking sites, etc. Consider changing your email address and/or passwords.

Talk about it with someone you trust:

a parent, teacher, friend, counsellor, or even a volunteer. Even if they aren’t able to do something to stop the bullying, having someone listen and support you can help you feel less alone.

Write it down:

keep a record of what happened, when, where, how often, who was involved, and what’s been done about it. If you’ve been harassed on the computer, save a copy or print it out.

Learn more about bullying and other issues through our articles online or find resources in your community.