Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav

How do I know if I'm a bully?

187 Answers
Last Updated: 06/09/2022 at 9:02pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Lisa Groesz, PhD

Psychologist

With evidenced based therapies, we find the root of the problem together to implement solutions. We all face crises, transitions, or disorders at some time.

Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
June 30th, 2018 11:09am
iF you are repeatedly making loved ones or anyone sad with things you say, body language etc. Taking jokes too far or doing something multiple times after they have already been hurt.
friendlyneighborhoodspiderwoman
September 14th, 2019 1:10am
Think about the things you consistently say and do to those around you and ask yourself how you would feel if someone said and did the same thing to you. Put yourself in another person's shoes and ask "did saying/doing this hurt that person? Did it cause physical/mental pain? Have I made their day worse instead of better?" If you can answer "yes" to these sorts of questions, and you do so intentionally and regularly, then maybe you are a bully. If you unintentionally hurt someone on several occasions I would say you are just unaware of how you are making someone else feel and rather than labelling yourself a bully you should try to change. If you think you're hurting someone, ask them, you would make yourself and that person very happy. Always think before you speak or act. Empathy is a very powerful thing, put yourself in someone else's shoes and treat someone the way you would like to be treated. Always be kind to others.
SorrowfulSerendipity
March 2nd, 2018 2:10pm
Try and figure out why you are doing the things which you are. Are you behaving in a specific way because you want to make other people feel worse about themselves or because you have a malicious intent? If you think this may be the case don't worry, it's great that you have realised this and now you can move forward and improve yourself as a person as well as improving your relationships with the people around you. If you have been trying to hurt someone then take the initiative to apologise and reassure that person that you will not do this again. Alternatively if you are not actively trying to hurt other people and you think you simply end up doing so without intending to then it will also be beneficial to have a conversation with those people. Tell the people who you think you have hurt that it was not your intention to hurt them and that you are sorry if they ended up feeling hurt or offended by what you said or your behaviour. Don't worry you are taking a very good step in your self discovery and you can take this opportunity to improve yourself as a person, have an honest conversation with whoever you think you have hurt. They will greatly appreciate this as it will take some reflection and courage. Hope everything works out well
hopefulRose5656
September 11th, 2019 8:49am
I think the fact that you are asking this question is an answer itself . I would suggest that if you feel that you have bullied someone maybe you should talk to that person, ask them if you have done something wrong for them , what is that thing and how can you fix it .from that you can only become a better person either you are or you're not.try not to be in denial of the answer that you will be recieving , face it whatever it is and dont be ashamed or scared and always remember a person who can make a conversation is a strong person .
charmingTruth38
July 12th, 2019 9:06pm
You find yourself unhappy with your life, you treat others unfairly on a regular basis when they don’t deserve your unfair treatment, you find whoever you pick on or are unfair to have or look as if they have better lifestyles and relationships that you may be lacking which is why you feel better after knocking them down as your jealous or have low self esteem yourself and feel you have no other ways of making yourself feel better about yourself. If you feel like this or are struggling daily with things and feel like you treat others badly regularly you may be a bully.
tacobella4
July 11th, 2019 5:21am
It’s hard sometimes to practice self-awareness and reflection if you haven’t gotten in the habit of doing so. My question to you would be, what makes you ask this question in the first place? Do you have experience verbally or physically abusing someone else for the purpose of making them feel worse? Do you target one person and repeatedly try to take them down a notch? Taking the time to find within yourself the reasons you may do something like this will allow you to grow as a person and mend your ways. We all have space to learn to be better humans! I believe in you!
DragonView2
April 28th, 2019 2:25am
If you persistently and systematically bad-mouth, intimidate, name-call, insult, exclude, make fun of, make life or tasks difficult or delayed on purpose, or mistreat a particular person or group, you are a bully. More so if you are in a position of power such that it is difficult, risky or even dangerous to the victim or victims to defend themselves from you. A bully has a target. The target may be randomly chosen. Usually, they will accuse the victim of being somehow defective. The bully may sincerely believe that the victim deserves that treatment. The bully may also feel intimidated by the victim, the successes or good traits that the victim may have, in such a way that the bully feels the need to defend itself from the victim. They may, thus, feel envy of the victim, but it is also often not the case. The bullies often (not always) have low self-esteem, care a lot about the opinion that others have about them, find pleasure in getting attention from the victim or others and in feeling that they have such power that they cannot be confronted. Abusing another person makes them feel in control, release anger that they feel against another person (whom they cannot confront) and thus feel better about themselves or their situation temporarily. If you suffer from malignant narcissism, chances are that you are a bully. Bullies have little to no empathy for their victims. They are seen just as objects for gratification or a threat to be rid of. Bullies don't seem to often believe that what they do is wrong anyhow. They don't tend to see themselves as bullies. If confronted about their conduct, bullies may blame the victim and play themselves as victims. The victim can almost never become "good enough" for the abuser to decide not to abuse.
jade2019
February 17th, 2019 9:14am
If you notice you enjoy hurting or making people afraid, it is likely you are behaving like a bully. Feelings of power and control may dominate your mind when you hurt unassertive individuals, this should indicate it is time to think about your thoughts and behavior. Bully's usually experience the feeling of being out of control in their own lives (home/school) or even experience abusive situations. If you are exhibiting aggressive or harmful behavior to weaker people, then it is likely you are trying to subconsciously re-gain that power. Self-esteem and assertiveness can be taught, so changing aggressive or harmful behaviors and replacing them with more healthy responses/thoughts is relatively easy when you understand why you originally behaved and thought that way. If you are unaware of what fear looks like in others, a good indicator would be facial expressions. Do people avoid you? Do people always just agree with you? are they confident to challenge you? Have you ever asked someone you know to be honest and tell you what people think of you and how you make them feel? Bullying doesn't always mean physically threatening or harming someone. It can be ostracizing weaker members of your group (Children/adults). Social media is a prime example of bullying without touching someone. Excluding friends from group social media platforms or posting mean pictures supposedly representing the person being bullied, are all gross acts of harmful psychological bullying. If any of this resonates it may be a good time to address these behaviors and seek support in implementing change.
Anonymous
February 16th, 2019 4:23pm
Everyone's experience in life is different, so the only way to know if you're a bully to someone else is to ask them. In asking them you can have a conversation about it, and if they feel like you have been a bully towards them for some reason, you can decide then how you want to respond to that. I have found in my past experience that talking to people about something is the best way to really understand how I have had an effect on that person and it is usually not as bad as I have thought. If you need advice on this I recommend reading the Bullying self-help guide on 7 cups or by starting a conversation with one of our trained listeners.
Anonymous
January 23rd, 2019 4:53pm
If you are hurting someone by hitting them or anything to the body that can cause them physical harm you are a bully. If you are posting mean and hurtful things on social media then you are a bully. When you say things to someone that breaks their self esteem or hurts them emotionally then you are a bully as well. Bullies are not always aware that they might be doing hurtful things to a person because most bullies were bullied themselves. If you know that you are causing someone harm on purpose then yes you are a mean bully.
Anonymous
January 5th, 2019 6:20pm
You have all the freedom you want, as long as you don't hurt someone. When someone tells you that you hurt them, you don't get to say you didn't, or that their feelings are wrong. And if they don't say it to you directly, you can watch their reaction to your actions (arethey crying, does their laugh sound fake, are they laughing, do they feel embarrased, WATCH THEIR BODY LANGUAGE,...). When you see you hurt them in any way, apologize and NEVER repeat it again. You become a bully when you reapeat the actions of hurting someone in any way.
Sniffles0188
December 29th, 2018 5:01pm
Applying your own power as a sense of being inferior to another individual. This includes having a lack of care of how your actions may affect another individual's feelings and having no respect or acceptance for who they are. There are many forms of bullying - it is not just picking on them after school, there can be verbal, physical and cyber bullying and there is help available for those who believe to be a bully or are unsure whether they are one. There is also help available to parents who may be concerned that their child is a bully.
lajet1628
November 30th, 2018 9:06pm
If you’re hurting someone, whether it is hurting them physically or emotionally, and you continue to hurt them even after you know they don’t appreciate it and you know it’s wrong, it is bullying. On the other hand, if both people involved are mutually having fun (both parties understand that it is lighthearted and both parties are able to share the laughter) and no one is taking offense at your actions, it’s not considered bullying. If you are very concerned about this issue, then seeking help from a professional (like a school counsellor) would be the option to take.
Anonymous
September 29th, 2018 12:39am
This one is a hard one to answer as you'd think you would know that you were a bully or not however it's not always as crystal clear as you'd like to think. There are many signs that you are a bully, the more obvious ones are that someone starts avoiding crossing your path, people start avoiding eye contact when speaking for you, people start becoming more silent around you or you ignore someone with purpose. Some other signs which is not as obvious is that you blame everyone else for your problems and you surround yourself with people who never challanges your views.
Anonymous
August 17th, 2018 10:25am
You know if you are intentionally hurting someone else as a way to feel better about yourself or in order to get a sense of acheivement, self worth or strength. If you feel as though you are doing so, don't blame yourself but try to understand your reasons for doing so, this will help you stop hurting both yourself and others. Talk to listeners and other experienced individuals here in 7 cups, who will guide you through this. Don't feel overly guilty as well. Try and reach out to the person you think you might be bullying, and speak to them about your behaviour towards them. This will help you both understand each other, get rid of ill feelings and relieve hurt. Hope you feel better!
Anonymous
August 17th, 2018 3:29am
If it does affect the person you are bullying, whether it is emotionally or physically, then you are technically bullying others. This does not matter whether you do in individually or with a group. There is a thin line between joking and bullying and it is important to know the cut-off. It is also possible to bully someone without being aware of it yourself, so it would be highly appreciated if you would think whether your actions will be fine if you are on the receiving end. There is also indirect bullying, that could take forms in rumors or gossips. Please do be careful.
Anonymous
August 11th, 2018 5:39am
Take a very long and hard look at the things that you do and say to the people around you if you wouldn’t want them things being done or said to you you might be a bully
delightfulBraveheart44
August 2nd, 2018 5:24am
You tend to pick on people for unnecessary reasons. You feel as if making someone feel bad will help you be popular.
3HereForYou3
July 28th, 2018 6:33pm
If you use your superior ability/influence to intimidate somebody else (eg. to force them to do something) that's bullying. Bullying is basically making someone feel small consistently.
BrandonCares1074
May 5th, 2018 1:44am
If you are repeatedly harming our harassing someone, this means you are bullying that person. Bullying is the repetition of harassment.
Anonymous
June 9th, 2022 9:02pm
If you are a bully, it isn’t too late to apologise and change your ways to become a better person, however if you are not sure, here are some questions you can ask yourself: 1.) Have I ever repeatedly hurt someone physically? 2.) Do I say or do anything that could be triggering to them repeatedly? 3.) How would I feel if they treated me how I treat them? 4.) If I am engaging in banter, is everyone enjoying it, joining in and feels okay with it? 5.) Do I insult someone repeatedly? 6.) Do people feel safe around me? 7.) Would I say these things to people I care about regularly? 8.) Is it my fault? If you are questioning it though, it shows you can admit your flaws and want to be a good person, which is a good sign and shows you are caring.
Anonymous
March 2nd, 2018 9:45pm
think about all the stuff that you have done to ask that question, now think about what your intentions were when you did or said that, and think about how it made others feel.
originalLove71
March 3rd, 2018 12:50pm
Your words or actions hurt someone and you know it's hurting someone but still you aren't stopping and actually feeling good about it then you are a bully.
Engineeringhappiness
March 9th, 2018 8:37am
have you hurt anyoe deliberately over and over again? if you have go apologize and dont do that again. then you wont be a bully
summerlov
March 27th, 2018 8:22pm
There are several ways to know if you are being a bully. First off, if you are doing “small” gestures such as rolling your eyes at someone, ignoring someone on purpose, or doing anything to hurt the persons feeling even if it’s small movements is considered bullying. Although if you are constantly doing those small things you are a bully, yet if you are taking things to the next level such as gossip, picking on someone, or even taking it to the physical level than you are being a bully, though there is a difference between bullying and being a bully.
Anonymous
April 4th, 2018 6:52pm
There are lots of ways for you to be considered a bully. If you insult the other person, if you call them names, make fun or them, that's considered psychological bullying. Now, if you punch them, kick them, slap them... that's physical bullying
Pumpkin74
April 6th, 2018 11:42am
The best way to discover if you are a bully is to put yourself in others shoes. Would you be your friend if you were them? Would you feel good if someone talked to you the way you do to others? Are their feelings hurt? Do they seem quiet around you? Many times we forget our jokes and the way we talk put others down but words and actions are powerful even if we don't mean to intentionally bully.
cheerfulOrange88
May 3rd, 2018 3:57pm
By asking the people that you are joking with if they consider this a bullying or no,if its bullying so you have to stop this so people like you
Anonymous
July 6th, 2018 1:15am
You could know if you’re a bully,when you’re making someone feel bad and when you intentionally say specific things to hurt people’s feelings
Anonymous
June 23rd, 2018 6:12am
Having been a bully once, I would recommend broaching this concern with whomever you think you're bullying because you may not know when you are making them feel nervous or apprehensive or insecure about themselves.