Action: What must be done? by Felicia Milton Text4Help Community Advocate

Typically one thinks of school age children (high school to elementary) when thinking of bullying. And sometimes the errant college student is included in that group, however, bullying occurs everywhere and to anyone. It encompasses all age groups, all socioeconomic classes, and all genders. It really isn't just a youth and children's issue.

It is negative physical or verbal behavior done directly to a person or a personʼs property with or without the conscious intention of either upsetting the person or manipulating the personʼs behavior. Yes, intention does not negate action because one can be a bully without realizing it.

Bullying is a method of intimidation, domination, and victimization through threats, force, or coercion. It is divided into 4 major categories: verbal, physical, emotional, and cyber. And include hostile intent, repetition, and imbalance of power. In sum, it is behavior intended to hurt others mentally, physically, or emotionally.

The whole phenomena of bullying has become quite technical and can be divided into categories and those categories divided into subcategories and on and on. However, at it's cusp bullying is an action. And must be curtailed with action. It can lead to negative outcomes such as, suicide, depression, illness, anxiety. Interesting is the fact that many serial killers were frequently bullied in childhood or adolescence. It's said that the rejection and ridicule spurs hate to such an extent that psychopathic behavior occurs. Despite this, some say bullying teaches one how to be strong and get along with others and that no intervention is necessary.

And yes, some people develop coping mechanisms and strategies to re-balance the power they were stripped of during bullying. It would be interesting to see how these individuals truly react when under extreme pressure.

One thing is true, more often than not, you will hear a 70 year old say how a student or teacher excluded or humiliated them. Whether bullied by a authoritarian figure, subordinate or peer the negative impact of bullying is evident.

To reduce the occurrence of bullying: set clear guidelines; make individuals aware of their actions and the repercussions; and adopt a zero policy for bullying type of behaviors. Rather than tear a person down, aim to build them up. Success will be sure to ensue. Look out for more on the topic of success as well as the launch of my business "Bloom"; an organization dedicated to next level success and fulfillment for women young and old as defined by the woman.

Written by: Felicia Milton

Freelance Writer / Community Advocate / Entrepreneur

See more about Felicia and Text4help at http://www.text4help.org/company.html