Adult Bullying Part 1

This week I wanted to shift gears a bit and focus on...adult bullying.

I know the word “bullying” is a big and often ambiguous word. It can be used in many different ways. There is no one set definition for this word nor any sort of diagnosis around it. It’s a dynamic, a pattern of behavior- and I think it’s pretty gray.

Furthermore, “bullying” is most often used in childhood contexts. We talk a lot about addressing childhood bullying, and have zero tolerance policies for this behavior to protect children and put a stop to things. We also talk about the one who is doing the bullying, how to better understand them and help them sort through their stuff to ameliorate their destructive choices. This is important, important work.

AND...I don’t think there’s enough conversation around ADULT bullying. It happens. It may have happened to you. It’s definitely happened to me. And yet, we don’t talk enough about it.

Adult bullying is often more subtle, and therefore more insidious. It can be cushioned in niceties that make it harder to address and have it be acknowledged. There is often a passive aggressive, sophisticated and covert edge to adult bullying. But it definitely happens.

It happens in the workplace, in schools, when there is a power dynamic. It happens on social media, and here on Instagram.

With bullying- there is often an individual at the helm and then “secondary bullying” which is when bystanders either see what’s happening and participate or are complicit by not saying anything.

Over the next several days, I’m going to be addressing what adult bullying looks like, and what we can do about it. How we can understand it better. I want to bring awareness to this painful and lonely phenomenon- in the hopes of creating more support and building a kinder and more compassionate world.

If this is happening or has happened to you-always remember you are NEVER alone.

What would you add here?

Stay tuned! (Also I’m going to put a survey in my stories to see what you’d like to hear about this topic...).

Lots of love!

Leah 💗