The “Crazy” Label: The Easiest and Most Used Weapon in the Bully’s Arsenal

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Do you ever wonder why most bullies attach labels, such as “crazy,” “unstable,” or “mentally disturbed” to targets who stand up against abuse?

Here are the reasons:

1. The crazy label is used by bullies as a last option when there is nothing else they can pin on their victims.

2. A mental inbalance is the most difficult to disprove. If you are a target of bullying, and you have the guts to stand up against the abuse, the bully may tell everyone that you’re nuts and everyone else may believe it too. However, although there is no way the bully can prove that you are, in fact, crazy, there is also no way that you can show that you aren’t.

3. They’re trying to make you doubt your own sanity. Don’t you doubt it for a second!

This is why the “crazy” label is just too easy to stick on anyone because people have a strong tendency to see the worst in others, and the burden of proof lies with the target. It is damn hard to prove that you aren’t mentally unstable, especially when bullies are attacking you from every direction and wearing you down.

The natural human response is to react and defend yourself when attacked and it can very easily be mistaken for mental illness.

It happens when people walk in on you as you’re telling your bully where to stick it. Many times they only catch the tail end of the confrontation. Then they draw the wrong conclusions. Understand that this is what your bullies are counting on!!! Often, they set you up to look like you’ve completely “lost it” to any witnesses who happen to walk by.

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Bullies do this all the time to discredit their targets and cover their behinds when they know they’re wrong! If the bully can make you look loony, then who’s going to believe you when you report the harassment? And who’ll take you seriously the next time you let the bully have it? They’ll only sigh and think, “Uh-oh! There she goes again! She’s having another mental episode! That girl has gone completely batsh**!”

Don’t fall for it! Stand up to them! Look them in the eye and you tell them,

“You’re wrong and you know you’re wrong! I’m not going to debate this any further with you!”

Then walk away and leave the bully standing there slack-jawed. If the bully follows you and asks, “What’s your problem?” don’t explain it to them. They’re not five years old, they already know and you don’t owe them any more than what’s necessary. Say as little as possible.

Tell them, “You know what my problem is!”

The bully may continue to follow you and ask, “What did I do to you?”

You say, “You know what you did! Now get bent!”

Don’t beat around the bush. Get to the point and say it like you mean it. Be firm but don’t yell (yelling makes you look like a basket case). The bully may not change their ways and their attitude toward you. But I promise! You’ll feel so much better about yourself knowing that you put your foot down and looked less “unstable” to any bystanders!

0 thoughts on “The “Crazy” Label: The Easiest and Most Used Weapon in the Bully’s Arsenal

  1. Anne Copeland says:

    Thank you so much for your writing. For someone with PTSD from bullying, I often wonder if I will ever get better. I try hard to focus on other things, but when I am tired, or stressed from anything else, these horrors come back to me repeatedly. No matter what I do or how much I try, I cannot seem to get it totally stopped. What I suffered was so truly unjust in so many ways, and it is difficult to live with. I hope tomorrow will be a brighter day. It still causes fear when I go to certain places where they are likely to show up. I could not even go there for the longest time, and I still find myself looking around to see if I need to protect myself somehow. And then there is the rage that I feel how even the mobile home park owner went along with the bullies even though the people next door were making and selling drugs, and the male counterpart was a felon of the worst kind. I love just about everything I invested in my home and was lucky to get out with my life and that of my pets. They assaulted me too, and there were no witnesses, so it was dropped and I will never see justice. Thank you again for your writing. While I am not sure anything can change things, at the same time, there is something somewhat comforting in knowing that others recognize the insanity of all of this.

    • cheriewhite says:

      Thank you so much, Anne. And your story is so heartbreaking. I’m so sorry you went through such horrific bullying. Stuff like that can scar you for life. I’m here if you ever need to talk. I feel your pain because I’ve been there but under different circumstances. Know that I’m here and that I care.

      Please continue to take care of yourself and do things that promote healing. And even though it’s hard not to do sometimes, try not to isolate yourself because it’ll bring more depression. My email is CherieWhite69@gmail.com.

      Sending love and light your way!
      Cherie

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