What is psychological harassment? 22 alarm signals

Psychological bullying, unfortunately, is a phenomenon that can occur in relationships, but also between friends, family, or at work or school. The psychological stalker acts in accordance with his interests, and usually blames, bothers and causes fear in his victim.

Suffering psychological harassment is one of the worst experiences that human beings can experience, and many studies show that psychological bullying has very negative effects for individuals: deterioration of physical health and psychological, anxiety, sleeping problems, lack of concentration... In this article we will talk about what psychological bullying is and what are the alarm signs that cause it. characterize.

• You may be interested in: “The 30 signs of psychological abuse in a relationship”

What is psychological harassment

Although we associate bullying with physical harm, there is a very common and less visible form of abuse: psychological, moral or emotional harassment. The dictionary of the Spanish language defines this phenomenon as "a vexatious and disqualifying treatment towards an individual, with the aim of psychologically destabilizing him". In other words, what the psychological harasser wants is to damage the dignity and moral integrity of the victim.

But what characterizes psychological harassment is that it is not a punctual action, but that the acts of harassment are repeated over time and progressively, which causes the victim great helplessness, uncertainty and a loss of self-esteem and self-confidence same. In extreme cases, continued psychological harassment can end in suicide.

Its consequences

Psychological bullying can end up causing serious mental problems for the victim, because despite being silent, it is devastating for the person who suffers it. Low self-esteem is a key factor in this type of phenomenon., because in addition to becoming a consequence, it can also be a cause that causes the victim to end up in a situation of learned helplessness.

The person who is the victim of psychological harassment can suffer different problems such as stress, anxiety, depression and even addiction to psychoactive substances, and, in many cases, is not fully aware that it is being humiliated.

Signs of psychological bullying

One of the most frequent scenarios for this type of violence or abuse is in intimate relationships (such as a couple), but it can occur in other situations, for example, at school (bullying) either at work (mobbing). Although the figure of the harasser is usually associated with men, studies show that if all the ways to engage in this harmful behavior, both men and women harass each other at equal rates. In psychological harassment there are verbal insults, threats, intimidation and criticism as well as more subtle tactics such as intimidation, shaming, and manipulation.

But what are the signs of psychological harassment? and what are its characteristics? If you are going through this situation, below you can find a list of signs that could indicate that you are suffering this type of abuse:

1. It only focuses on the negative and humiliates you

Especially in the case of the couple, the stalker focuses on the negative things and underestimates the positive ones. He only points out the flaws and despises you.

1. publicly humiliates you

Psychological bullying includes humiliation and ridicule in public, although the harasser is sometimes not even aware of the damage he doesWell, he does it like a joke. However, although there is not always an intention, it does produce serious consequences for the victim.

3. Humiliates you through the net

A more or less recent form of psychological harassment is what it's known as cyberbullying, which arises with the irruption of new technologies, and is nothing more than psychological harassment through the network.

• Related article: "Cyberbullying: analyzing the characteristics of virtual bullying"

4. It causes you discomfort

Being close to that person causes you discomfort or anxiety, even avoiding it. This behaviour is an attempt to avoid unpleasant situations.

5. they accuse you without reason

Many times their words have no foundation, and the harasser can accuse for things you are not guilty of. For example, for the behavior of the children who behave badly, by blaming you.

6. threatens to hurt you

Although it does not have to occur physical violence In this type of bullying, it is common for the bully to threaten to hurt the person and loved ones, for example, the pet, family, child...

7. your self esteem suffers

Self-esteem is the first thing that suffers, because the harasser, in some cases, intends to consciously damage your dignity and your person. In the couple, it can make you feel like you are worthless.

8. confused behavior

In close relationships, these people they don't always appear that way (that is, cruel and inconsiderate) because sometimes they can even be affectionate. These behaviors can confuse you.

9. Damage to property objects

physical damage is not carried out towards the person, but towards other entities. For example, the mobile, by throwing it and breaking it against the wall.

10. your opinion doesn't count

Especially in the case of workplace bullying, your opinion You have no voice or vote and you are despised. In addition, the harasser or harassers do not let you express yourself.

11. they treat you differently

In cases like bullying, you are isolated from the group and made to feel different in front of others.

12. Turn everyone against you

When the way of acting is aimed at damaging your dignity, it also tries to make others disrespect you. For example, talking bad about you.

13. Use teasing and sarcasm

The bully may use sarcasm or teasing to demoralize or make you feel bad about yourself.

14. You've been feeling this way for a long time

psychological bullying It's not something that happens overnight., but it happens in a progressive and prolonged way over time. That is why it is so harmful, because the discomfort becomes chronic.

15. blackmails you

Especially in the case of the couple, the psychological stalker uses threatening phrases such as the following: “if you do that, don't blame me if I leave you”. This makes you feel bad. This is a common form of emotional blackmail.

• You may be interested in: "Emotional blackmail: a powerful form of manipulation in the couple"

Signs of bullying at work

A very common form of harassment, and which may have different and peculiar characteristics, is mobbing or workplace harassment, which It can come from co-workers or from the company. These are some of the signs that may appear when this situation occurs:

16. They send you impossible tasks

At work, to destabilize you and make you feel unqualified, they may assign you goals or projects with unattainable or exhausting deadlines.

17. big demands

But not only can deadlines be a problem, but they can also send you tasks that do not fit your abilities or that require a great deal of effort and work to make you feel incompetent.

18. Discrimination in the work area

You suffer discrimination at the work level compared to the rest of his classmates. For example, they can make a woman feel bad about a pregnancy.

19. they take responsibility away from you

They take away your responsibilities so that you feel useless and get bored, which can cause boreout.

• Related article: “Boreout syndrome: boredom at work”

20. They belittle your achievements

The company does not value good work, and in this way, you do not feel comfortable in your professional space. You are constantly undervalued.

21. rumors are used

Rumors or falsehoods are spread around the company to belittle you and damage your reputation and image professionalism.

22. Your professional development is blocked

If the goal is for you to leave the company voluntarily, They can block your development or professional career so you don't feel accomplished and leave the company.

• You can delve into workplace bullying in our article: “Mobbing: psychological harassment at work”