Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The medical community now recognizes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as resulting not just from war, but from intense stress from a bully / sociopath / psychopath. The daily barrage that a bully is capable of, when directed at one person or a small number of people can result in PTSD. If you have the shakes, severe memory loss, can't concentrate, and feel unemployable - see a doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist. If your doctor thinks you have PTSD you can get one more mark against the bully who has targetted you. It can eventually help if you go to court.

Bullies are everywhere and they cover the spectrum from the small, everyday woman who likes to block aisles in grocery stores, to fellow workers who like to manipulate other 'comrades' into fights, to bosses who push their employees to the limit. Just yesterday I witnessed a woman who used her children to dump on other people. While she was watching, her 10-year old pushed a cart into a woman at the checkout counter. The kid rammed her several times while the woman turned around and looked perplexed at the mother, who stared back. The younger kid in the cart started high-pitched bawling and yelling right next to the woman. The woman finally left, shaking her head and the mother and kids advanced to the counter.

The mother is a major 'B' and she has created a nightmare for some poor overworked teacher who is charged with educating this kid who has been taught bullying - and probably manipulation - on a major scale.

What is her PROBLEM? Maybe she was raised in a bad situation or perhaps she was just born that way and no matter what the parents did, she was a Bad Seed. Who knows. But society pays, because the woman she picked on, and who could have been in a good mood when she entered the store, certainly did not leave that way. How did she drive her car after that? How did it effect the rest of her day? Was it the 'final straw' in the life of a woman already bearing more trouble than a normal person should?

Bullies are costly even on a small scale.

The Bully at Work

Of all the books I have read on the topic of bullying, this one is best to help you understand what kind of person you are up against. It can get a little scary, which is also why I recommend this book - you need to know what is stalking you.

A Reader's Post

This is a very informative piece by a contributing reader: "I am currently experiencing a bully next door.
I took him to court for his constant loud music and parties. We agreed to drop the charges if he would agree to be a good neighbor. Hah! Were we dumb! He was at it three days later, and ran when we called the cops. It looked like we were liars except we video taped the cars sitting next to the fence playing the music, so it was admissable.

We are going back to court for an injunction against loud music, since he just turns it up without parties now. Often it just starts up and he hides in the house. He bought a huge DJ system so he cn play it even louder.

Buy something called a sound snooper and hook it to your computer. It records the length and day of the disturbance and cant be altered. You dont have to get up, grab the video camera and try to prove the music is playing or call the cops who have more to do than run out there every few hours. It is admissable in court.

Now we are installing camera to show his kid standing in front of our house flipping us off while the other kid stands near by with a camera.

Hope this helps someone."