Verbal attacks in the form of screaming, yelling, or shouting can also be considered bullying. The bully may yell insults at you or mock you loudly in the presence of others. They may also taunt and yell at you when you are alone with them. Often, verbal abuse can be as damaging as physical abuse, as you can be mentally and emotionally hurt by the bully's words. Verbal abuse can often go undetected if it is done quietly and constantly, so it is important to notice if the bully is causing you psychological pain through hurtful words. Constructive criticism is well-meaning, specific, and designed to help you improve. You come away knowing exactly how to do better. While it can hurt if done too bluntly, it isn't bullying. Destructive criticism contains no useful advice, and is often personally insulting. An example of specific and helpful criticism is "This article could use some work. It's a stub at this point, and could benefit from an expansion regarding how to ask the guy out." An example of destructive criticism is "This article is useless, unhelpful, and just plain stupid. Clearly the writer has no idea what they are talking about." Occasionally, people give ill-meaning advice that appears constructive, but is meant to shut you up instead of help you. This advice may make little sense, and they may flood you with nonsensical critiques intended to frustrate you or erase your agency instead of help you. Bullies also tend to defame you to others by spreading mean-spirited lies or rumors about you or by making fun of you to others. They may speak ill of you a professional level, such as spreading lies that you continually miss deadlines or that you cheat on every test. They may also speak badly of you on a personal level by attacking your character through lies about your relationships with friends, partners, and family. You may hear about the bully's lies through your friends or coworkers and feel a sense of shame or guilt. Remember that you are not responsible for the bully's actions and you are not to blame for the bully's bad behavior. A bully may draw on existing power dynamics, such as discrimination against Muslims, to attack you. This can make you feel isolated and unsafe, especially when they have the power of general discrimination on their side. Minority status can include race, religion, disability (including disability symptoms), LGBTQIA status, gender presentation, size, ethnicity, and more. Or, they may try to insult you by comparing you to a stigmatized group, such as saying that you look girly or that you sound like you're disabled, even if you are not a member of that group. The bully may act in a discriminatory manner to you by singling you out in a group. They may then announce that they are going to treat you differently than everyone else. This is another way for them to exclude you from the group and humiliate you. Maybe you feel that power dynamics are at play, and you're scared to talk to them, or they can stop you from doing things you care about. Conversations with them may end with you feeling powerless, frustrated, or unable to express how you feel and what you want. You might find your mind wandering back to them again and again, wondering how to deal with them or why they treat you this way. Try explaining your feelings using "I" language to the other person. A good person cares about how you feel. For example, if you feel hurt when they joke about your accent, they will stop making those jokes as soon as they find out; they are clueless and not a bully. A bully will tell you that your feelings are unimportant or nonsensicalanything to justify not listening to you. Often, bullies in the workplace tend to try to exercise their power over you in overt ways. One way they may try to exercise power over you is to place an unreasonable amount of workload on you so you are set up to fail. They may also continually pressure you over your missed deadlines or upset clients as a way to make you feel small and helpless. The bully may also do this in a school setting, where they get you in trouble with your teacher and causes you to suffer academic setbacks or penalties. They are likely doing this as a way to limit your progress or to prevent you from succeeding. Sometimes it can help to get an outside perspective on the situation. Ask your coworkers or close friends if they notice how the person is acting towards you, both physically and verbally. You may want to ensure there is always a coworker or a friend in the room with you when you are near the bully so they can observe the bully's behavior towards you. They may then be able to deduce if you are in fact being bullied.
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One-sentence summary -- Notice if the person screams, yells, or shouts at you. Discern the difference between constructive and destructive criticism. Note if the person speaks ill of you to others. Consider if they criticize you based on gender or minority status. Pay attention to how the person treats you in a group or in front of others. Consider how you feel about the situation. Recognize when the person seems to set you up to fail. Ask your coworkers or friends if they believe you are being bullied.

Whether you are trusting your baggage in the hands of an airline, or plan on wearing your grandma's antique necklace, lost or stolen items can happen on any vacation. If something is irreplaceable, don't risk the chance you will have to replace it. Fake jewelry. Although you should avoid looking too flashy on vacation, if you want pieces to match your outfit, it is a good idea to take some of your cheap or fake jewelry. If you are staying in a hotel, they will likely provide any needed toiletries like shampoo and soap. Leaving these items at home can save space but also eliminate any potential messy spills. If you have a special shampoo or conditioner you use, your destination likely has stores that sell it! You can buy it there and have one less thing in your bag. If you love to spend your vacation reading, bringing along some books can be a must. However, if you have an e-reader, this would be the time to bust it out. Books are heavy and take up a lot of room. If possible, leave them home! Ditch the guidebooks. These take up room and can also be outdated. If your road map is from even 9 months ago, there is a good chance things have changed. Download up to date guidebooks on your devices or simply get one at your destination. Will you really need your new portable water filter in Hawaii? With smartphones and tablets being so versatile, try to only take what you will absolutely need. This not only eliminates the risk of losing a valuable piece of electronics but will also lighten your load! Keep it basic. Leave the electric toothbrush at home and most hotels you stay at will have a hair dryer.
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One-sentence summary --
Leave your valuables home. Ditch the toiletries. Leave bulky books behind. Leave home unnecessary gadgets.