Part of the problem with dealing with bullying is that people don't agree on what constitutes bullying--and some "bullying" stituations seem similar on the surface have very different underlying causes.

As mentioned above, individuals with borderline personality disorder are often confused with bullies--a rule of thumb--your garden variety "street bully" uses physical/psychological violence and threat of violence for personal advantage--pure and simple--the borderline pesonality type is acting out irrational compulsions.

Bullies don't act alone--they act with the tacet approval of authority figures, managers, teachers, etc, and with the complicity of the "uninvolved" onlooker, co-workers, students,etc.
This is why it seldom helps to complain to higher-ups about bullies.

If you are in a workplace that is dominated by a bully, whether the garden variety, or the psycho type, take a good, hard, look around--the bully may just be the tip of the iceberg-
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