How to Handle Being Teased

A strategy is a plan for action, so actively strategize your plan to build your confidence.

Getting teased by others can be one of the most frustrating and stressful events that you experience in your pre-teens and teens.  It happens to everyone at some point.  The methods of handling being teased you use will say a lot about, not only the confidence you have in yourself, but how you will handle stressful times in the future.  The type of teasing we are referring to is not the playful joking kind between good friends, but hurtful, mean-spirited teasing that makes you angry at the person teasing you.

The first step in handling being teased is to better understand why they are teasing you.  Many times the person doing the teasing is either insecure or angry at something else.  They are usually just lashing out at you because they think it will make them feel better or believe it will make them look “cool” to others.  It is important for you to keep in mind that most often what the person is saying about you is not true or unimportant.  As you begin to understand some of these things handling being teased will be easier to deal with.

If properly handling being teased, you can overcome the problem and minimize how upset you get from the teasing.  Try the following when handling being teased:

Ignore
One technique to handling being teased is to ignore it and not let it affect you as much as you can.  The person teasing you is trying to get a reaction from you.  If you just ignore the person you start to turn the tables where now you are in control.  This will cause the person doing the teasing to become frustrated and many times they will stop.

“Thanks for Noticing”
If someone says, “Those are ugly shorts,” you may come back with something like “Thank you for noticing my shorts.”  This throws the person teasing you off balance, making them unsure what to say next.

Return with a Compliment
If someone says, “You really swing the bat weird,” you can say “You swing it well!”  This also throws the person off balance when you compliment them.  Again, they are not sure where to go when you demonstrate a behavior that rises above the teasing behavior.  This technique really exposes the poor behavior of the teaser because you are not teasing back or letting them affect you, but complimenting them and showing a new way to interact where both sides are equal.

The Teaser is Not Losing Sleep
Another effective method to handling being teasing is to realize that the person doing the teasing is not bothered that you are upset.  The teaser is not thinking about your hurt feelings.  Be confident and do not let the teasing affect how you feel as a person.  What they are teasing you about is either untrue or unimportant.  Remember to say to yourself, “Hey!  They are not being bothered by what they said, why should I waste my energy feeling hurt!”  

Get Help From Parent/Teacher
If the teasing continues, the next step should be to talk to your parents or teachers.  They can guide you on how you can handle the situation without letting the person teasing you know that you asked for help.  The adult you asked has most likely been in the same situation when they were younger and can offer suggestions on how to handle the situation in a positive manner.  Learn to trust adults and know that they want to help and can do so without getting directly involved.


Teasing can be hurtful, however, properly handling being teased will build your confidence and help you overcome it!