Bullying is an issue everyone has dealt with in their lives and is still an overwhelming issue today. This doesn’t just confront young children but is an issue with young adults and even on college campuses and in the workplace.

The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center shows one in three young people in the United States are involved in bullying in some way — whether they are the victim or the bully. Since October is National Bullying Awareness Month, it’s important we understand how devastating an issue it is. Although it certainly can’t be fixed immediately, there are strides that can be taken by peers, parents and teachers to overcome bullying.

The National Bullying Prevention Center defines bullying as an intentional, harmful behavior that can either be an outward behavior such as fighting or name calling, or more discreet behaviors such as gossiping. Do any of these things sound familiar? It’s very likely that you’ve either been a target of these behaviors or engaged in them yourself. In my case, I went from the group who always picked on people to the person being picked on. It’s typical that these situations go full circle where the bully becomes the target. These harmful situations don’t stop on the playground. One in four teenagers are bullied both inside and outside of the school environment, although it is most common on school grounds.

So many situations can be considered bullying. Do people consider cattiness among young girls to be bullying? Cattiness and gossip are destructive behaviors that take place among all age groups, most prominently among females. This type of behavior also occurs with men, and when roughhousing is added into the mix, people brush it off as “boys being boys” and those bullying situations are often overlooked. At least one in five students admits to engaging in some form of bullying.

Bullying doesn’t stop once you leave for college. At least 15 percent of college students said they had been bullied and 22 percent had been cyberbullied. Among college students, 25 percent of bullying occurs via some form of social networking. These incidences are less likely to be reported because students are older and consequences are more difficult to enforce. Those statistics don’t account for bullying incidents that go unreported.

People even refer to being bullied as a rite of passage and think these situations make people stronger and more able to defend themselves. While this may be true for some, bullying can lead to self-destructive behaviors and even suicide. Studies show that victims of bullying are two to nine times as likely to attempt or commit suicide than nonvictims.

Why does bullying occur in the first place? Most likely, the person being bullied is simply different, which makes them an easy target. Sometimes, bullies feel threatened by others who are more successful or talented, and an alpha male/female attitude takes over and they feel the need to control their “territory.” Sometimes, the explanation could be as simple as children overhearing their parents or siblings use words such as “fat” or “stupid” and think it’s okay to use those words.

Race, disabilities and financial situations are few of themany reasons why students are bullied. Bullying is a very touchy subject, and most teachers and adults don’t like to admit that bullying happens on school grounds or that their own students engage in or are the targets of bullying. Roughly 85 percent of bullying situations do not have an adult or bystander intervene and stop it.

Although bullying is an issue that will take years to overcome, there are steps we can take to ensure that we aren’t engaging in actions that could lead to bullying. The first is obvious: Be careful what we say and who we say it around. There’s a difference between gossip and venting to your best friend, but even that can lead to gossip. If you need to vent, do it to behind closed doors and to somebody who will keep your words quiet. The second solution is to not be a bystander. If you witness bullying occur, stop it. It’s hard to do if you know the bully, especially if it’s your friend. In the long run, your friend will thank you for stopping them. It starts with us.