Chapter IIntroduction
Mobbing is systematic workplace harassment: when colleagues or supervisors humiliate you, isolate you, sabotage your work, or constantly criticize what you do. It's not a bad day—it's a repeated pattern that makes you feel invisible, incompetent, or rejected. Many people suffer in silence, believing it's normal or their fault.
That's why it's so important to talk about this. Mobbing affects your mental health, self-esteem, and body. The good news is that mindfulness and self-care techniques can help you build a protective emotional barrier, recognize what's happening without blaming yourself, and make decisions from a clearer, safer place.
Chapter IIScientific background
Workplace harassment activates your amygdala, the brain's fear center, keeping it in constant alert mode. This decreases activity in your prefrontal cortex, the region that helps you think rationally. It also reduces your serotonin and dopamine, generating depression and lack of motivation, while increasing cortisol, your stress hormone. The result is a sense of permanent threat.
Chapter IIIHow it works
Your body enters survival mode: muscle tension, sleep problems, disrupted digestion, and weakened immune system. You may feel a knot in your chest, stiffness in your shoulders, or extreme fatigue with no apparent physical cause. Your heart rate spikes in work situations, even before you arrive at work. Over time, these changes can lead to chronic health problems if you don't address them.
Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace: Developments in Theory, Research, and Practice
This study reviews global evidence on workplace harassment, its neurobiological consequences, and intervention strategies. It confirms that mobbing generates measurable changes in chronic stress and mental health.
Chapter IVPractical exercises
Safety anchor in the present
Best for: Every morning before going to work or when you feel anticipatory anxiety.
- Sit in a quiet place. Place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.
- Breathe slowly: inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 6. This activates your parasympathetic nervous system.
- As you breathe, repeat internally: "Here, now, I am safe." Feel your body supported by the chair.
Non-judgmental thought observation · 7 minutes
Best for: In moments of rumination or when your mind burdens you with negative interpretations.
- Close your eyes. Notice thoughts that arise about the work situation without trying to change them.
- Imagine each thought as a cloud passing across the sky. It's not absolute truth, just a cloud.
- Return your attention to your breath each time you catch yourself in a thought. Practice letting go.
Visualized body boundaries · 8 minutes
Best for: Before difficult situations at work or at the end of the day to process them.
- Lie down or recline comfortably. Visualize a field of protective light around your body.
- Feel how this light doesn't allow others' criticisms, rejections, or judgments to enter. You choose what gets in.
- Notice the sensation of protection, of your own space. Breathe deeply and slowly open your eyes.
Chapter VWho this is for
This article is for you if you're experiencing workplace bullying, if you suspect you're living through it but lack clarity, or if you simply want to learn to build emotional resilience in toxic work environments. It's also useful for managers who want to create safer spaces.
Chapter VIFrequently asked questions
How do I know if what I'm experiencing is really mobbing?
If there's a repeated pattern (not an isolated conflict) where someone humiliates you, isolates you, sabotages your work, or constantly questions your competence, it's harassment. Trust your intuition: do you feel fear or anxiety going to work?