Why do people get angry when they get a dose of their own medicine?

If someone treats you a certain way consistently over a period of time and you get fed up and decide to give them a dose of their own medicine, why do they get angry? I used to work with someone who would always make fun of the way I did my work and she would always make subtle insults, but when I finally said something mean to her, she was EXTREMELY angry. I tried to work out the issues that I was having with her by having a meeting with her, face to face, in front of the manager. But she would not see things from my perspective. She even had the audacity to start referring to me as ';That One'; whenever there was something I needed to know. She would refer to me as ';That one'; to another coworker and have that coworker pass along the information to me. I tried to ignore it but off course it pissed me off. This whole thing still makes my blood boil, to be degraded in that way by someone who consistently made me feel bad before i ever said anything mean to her. Have you ever been in a similar situation and how did you handle it?Why do people get angry when they get a dose of their own medicine?
That's why people say treat others as you'd like to be treated. Everyone hates hypocracy, well most. Yes, I have I just ignore the person, as if I happen to show any signes of irratation, I just please their sadistic nature. Unless this gets physical, I suggest shrugging it off. I don't see any need for you to stoop to her level.Why do people get angry when they get a dose of their own medicine?
if you know that you do not invite hostility,,she has an emotional problem that you cannot solve,except to talk to the principal ,or supervisor
Good on you for standing up for yourself.



She's a bully and she's treatedly you badly. If the other co-worker will confirm that she referred/ers to you as being ';that one'; then submit a complaint about her behaviour within the work place.







- Pepper.
Always take the high road. It's not professional to take vengence. However, there was one photo editor who was a tyrant with the printer we shared. I did grab a bunch of his printouts and toss them in the women's washroom.

Don't give her power over your emotions. Just accept they are feeling inadequate and handle themselves badly. It's more about them then it is about you.
Yes, if you believe you did nothing to invite her to be so horrible (I don't know how you put up with it) then she does have an emotional problem. She's very insecure and something about you brought it out of her. Who knows what she's gone through in life to make her this way, but that really is disgusting how she acted. In this case I think it may have been something to do with you daring to fight back. She expected to make you a quivering mess but you rose above it and she would have panicked a bit.
To answer the question, people get angry because they don't like seeing themselves through somebody elses eyes - especially not if that judgement is negative.



Also, what she's doing is called ';creating a hostile environment';. It IS illegal and a Human Resource's issue. Bring it up with your manager (without her) and explain to him how her attitude isn't just affecting your professional reputation, but it's also affecting your work.



If he does not put a stop to Miss Attitude's attitude, bring it up with an even higher authority than him.



Personal issues have no business being in a business setting.
I suppose it's the same reason that you get angry when they treat you that way. Being mean is being mean.



I suggest continuing to be polite. If she says something snarky, call her on it. Simply state that if she isn't going to make a suggestion on how you can improve, you'd appreciate it if she'd keep her comments to herself.