Then what you said about 'bullies smelling you out' may actually be quite accurate... Not literally of course... But the events of our youth/childhood which create strong and challenging emotional states can leave a lasting energetic 'impression' upon us... And this 'impression' stays with us until we heal those emotional wounds... So when someone comes along who may be predisposed to bullying, and they encounter someone who has that lingering, unhealed 'impression' from their past - well it's like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together and the behavior/interaction repeats itself...

If you are continuing to encounter bullying behavior during the course of your adulthood - that's your sign/indicator that there is some 'unresolved business' within you which still needs to be addressed and resolved (healed). Respectfully, I would focus much less on the current 'bullies' and instead focus on your childhood/upbringing and try to reconnenct with your 'younger self' to discover just what type of emotional energy is still lingering within you and needs to be processed & released. Easier said than done of course - but you can accomplish this... When you find what needs to be healed , and you courageously allow yourself to feel, experience, and purge (release) that unresolved emotional energy - then you will find that you are no longer a magnet for bullies and bullying behavior.