Everyday Sadists Walk Among Us, Study Says

Sadism was considered a mental illness, but now it's more often seen as a personal preference or a quirky trait. Sexual sadism illness is in the new DSM-5 psychiatric manual. Psychotherapist Wilfried Busse, Ph.D., of Bethesda, Maryland, says, "This is characterized by repeated and strong sexual arousal from the pain of others, as shown in thoughts, cravings, and acts." To meet all the criteria for the illness, a person must have such uncontrollable desires and act on him by hurting someone.

Dr. Busse said, "The main thing that makes someone a sadist is the pleasure from seeing or causing physical or mental pain to others and for that such people creates a situation." For a sadist, making someone else hurt gives him a strange sense of satisfaction.

When most people hear the word "sadist," they think of sexual or illegal behavior. However, Buckles' research focused on the "sub-clinical" spectrum of personality, which is not a mental disorder.

Buckles said that killing insects for fun was not the same as killing people for fun. I think, though, that both of them have the same sadistic feeling at their core. Our research also showed that direct sadists and vicarious sadists are alike and different in some ways. Direct hostility requires no caring about the pain and suffering of another’s sentient being, no matter to the species.

How to Spot a Sadist

People with sadistic tendencies, as opposed to the horrible sadists we know from history and the media, fall under a type of sadism that is seen as a personality trait rather than a mental illness.

Fran Walfish, Psy.D., a family therapist and author in Beverly Hills, California, said it is essential to tell the difference between an antisocial or sadistic personality disorder and sadistic impulses.

Walfish said, "Antisocial personality disorder is very rare," and as examples, he quoted Hitler who enjoyed torturing and watching the victims suffer, and maybe even Syrian President Bashar Assad. But the rest of us secretly follow destructive impulses. She said, "Abuse can make even the most empathetic and caring person have a strong desire to hate."

Walfish Explained that Sadists Could be put into Different Groups −

Negatively Charged Sadist − People lose control and seek revenge when life makes them feel ashamed, sad, or down. They are known for being violent and hard to predict. This comes from outbursts, dangerous attacks on people (usually family members), and uncontrollable anger.

Mean and Cruel Dictator − They are mean and cruel because they enjoy scaring and abusing the people around them.

Sadistically Enforcing − People in positions of power, like military sergeants, university deans, prison wardens, police officers, and others, often think they have to enforce discipline and punish people who break the law.

Cowardly Tyrant − Most of the time, they act like cowards because they are so afraid. They project their hostile fantasies before a real threat and act aggressively to surprise their opponent. Then, after the fact, they ask questions. They act aggressively and meanly toward others to hide their fear and make it seem like they aren't scared. They look for someone to blame so they can attack the parts they dislike the most as a group.

Commonplace Sadist − Walfish says there has been more research on "subclinical sadism" which is known as a separate personality type in the past few years. The so-called "Dark Tetrad" comprises subclinical psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and daily sadism.

Walfish said, "These people aren't necessarily serial killers or sexual deviants, but they get some emotional boost from hurting or even just seeing the pain of others." The research warns against people like "the coworker who makes fun of you repeatedly while smiling or acting like they enjoy hurting you." If you stand up for yourself and say something that makes your coworker angry, she will do something terrible to get back at you, which will even lower your status at work.

Exercise Caution around Everyday Sadists

Researchers in British Columbia concluded that most sadists are not very popular. Buckels said, "A person with a high score on a sadism personality test is not likely to be seen as kind and nice." That doesn't mean that people with high scores are always mean or can't care about others, but they tend to be less kind than the average person.

The question is how a normal person could turn into a sadist. Walfish says that "in general," someone wants to hurt someone else because he, too, was put through horrible torture. Most of the time, the person in question is a parent or an older sibling. It is a part of mind where people could store their anger and dislike for others. When these bad feelings get too strong to ignore, you must do something about them. Before letting out their poison, they will also look for another person who can't fight back.

Walfish saw that people like this needed to be more reliable at home and work. You can never feel safe with them around. This means that there is no link between them. When they do something, they usually get what they want by taking advantage of others or manipulating them. Stay close to these kinds of people. Always keep a good mood to avoid getting on the wrong side. Not to say you should be too nice. This means that you give the impression that you are a nice, harmless man. It would help if you never gave someone like that your trust or hung out with them. They will find a way to beat you every time.

Buckels was surprised to hear that sadists, on average, didn't feel many good things. She also said they don't act out just because they don't like themselves or feel insecure. Surprisingly, their moods improved after seeing a cruel act, which could mean that the sadist's desire to be cruel is driven by something darker. Our (admittedly speculative) idea is that sadists are missing something that the pleasures of cruelty only can fill.