The Anti-virus Times

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

If you’re an immature person or simply a sincere, honest, and open soul, when you encounter a troll online, you could have a heap of problems (mental and physical). That’s because trolls have a lot of emotional baggage.

Let’s examine their backgrounds so you can understand what makes them tick and, hopefully, save your nerves and your health in the process. So, let's talk about how trolls came about.

Battle-scarred but undefeated

People who’ve been victimised by their parents, relatives, or peers tend to behave according to three main models:

• They behave like sadists, taking out all their pain on the people they choose as their victims, and by doing so try to make their own lives feel more normal (by making everyone in their environment as traumatised as they are);
• They become victims themselves (afraid to give battle), and learn to live with this pain and even enjoy it (demonstrating masochistic behaviour);
• They make sense of something that has happened and combine sadism, generosity, and empathy (which can sufficiently normalise the situation).

But, the most important thing you need to consider when dealing with trolls is that they were once punch bags themselves.

A little bit crazy

A mentally ill person may not have a medical diagnosis, just as a criminal on the loose has no sentence. However, among the trolls engaged in bullying behavior, there are many sick and borderline people who need the spotlight and at the same time are uncomfortable with their own individuality.

Understanding that the troll attacking you is obviously a borderline or sick individual will tell you a lot.

Evil but clever

A troll's low self-esteem oppresses them and they look for ways to combat this. "I humiliate others rather than act the grown up because that’s easier for me to do"—that's the credo of those who bully or harass other people.

A troll who has been bullied and traumatised in the past can become really smart, literate, and even realise their potential, but at some point they can fall back on trolling as a way of relieving pain and negativity that never disappeared during the years they were trying to achieve self-realization.

It is important for you to understand that trolls are trying to overcome their nature and save themselves, and as a result they either defeat themselves by going to “the bright side” or fail and go to “the dark side”.

I feel good because you feel dull

If trolls go to the dark side, negative thoughts sap their energy. They must get something in return, and this something is pleasure, enjoyment and satisfaction—an integral part of any person’s life. Fun and enjoyment along with the above-mentioned aspects constitute the essence of trolling. So, trolls lead everyone in a certain game—one that has rules or is devoid of them.

You need to understand that the goal of a troll’s game is destruction, which becomes their victory over you. And the points in this game are the pain of scores of people and in many cases even suicide.

Inflicting pain

One of the main driving forces of any troll who gets stuck on you can also be an addiction to experiments (perceiving other people's pain) because often they have a very inflated sense of self and play the Almighty. Or, maybe, they’re just writing a scientific paper on victim psychology and are analysing victimisation.

Understanding that will allow you to say "NO" to experiments you haven’t consented to, preventing atrocities on the part of the "researcher".

Love me

Trolls are mostly psychologically wounded, friendless people. They are in search of themselves and others like them, and when they don’t find anyone who fits the bill, they lash out at other people. Or they join groups that push young people to commit suicide, ticking off the "successful deeds" they do in their notebooks.

It wouldn't be out of place to understand that a troll's personal problems hurt them.

Grab bag: Too many items

It can happen that all the aforementioned motives, pathologies, and problems are combined together in one ambitious troll. In this case, the troll is a subtle manipulator who acts like a fraudster and a punished child who’s gotten carried away with play.

Trolls also try to make money on the resentment they have for the whole world, using a sharp, poisonous tongue (often repeating the behavior of their offenders), and occasionally they intercept small handouts from someone who is playing cutthroat games with their competitors, friends, or even relatives. Trolls are always executors, and not schemers—which is how they’d like to see themselves. Sometimes trolls remind us of a chained up watchdog with a very tight collar. It barks at passers-by only because it’s simply important for it to still hear its own voice.