Dr Nisha Khanna is a leading Psychologist in Delhi, NCR and India who deals with clients having Sadistic Personality Traits means finding pleasure in others’ pain. Avinash, a 40-year-old man, gets a kick for putting other people in trouble or suffering. He was accused by his subordinates and colleagues of psychological abuse and humiliation in the past too. He spreads rumours about people in succession and jeopardises his reputation in society. He spends most of his time on social media platforms posting mean comments on profiles for everyone to see. Most people avoid causing pain and harm to others, even still happens unintentionally: the usual response is to say or feel sorry though the personality trait of a few people to experience pleasure and excitement in response to pain is called sadism.

According to the APA dictionary, sadism is the desire and intention to hurt others and could be verbal or physical for self-pleasure. Sadism is a subdivision of antisocial personality disorder classified in the DSM V and ICD 10. It is similar to antisocial personality disorder, which involves disregarding others and lacking empathy. It is different from it, as sadists are less violent and destructive. When people get hurt at the moment or feel threatened doesn’t mean they are sadistic. A sadistic person, unlike, involves an intention to cause pain and experience pleasure from it. Such people neither show regret for their actions nor take accountability for them. We can look around us and can identify sadists.

A few common traits of a sadist are that they are cruel, in the sense that they will use anything in their power to attain dominance over others and show no remorse for it. Sarcasm, trolling, and mean jokes are common ways sadists achieve pleasure and excitement. Sadists also find being cruel, funny, and humorous and tend to indulge in such activities. Such people never have successful relationships. They are always humiliating and manipulating their partners and near ones. Sadists lack empathy. Trolling is a universal form of sadism. Commenting on people’s profile about how ugly their face is or how fat they are, come under such acts. With the increasing usage of social media platforms, these sadistic acts are becoming increasingly frequent. Such people find immense pleasure in suffering and bullying others. One might wonder, how can someone get satisfaction from hurting others? Multiple causes of sadism have been discovered and reported by researchers. 

A person can learn sadism through conditioning by having early sadistic models, such as a father who is happy when the child is lost or a partner who experiences pleasure by inflicting pain and humiliation, who can serve as role models for the later onset of sadism. One of which is childhood trauma. A dysfunctional relationship with parents or caregivers in the early stages of life, lack of autonomy, excessive demands, and societal expectations can lead to such maladaptive personalities. Another reason could be domestic or childhood abuse. Other causes of sadism could be poverty or feelings of injustice. Also, any threat to a person’s social status can lead to sadistic actions. 

Curing sadism can be tricky but possible. The most successful form of psychotherapy for treating sadism is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). People can become aware of having dysfunctional thought patterns precede sadistic actions. And later on, they could be made to learn socially acceptable ways of behaving whenever they have the urge to cause pain to others. Along with using CBT, another technique that would help identify and modify these maladaptive thoughts is Cognitive Restructuring. Medications such as antidepressants are beneficial to be in control of such harmful impulsive drives. Isolating the person from situations which make them act in sadistic ways can help in treating this personality disorder. Encouraging such people to participate in self-help groups can also be beneficial in understanding and changing their socially undesirable behaviour.

As a Counselling Psychologist/Mental Health Professional, Dr Nisha Khanna proffers online, telephonically and face-to-face Counselling Services. If you live in Delhi, India or any other part of the World, you can approach us through any of these mediums. For further details, visit Bye Tense, or call us at +91-9818211474