OK....there is a woman that lives on my street that seems to get a rush from being mean to people and just down right cruel. She loves to be condescending and demeaning to people.

Why do you think people in this world are like this? Why does it make them "feel good" to act this way?

Sadistic Personality Disorder:

Is a pervasive pattern of cruel, demeaning, and aggressive behavior, beginning by early adulthood, as indicated by the repeated occurrence of at least four of the following:

Has used physical cruelty or violence for the purpose of establishing dominance in a relationship (not merely to achieve some noninterpersonal goal, such as striking someone in order to rob him/her).

Humiliates or demeans people in the presence of others.

Has treated or disciplined someone under his/her control unusually harshly.

Is amused by, or takes pleasure in, the psychological or physical suffering of others (including animals).

Has lied for the purpose of harming or inflicting pain on others (not merely to achieve some other goal).

Gets other people to do what he/she wants by frightening them (through intimidation or even terror).

Not sure all that many "feel good" or get any sort of high from what they are doing, it is just how they were taught to act. No everybody's parents taught a good set of morals and common decency, and unfortunately these little things we are or are not taught carry with us through life.

Me on the other hand, I created myself from the ground up.

Some people are just azzholes............

You perceive her to be condescending and mean to people, and you perceive that she gains pleasure from it.


your perception is the only issue here.

no she actually brags about things she says and the reactions she gets when she says it.

This was more of a general question and not asking about her. She was only an example

Maybe it's the only means by which she feels powerful and good about herself. Do we really want to rob her of it?

I would. There is no excuse for somebody acting like a fool....

Some of us are just lost. Some of the things we do are not always right we just need some to guide into the right direction. It can be frustrating with how people handle themselves.

Maybe she needs to be confronted on what she does and made to see how she makes other people feel. If it doesn't bother her then Karma is a ***** and she will get what she deserves in the end.

If she can only gain that at the expense of others, then, yeah, somebody probably should. It ain't right... just sayin'...

because misery loves company.


. . .

IMO...people like that get off on trying to make people as miserable as there are. I can only feel sorry for those pathetic souls.

I believe people like this can only find solace in making others around them MORE miserable than they are.

its a power trip.. control freak.. something in her personal life although she will never admit it.. she has lost her power of control.. so she takes it elsewhere so she doesnt feel like a failure to herself.it may be something with in herself she has lost control of.. that is making her miserable some examples would be.. her relationship, her weight, her lack of accomplishments.. etc..

Maybe it's not an act?

Good point. Sometimes it's not. Still sucks azz............

my ex mother in law was like that.... she's evil, but i don't think she feels good about it.... just unhappy and bitter.

Sounds like depression to me.

start screaming when she starts up.

I think that a lot of people are that way and really do not realize how bad they are.....Then there are those that were raised that way by their parents. When a child hears others in the home being cruel and just down right rude to others they tend to grow up the same way... Some are due to that is how they have been treated and feel they have the right to give out the same treatments to others. Of course there are those that just really don't give a damn .........