WHAT IS DARK PSYCHOLOGY?
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt It hides behind stars and under hills and empty holes it fills It comes first and follows after. Ends life, kills laughter” J.R.R Tolkien – The Hobbit
Dark Psychology Secrets: The Essential Guide to Persuasion, Emotional Manipulation, Deception, Mind Control, Human Behavior, NLP and Hypnosis, How To Stop Being Manipulated And Defend Your Mind
The mind is one of the most complex aspects of human nature. The workings of the mind are something that has both puzzled and intrigued mankind for as long as we can remember. Philosophers, psychologists and scientists have sought to unravel the mysteries of the mind. It is a generally held belief that the human mind influences our behavior and actions. So, a lot of research work has gone into understanding the mental process that a person undergoes before taking action, whether good or bad.
Some attempts at studying the human mind have concentrated efforts on the brain. These studies look at the physical aspects of the brain with a focus on how information is acquired, processed, interpreted and stored. Essentially, they hope to get a better understanding of how the brain can affect a person's way of reasoning. It is studies like these that has paved the way for progress in managing debilitating conditions like Alzheimer, perception difficulties and even memory loss.
The more familiar aspect of the study of the human mind is psychologie. At some point in our lives, we have either consulted a psychologist or we have known someone who had to consult with one in order to navigate our tougher emotional battles. A lot of times, life's experiences breaks us down in ways we cannot fix on our own. Sometimes, the breakdown is as a result of certain biological markers we inherited from our parents. Emotions like depression, anxiety and fear darken our daily experiences making it difficult to thrive. With a combination of drugs and therapy we are able to protect ourselves from the darkness within.
But, what about the darkness in others?
Everyone has the capacity of doing great good. We also possess the ability to do great evil. Beneath emotions like sadness, depression, joy and happiness is a deep seethed desire that can lead us to deliberately harm others if those urges are not brought under control. These darker desires are rooted in more primitive instincts like our flight or fight response that promotes our survival. Sometimes, there is only one word that qualifies the human response to these dark emotions...evil.
Dark psychology is a study of the human condition in relation to the psychological nature of humans to prey on others. In lay terms, dark psychology explores that aspect of human nature that allows us deliberately and willfully take actions that bring harm to our fellow humans. Mind you, the use of prey in this context does not necessarily translate into the physical harming of a person although, there is a branch of dark psychology that is dedicated entirely to this. In subsequent chapters, we will touch briefly on those areas to get a better understanding of the topic.
In movies or books, you may have come across words or phrases alluding to “a darkness within”. Even some of the most famous philosophers made references to this. The revered book of the Christians talks about how “the heart of man is desperately wicked”. We have all encountered that one individual who we have described as exceptionally calm or reserved in social settings only for this same individual to perpetrate an act so devious that we find it difficult to associate that act with this individual in question. Sometimes, we are that individual. As surprising as it may seem, it is not entirely shocking.
Those cases are just triggered responses to external situations. The pot was stirred so to speak and those dark emotions that hid beneath simmered to the surface. Usually they recede once control is exerted. Everyone has a latent tendency to be a bit naughty or just downright evil if the right “buttons” are pushed. Some other individuals on the other hand are fully in control of these dark emotions. They nurture them, feed them and when it serves their own purposes, they willfully unleash them at the expense of another person.
Sometimes, these emotions are groomed from an early age. A child learns that if he or she cries in a certain way, the adults in their lives rush to do their bidding. If the parents do not impress on the child early enough the wrongness of this, the child grows up thinking people in their lives can be manipulated into doing their bidding. The crying would cease to be a weapon as they grow but they would continue in their manipulative ways. Where they don't use tears, they use emotions to blackmail their victims. So, what started out as an innocent childish behavior becomes a dark need to control.
The lengths that this individual would go to exert their control would define the intensity of their actions. Dark psychology is all about studying the thought process of a person like this. It seeks to understand the motive behind these actions, the patterns exhibited from before these acts are carried out to after and throws more light on how a person can willfully see those actions to conclusion knowing the hurt and pain it might cause to another individual. Dark psychology illuminates the dark side of human nature.
Dark Psychology Secrets: The Essential Guide to Persuasion, Emotional Manipulation, Deception, Mind Control, Human Behavior, NLP and Hypnosis, How To Stop Being Manipulated And Defend Your Mind
THE EFFECTS AND IMPACT OF DARK PSYCHOLOGY
“When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow”
Ursula K. Le Guin
Given the little we now understand about dark psychology, we know that some of the most shocking criminal offences are rooted in certain personality traits related to dark psychology. But that is a broader side effect. I want to bring it closer to home, to you and me. How does this dark psychology affect us...if it even affects us at all? I can assure you that there are no “ifs” to this question and in a few short moments we would understand how.
The effects of dark psychology are experienced by both the perpetrator and the victim. To know the impacts, we need to explore some elements of dark psychology. People who exhibit certain personality traits that are considered dark such as narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism are prone to experiencing difficulties in all aspect of their relationships. If all three traits are present in one person, they have a higher propensity to commit a crime. The three personality traits mentioned have specific characteristics that are grouped under them.
Narcissism for instance is characterized by a sense of entitlement, feelings of superiority, deep seethed envy of the success of others and exploitative behavior. Psychopathy has an absence of guilt, lack of empathy, destructive impulsive behavior, egocentricity and inability to accept responsibility as some of the characteristics. Selfishness, ruthlessness and manipulative behaviors are indicators of Machiavellian traits. Separately, these traits are problematic but put together, they can spell trouble. Especially in a person's relationship with others. In the workplace for instance, that person would;
Underperform in the office even with the most mundane tasks
Disrupt workflow due to their inability to get along with others
Would be intensely disliked by others
Their impulsivity would lead them to making questionable decisions that are not ethical
If put in an administrative capacity, they are more
likely to commit white collar crime
But it is not just their work relationships that suffer. In their
personal relationships, they are bound to encounter the following problems
Their constant need for attention and validation can be exhausting for their partner resulting in faster expiration dates on relationships
They resort to physical and emotional blackmails in order to manipulate their partners
They tend to be either verbally, emotionally or
physically abusive with their partners or children People who get into relationships with them pay a high
emotional cost
If you have encountered a person whose relationships are characterized by these experiences, for the sake of your sanity and general well-being, steer clear of them. If on the other hand, you are the one who experiences this, seek the psychological help you need to get better. No matter how deep-rooted these problems are, you can improve your behavior and experiences with the right form of therapy. The first step is recognizing the situation for what it is, acknowledging that you have a problem and seeking help promptly. For the rest of us, dealing with people who have the traits I mentioned above leaves us emotionally and mentally drained. Sometimes, the effect can be physical and in extreme cases, fatal. The sweet neighbor whose terrible experience led me on this journey to writing this book lost everything physically. Her home, her business, her finances but her loss was much deeper and greater than these. We didn't have a relationship with the perpetrator of the act but, we became victims as well. Our losses were not as monumental as hers but, we experienced loss too. For starters, we
lost our sweet neighbor. She didn't die but she never recovered from the experience. We lost our ability to trust strangers. Even our relationships with each other seemed to require an additional layer of trust to thrive.
The biggest impact of dark psychology on anyone is that it produces a strong sense of loss. We lose our valuables, we lose relationships, we lose ourselves [I will explain that in a bit] and for those who are extremely unfortunate, they lose their lives. All things considered, it is safe to say that the impact of this darkness is profound.
According to experts, if a person exhibits one of the dark personality traits, there is a very high tendency that the person would exhibit the others. In general society, if the larger members of the society exhibit these traits, it is safe to say that the crime perpetration rates in that society would be significantly high. That is not to say that people living in cities or countries with higher crimes are more criminally inclined. There are other contributing factors to be considered. But the prospect cannot be entirely ruled out either.
One thing that cannot be ruled out though is the ripple effect of actions directly related to or as a result of dark personality traits. There certain destructive behaviors that turn victims into predators as well and this cycle continue well into the future until someone plucks up the courage and takes the bold step to break free. Children from abusive homes for instance more often than not grow up to be abusers. In some cases, in their attempt to break away from their parental mold, they find themselves trapped in equally abusive relationships even if they are the not the abusers themselves. It is almost as if they have a very strong gravitational pull towards the violent elements that characterized their childhood home.
For some others, becoming victims can have such a tremendous impact on their psyche that it causes something inside of them to snap. I have read that, the "snapping" can be temporary. In a brief moment, they lose all control over their primitive instincts and act purely on the strongest emotion that surfaces which is usually anger. This condition is what causes some people to plead temporary insanity. But there are people who embrace the dark
emotions that surface when they "snap". All sense of morality goes out the window. The aftermath of this is usually devastating.
Dark Psychology Secrets: The Essential Guide to Persuasion, Emotional Manipulation, Deception, Mind Control, Human Behavior, NLP and Hypnosis, How To Stop Being Manipulated And Defend Your Mind
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