Why do people enjoy the misfortune of others?

By Teppie Chartomatsidis

In your lifetime you may come across some certain people who gain satisfaction and power from seeing or hearing about the misfortune of others.

Maybe you have been in the unfortunate situation of failing in your life and seeing other people enjoy and gloat over your suffering.

Maybe the people that gloated over your misfortune and suffering were supposed “friends” and it took the experience of a bad situation for you to see the truth behind what type of people they really are.

The reasons why people enjoy the “bad luck” of others

A lot of people are happy to hear about the misfortune of others due to several reasons. People who feel inadequate and less worthy than others get a boost to their self esteem when they hear about the problems other people have.

These types of people are usually the ones who are unsatisfied and miserable with their situation and choices they made in life- so the failures and problems of others reassure them.

"My life’s not so bad after all!!”

Gloaters also feel a sense of comfort when they know that others are going through miserable times in life. By comparing themselves to people who are going through problems they feel that their lives are not so bad.

Because these type of people don’t have the strength to face up to and fix their own life they need other people who are misfortunate to make them feel better. This however is a false sense of worthiness and only lasts as a temporary comfort for gloaters.

“You fell to my satisfaction”

People that enjoy the misery and problems of others are usually envious people. If someone has been envying you then they might go on to enjoy watching you suffer when you go through a difficult time in life. You have to watch out for these types of people as they are very deceptive and have the capacity to emotionally wound and dishearten you.

Deceptive, jealous people may pretend to be your friends when all is good but once you hit the rocks in life they may change to become your dreaded enemy! The fact that they were jealous of you in the past will give them great pleasure to see you fall. This may also spur some jealous people to gain from your pain and try to use your failure to propel them to succeed in life.

How to deal with people who enjoy your misfortune

The wisest way to deal with people that enjoy the misfortune of others is to stay as far away from them. This is important if you are going through a personal problem or trial in life as you need to protect yourself from the negative influences of other people.

People who don't have your best interests at heart will gloat and will use your misfortune an opportunity for them to feel worthy and powerful.

It is highly recommended that you keep your problems to yourself as much as you can. If and when you are around these people, don’t let know or understand that you are suffering. Don’t give them the satisfaction of knowing how you feel.

Finally, we are never exempt to life’s suffering - no one is. If you have fallen in life, then be determined to get up, become a stronger person and fight for your life. Don’t pay any attention to any mockers or gloaters - thankfully there is such a thing as the Law of Sowing and Reaping.  

Jesus told us that "do unto others what you would like them to do unto you". This is because He was trying to not only promote peace, but also to protect us because He knew the law that whatever we do comes back to us like a boomerang!  So the next time someone does anything bad to you know that someday their evil thoughts and actions will catch up to them!

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