I just kind of wonder with how casually people express these thoughts. It’s a little disturbing how normalized it is to entertain such notions, given how other types of fantasies are very stigmatized.
Like when discussing char.ai, acting out sexual or romantic fantasies is something a lot of people do, but it’s considered embarrassing. While people freely discuss violent roleplays without any shame.
And then there’s the cliche of fantasizing about killing one’s boss or coworkers.
Are these really common thoughts for mentally sound people to have?
There’s a big difference between thinking/imagining something and acting on it. I wouldn’t consider it an issue unless it’s causing damage to your life or relationships. Fixating on morbid stuff to the point that it impacts your life is probably a sign of something bigger going on.
Reading through these comments makes me worry about y’all and maybe the people I interact with on a daily basis.
Like I would understand maybe punching someone to try and “convert” the emotional/mental pain they caused you into actual pain they can understand; to teach them a lesson or open their eyes. Take punching a nazi as an example.
But having “violent sadistic fantasies” especially involving those close to you should probably invoke some level of concern about your mental state and warrant a psych eval.
Put it this way, if you sat down in front of a therapist and told them what you just told us, would they warn the authorities after the appointment or just go about their day?
I think there are different kinds of violent fantasies. I imagine all kinds of violent stuff in an unrealistic action movie kind of way, with exploding heads and disembowelment and all that (I run D&D games lol). I got worried that I might be dangerous. Then, one time I tried to vividly imagine the actual real world consequences of hurting a real person that I knew, and I couldn’t get any further than imagining the pained, betrayed look on their face before I had to hit the eject button. That brief exercise fucked me up for weeks afterward, but it was pretty reassuring. In the long run. I think I’m the schmuck in the horror movie that chokes when it comes down to actually firing a gun at someone and gets killed for hesitating, and honestly I think I’m okay with that.
If you’re worried, have a Hare test done. It’s a question and answer survey that helps diagnose sociopathy.
Personally I have a hypothesis that humanity has invisibly specialized, like ants. Hundreds of thousands of years of living in very dangerous environments with people living a few miles away that constantly want to kill you and take your food.
This has led to a mentally prepared warrior caste that will be less likely to fall to fear or panic in combat (of course this is natural selection, only the surviving warriors get to reproduce)
And I am thinking part of that is, as you experience, these violent fantasies.
You aren’t having them because you are mentally ill, you are having them because your ancestors evolved over thousands of generations to have more Fight than Flee in your emergency response.
Unfortunately that means your brain is geared for violence, like mine.
Were we born 400 years ago we might have been lauded heroes, but in our modern safe world we are relics that society wants to forget.
No idea, but I have a prescription for prn anti-psychotics after discussing this very topic with my mental health provider … so, do whatever you want with that information.
