Some of you should love this...

I’m going to post a description here (excluding a few points to make it a bit less easy) that seems to capture many people I see on the web. Can you guess what I’m describing? For the first part, you need only three traits (again, remembering that I’ve deleted two points (as well as one word in one of the points I’ve kept), and for the second part you need at least four:

(a) excessive sensitiveness to setbacks and rebuffs;
(b) tendency to bear grudges persistently, i.e. refusal to forgive insults and injuries or slights;
(c) pervasive tendency to distort experience by misconstruing the neutral or friendly actions of others as hostile or contemptuous;
(d) a combative and tenacious sense of personal rights out of keeping with the actual situation;
(f) tendency to experience excessive self-importance, manifest in a persistent self-referential attitude;


And now for some more info, once again edited, but I think some points are still pretty obvious (so perhaps think about the previous hints first to see if you can arrive at the “disorder”

  • is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates
  • is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her
  • persistently bears grudges, i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights
  • perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack

Fairly accurate I’d say.

This is what the internet talk forums promote - these negative qualities within us.

I participate in such forums to nutralise these qualities, so that hopefully, they show less of themselves in daily life.

We are to guess?

Sounds like OCD.

Wait, not OCD, but Paranoid Personality disorder.

Nice answer (the PPD, not OCD). So here is the full description, with the DSM-IV coming first, followed by the European version:

A. A pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:

  1. suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her
  2. is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates
  3. is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her
  4. reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events
  5. persistently bears grudges, i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights
  6. perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack
  7. has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse or sexual partner

B. Does not occur exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia, a Mood Disorder With Psychotic Features, or another Psychotic Disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition.


(a) excessive sensitiveness to setbacks and rebuffs;
(b) tendency to bear grudges persistently, i.e. refusal to forgive insults and injuries or slights;
(c) suspiciousness and a pervasive tendency to distort experience by misconstruing the neutral or friendly actions of others as hostile or contemptuous;
(d) a combative and tenacious sense of personal rights out of keeping with the actual situation;
(e) recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding sexual fidelity of spouse or sexual partner;
(f) tendency to experience excessive self-importance, manifest in a persistent self-referential attitude;
(g) preoccupation with unsubstantiated “conspiratorial” explanations of events both immediate to the patient and in the world at large.

Includes:

  • expansive paranoid, fanatic, querulant and sensitive paranoid personality (disorder)

Excludes:

  • delusional disorder
  • schizophrenia

Interesting insights, piano. Personally, I am pretty much the same in person as I am online, depending on the context (though I do try harder to keep the arrogance to a minimum in real life, with varying degrees of success…depends on the people with whom I’m interacting, of course…I even got one “he’s so arrogant” (or something like that) comment on ratemyprofessors.com:frowning:).

Ahh well, 1 out of two aint bad. :stuck_out_tongue:

I am thinking that you find this to be widespread on the internet, and that it manifests itself due to a lack of proximity between people in real time versus the anonymity of the internet?

Something along those lines? I know that, personally, trust in others over the internet can be a troubling thing.

For some people, yes. That is, lack of proximity and anonymity DOES promote certain types of behaviours.

However, I also think that forums such as these provide…umm…well…a forum for people who actually have this disorder. In real life, such people usually end up becoming quite isolated because their behaviours drive most people away eventually. But on the web, they can say what they want without being shut down (okay, abgrund apparently got shut down, though I wouldn’t say he has PPD…I don’t even think he wrote anything all that offensive…).

But I was focusing less on the non “paranoid” elements (or suspiciousness and lack of trust) and more on the traits such as combativeness, self-importance, grudge bearing, etc. More accurately, I was thinking of the psychodynamic understanding of “paranoia” that underlies the descriptions provided by the DSM-IV…I see many examples of people who manifest such things.

In case anyone wonders–and I’m keeping this really brief because I DO have to get back to work (or sleep now)–the main underlying feature is very low self-esteem that one cannot acknowledge. Instead, that person “projects” these fears, doubts, and self-hatred onto others, thus he believes that OTHERS dislike him as much as he really dislikes himself. He then rationalizes all of his thoughts and actions and fails to see that if everyone in the world except he (and other PPDs, I suppose)sees things one way, that doesn’t make him “special” or above others…it means he likely has some problems that he cannot acknowledge and thus needs to resort to a host of defense mechanisms (e.g., rationalization) to maintain his false beliefs about himself.

Before anyone jumps over me, let me make it clear that I am NOT saying that geniuses (in any capacity) who see, e.g., math, music, art, etc. differently from the rest are paranoid. And I’m not claiming that the masses are “normal” (like I said before, I think we are ALL abnormal and I say we should accept this) and any better than the individual. What I am saying is that people with PPD have a PERSISTENT PATTERN of seeing things differently from everyone else (sometimes to the point of delusion–not to be confused with hallucinations), and these differences typically cause a lot of friction with others. And if EVERYONE has the same reaction to one person, then that person should consider looking at what and how he thinks, acts, and interprets what goes on inside and around himself. But people with PPD almost never do that, because doing so would mean they might open the floodgates to many more thoughts and feelings that they’ve repressed for so long…such a consequence would threaten to overhwelm them with anxiety and other nasty feelings.

Now it’s off to my safe, comfy, loving, accepting, non-judgmental bed…:wink:

Aww…when your initial post said OCD,I became all excited because I thought I’d be the first to get the right answer.

It seems that people with this disorder would be drawn to www interpersonal communications due to the difficulty they have in maintaining “real world” relationships.

Personally, I rather like www relationships. My “real” relationships require so much more effort, and I can’t go back and edit what I’ve said to people. As well, people have a tendency to form an impression of others based on how they look and dress. I experienced this when I worked briefly as a bartender at a nightclub. My tips would double when I wore skimpier clothing, so I did. I’d hear comments like “she’s hot, but doesn’t have much going on upstairs”. The only communication I had with the people who made these comments consisted of taking their drink order. They based an opinion of who I was on the statement, “Hi. What can I get you to drink tonight?” Of course, it had nothing to do with what I said and everything to do with the fact that I was a pretty girl bartender in a short skirt. I’m pretty secure, so it didn’t bother me too much. Truth be told, I found it rather amusing after my experience as “geek-girl” in high school.

Back to the original topic, I wonder if what might be seen as symptoms of PPD may actually be a defense mechanism against “flamers”. There are many people on the www who get a thrill out of insulting and belittling others. If a person’s experiences on the www frequently puts them in contact with flamers, it may make them suspicious of all people on the www.

OOPS. Bad editing…I MEANT to say:

But I was focusing less on the “paranoid” elements (or suspiciousness and lack of trust)…

My bad…

I think in many cases you are right, shyster. In the case of PPD, it’s a reaction to IMAGINED slights and insults, whereas what you state would be a reaction to REAL such attacks. Still, there are many people whose posts I read suggest that they truly do possess PPD (or narcissistic personality disorder TRAITS–not necessarily the actual disorder).

I would hypothesize that this particular environment both attracts people with specific disorders and bring out the worst in people who have mild cases. Those people who have mild low self esteem might be well adjusted enough to temper their worst inclinations in face to face interactions. Then give them the freedom of Internet with its lack of consequences and they suddenly can indulge themselves in pettiness, spite and general twerp-iness.

It’s alarming that it sounds like me. :astonished: Should i be warried? I mean I am aware of the qualities that you describe and I tend to compensate them by being moot and friendly. It’s not as strong as before. But, this is making me bit paranoid and warrysome. :frowning:

I think I’m a little bit like this, but I don’t tend to hold grudges very well. I can be paranoid and constantly feel that people are not being up front with me. I feel that people secretly hate me and wait for the worst. When I don’t have enough information I start making up scenarios in my head, so if friend doesn’t talk to me for an abnormal duration I assume they’re angry or something and try to start thinking of what I did. It’s very ego centric because I guess I’m always assuming that the world is revolving around me and that whatever behavior the people around me are displaying, must have something to do with me.

Being online can make me very paranoid, for example at one point I was convinced that people here in the forum were logging in with new profiles (there did seem to be an influx of new members)…right barnacle bob? I think I’m getting over this notion now…

Greetings all, as for grudges, forgive but always remember, once bitten twice shy. :cry:

I think holding a grudge is a little different than putting your foot down and setting boundaries. Grudges, in my opinion, occur when people hold onto unnecessary old anger and resentment out of spite. I think it’s childish to behave this way. It’s healing to open these issues up for discussion with the people involved and seek to find closure rather than carrying around negative baggage.

:wink: heh i didn’t realize you were that serious about it, when you asked question. no matter. Would you like to conduct very deep back ground check? :stuck_out_tongue: hehe j/k

I can sort of relate vortical. I spend about 1 yr in basement. I was was feeling exactly how you were feeling. Then i said f it to everything and moved half way across world. :astonished: Only thing two thing i’ve got to say about that is. I miss mom’s cooking and free laundry service. :frowning:

Don’t worry Vortical. We generally inhibit that kind of behavior.

Hi psy,

An interesting point. This reminds me of my performance poem ‘The Ranting Man’ in which the Ranter singles out all his hate figures throughout the poem, until the very last verse where we note that he also, and primarily, hates himself.

This must touch a lot of people’s experiences, because the first time I went out to read this poem I had an offer of publication before I even got back to my seat. That was a nice feeling.

Cheers, e. (I mean free)

Very insightful, e-free! I’ve always said that many artists (especially those whose medium is words, since they are easier for me to understand…) seem to have as keen an understanding of the human mind as any psychologist (look at the debt Freud owes to Shakespeare…as was once said “Freud’s own theories were not that great, and his greatest theories were not his own” (or something like that)). And glad that you were able to translate your insights into profit! (I’m still trying that with my own test battery… :frowning: ).