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Introduction – Be Warned!!

Revenge generally occurs when a person has been wronged and feels spiteful enough to strike back. Its ultimate purpose is often to cripple the perpetrator.

Revenge, which can be the drive for the initiation and escalation of conflict, usually causes one to feel satisfied when something wrong has happened to one’s enemy. This kind of satisfaction compensates for one’s suffering or powerlessness. Revenge can also help to punish the offender, showing both the direct victim and the public that such behaviour is not tolerable in society and indirectly prevents the direct victim from doing such things again.

Many people believe that revenge can make offenders give up their criminal intentions and successfully stop them from doing things unless you ensure it. Furthermore, revenge can make people feel the existence of law and a fair society and help them stay where they ought to be. In a very general sense, to forgive criminals too easily will lead to the generation of many “violent individuals”.

Of course, for those who like to take revenge, to a certain extent, it helps to reduce their anger. Therefore, with some benefits, revenge does have some good reasons. However, these reasons for revenge cannot offset its disadvantages. The harms from the consequences of revenge can be quantified in such a way that it is a factor in increasing social costs, abusing the criminal law, increasing harmfulness, and bringing more threats to people.

As for an individual, taking revenge can mean that “the happiness it sought is further from reach than before and pain has not been relieved”. In addition, in some cases, revenge paralyzes criminals. This can lead to extra burdens for them and further serious consequences.

Psychological Effects of Seeking Revenge

When we are mistreated, it is common for humans to reel with the desire for revenge, especially in cases of severe wrongdoings. Though our standard notion may insist that revenge is bad, inhuman, or uncensored, insights show aspects of revenge that may be worth considering.

When you feel mistreated by someone, revenge against them may seem like a justifiable way of alleviating any negativity aroused by those unacceptable feelings of being threatened, hurt, or offended. Besides the above assertion, it is good to reason more about these feelings, why they emerge, and if and how they may reach satisfaction through seeking revenge.

The first part reviews different levels of revenge and gives a reason why one may seek it. The second part looks at the emotional cost of revenge, asks when it makes us feel better, and through which psychological or aggressive mechanisms. The third section examines whether revenge or retaliation against the offender may be prevented by different emotion-focused coping strategies.

Definition of Revenge

Revenge occurs when a person has been wronged and feels spiteful enough to strike back. Its ultimate purpose is often to cripple the perpetrator.

If they rush into making a decision, they may end up making the wrong choice just for the sake of short-term comfort.

Individuals may believe that receiving vengeance will bring closure to the distress they have suffered. Although it may make the person feel better in the short term, it can mentally damage him or her for a long time as well. This is considered to be an overt form of aggression that usually leads to a downfall, hurting his or her dignity as well. Up to this point, it has been determined that there is a negative, increased mood that is seen as revenge.

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