Misery-driven

Misery-driven describes actions, behaviors, or motivations primarily fueled by a state of suffering, unhappiness, or profound distress. It suggests that individuals or systems are compelled to behave in certain ways as a direct result of their own or others' misery. This can manifest as actions intended to alleviate the suffering, exploit it, or simply perpetuate a cycle of distress. The term often implies a lack of healthy, positive motivators and a focus on escaping or reacting to negative emotional states. It underscores a perspective where pain, sorrow, and despair are the dominant forces shaping choices and outcomes. It can also imply that a person or system is choosing between bad choices because they have been left with few good options. Furthermore, the word suggests an emphasis on the negativity involved, often implying self-destructive or harmful results.

Misery-driven meaning with examples

• Her constant job-hopping was ultimately misery-driven; she chased opportunities for the sake of escaping her current unhappiness rather than pursuing any concrete goals. Each new role felt like a bandage, failing to address her deep-seated dissatisfaction. This cycle perpetuated a sense of insecurity as she never established true expertise. In the end, she just went from bad to worse because she was seeking solace from her discontent.
• The politician's campaign was built on a misery-driven platform, highlighting social anxieties and economic woes to galvanize voters. While they may have identified real problems, their primary focus was on exploiting negative emotions rather than presenting viable solutions. The rhetoric created a sense of crisis, leveraging fear and resentment to get their message across to the populace.
• After the divorce, his social media activity became increasingly misery-driven. He would post about the 'good old days,' or vent about the past in the hopes of garnering sympathy. This further isolated him from friends who were tired of the complaints. This constant display of sadness was his way to cope, though it only perpetuated his feelings of loneliness.
• The city's austerity measures, cutting essential social services, became a misery-driven policy. Instead of investing in community well-being, the focus was solely on addressing the debt, without accounting for the damage inflicted by the people who were suffering. The cuts ended up being a case of short-term gains for long-term suffering for the people in the community.
• The addictive nature of her gambling stemmed from a misery-driven impulse, using the potential for winning as an escape from deep-seated anxieties. The fleeting highs offered a temporary reprieve, but the inevitable losses only intensified her suffering. This created a vicious cycle as she was never able to step away from her addiction and truly face her demons.