Beware The Internet Recovery Troll

 Think trolls aren’treal? Think again.
Okay, so maybeyou’re thinking trolls are just imaginary monsters that only exist in fairytales. But what do you suppose inspired those horrid, blood curdling fairy talestories that used to make us hide beneath our blankets as children? Real lifemonsters disguised as people, that’s what. Don’t kid yourself, though. They dowalk amongst us.
You won’t recognizethe trolls at your local supermarket, although we pass them in the grocery aisles.Many of them go completely unnoticed as they load their shopping carts withfish heads, chicken livers and cookies shaped like children. It’s not untilthey return home, safe beneath their bridges, that they peel off their humanmasks and reveal their true ugliness. It’s only then that they bare their greenfangs and stretch their long, hairy fingers.
Where, exactly, isthis bridge that these trolls gather under? It’s called the AA Bridge, and youcan find one in nearly every town and city in America. AA has sometimes beencalled the bridge between addiction and recovery, which has helped countlessaddicts make a full recovery from the scourge of addiction. But this is not thecase for all that cross the bridge. Some make it to the other side just longenough to learn how to quit drinking, while ignoring the spiritual awakeningmessage that transforms people from angry, egotistical, resentful alcoholics toserene, tolerant, recoveredaddicts. Hell, not only does this type ignore the spiritual message, many ofthem feel it does not apply to them.
Addiction treatmentprofessionals refer to this type as a dry drunk. Although the dry drunk no longer drinks,he is still full of the same spite, rage, and resentments that fueled hisaddiction in the first place. He is a general malcontent, angry with anyonethat challenges his view of recovery and equally perturbed that he can no longerdrink. Even worse, some of these dry drunks study and quote AA’s Big Book up,down and sideways, as if they were an authority on the topic. Their beliefsabout addiction recovery are the only ones that matter and they love to lash out at anyone thatdares to post views that do not match their own. When this type of person ownsa computer, these personality traits and technology form to combine what’sknown as the Internet RecoveryTroll.
The recovery trollis a sneaky little devil. Much like the fairy tale version, the beast lies in wait for unsuspecting victims to come along. The recovery troll’shiding place beneath the bridge is his computer. He stalks his prey carefully,in order to lure others into his trap, often under the false pretense ofwanting to help other struggling addicts. You’ll find the recovery troll inFacebook’s addiction recovery groups on a daily basis. He sneaks quietly intovarious groups and lies in wait, hoping to devour the souls of the innocent. Hefeels safe and smug in his anonymity, lashing out at others from the safety ofhis bedroom or basement, where no one can see his hideous face.
He’s not justsneaky, but crafty, too. When other group members begin to challenge hisinsults and personal attacks, he often blocks the group administrators beforethey can remove him from the group. It’s just a temporary solution, of course,and it’s never long before the group owner hits the anti-troll button. But itaffords the troll a little more time to taunt and ridicule others with hissuperior views of recovery as he snarls and belittles others, which is all he’sreally after.
As is the case withall trolls, it’s never long before the townspeople gather together and chasevagrant recovery trolls back under the bridge from whence they came. But atroll must feed on the innocents, because that’s just how trolls roll, and it’snever long before he finds another group or forum to satisfy his insatiableappetite.
There’s not muchyou can do with the recovery troll, unfortunately. Spreading hate and attackingothers is the nature of the beast. But there is one thing you can do to avoidthe monster. Never, ever feed the troll. It only makes them hungrier and keepsthem coming back for more.