Altruism or Coping Mechanism? Mental Health in the RLSH Community

RLSH occupy an unusual cultural space, a grey area. They are not comic book characters, yet they borrow the visual language of comics. They are not law enforcement, yet some patrol streets. They are not social workers, yet many feed the hungry, provide supplies to the unhoused, or intervene in moments of crisis. To outsiders, RLSH are often reduced to novelty, eccentricity, or danger. To supporters, they represent grassroots heroism in a world where institutions frequently fail.

Beneath the costumes and hero names lies a deeper, more uncomfortable question—one that surfaces repeatedly in media coverage, academic discussion, and within the community itself:

Are Real Life Superheroes motivated by pure altruism, or is heroism functioning as a coping mechanism for psychological distress?

This question is not meant as an accusation. It is, instead, a necessary inquiry into how mental health, identity, trauma, and meaning intersect in people who voluntarily step into high-risk, emotionally charged roles without formal authority or protection.

Understanding Altruism: Why People Help at Personal Cost

Altruism is typically defined as "behavior intended to benefit others, even when it involves personal sacrifice". It is a well-documented phenomenon across cultures, and it does not require pathology to exist.

People help because:

• They empathize with suffering

• They believe it is morally right

• They feel social responsibility

• They derive meaning from service

• They identify strongly with justice or fairness

For many RLSH, altruism is sincere and deeply held. Interviews and first-person accounts often emphasize:

• Frustration with systemic neglect

• A desire to protect vulnerable people

• A belief that “someone has to do something”

• Inspiration from fictional heroes as moral symbols, not fantasies

Importantly, altruism does not require institutional permission. Mutual aid, volunteerism, and community defense have long histories outside formal systems. RLSH are not inventing the impulse to help—they are expressing it in a visually and culturally distinctive way. Yet altruism alone does not fully explain why someone would don a uniform and armor, assume a persona, and repeatedly expose themselves to danger and scrutiny.

Coping Mechanisms Are Not Inherently Unhealthy

A coping mechanism is simply a strategy for managing stress, trauma, or emotional discomfort. Some coping mechanisms are maladaptive (substance abuse, avoidance, aggression). Others are neutral or even healthy (exercise, art, social bonding, volunteering).

Helping others can be a coping mechanism without being deceptive, selfish, or pathological.

In fact, psychological research consistently shows that:

• Prosocial behavior can reduce depression

• Volunteering improves self-esteem

• Helping others can restore a sense of control after trauma

• Structured purpose can stabilize mood and identity

The problem arises not when heroism functions as a coping mechanism, but when it becomes the only mechanism or when the role replaces rather than complements personal healing.

Trauma and the Call to “Be the One Who Steps In”

A recurring theme in RLSH narratives is prior exposure to harm:

• Childhood abuse or neglect

• Violent crime victimization

• Loss of a loved one

• Homelessness or addiction

• Military or first responder experiences

Trauma can produce a powerful desire to:

• Prevent others from experiencing similar pain

• Rewrite one’s personal narrative

• Reclaim agency in situations that once felt helpless

• Turn suffering into meaning

This does not mean RLSH are “broken" or that every RLSH has some sort of trauma.

However, trauma-informed psychology warns of a risk called trauma reenactment, which is "the unconscious repetition of high-stress scenarios in an attempt to gain mastery over unresolved experiences". When an individual repeatedly seeks dangerous situations without adequate support, reflection, or boundaries, heroism can shift from service into self-harm dressed as virtue.

The Mask: Identity, Control, and Psychological Distance

Costumes are often the most visible and misunderstood element of RLSH activity. Critics frequently interpret masks as delusion or escapism. In reality, the psychology of masking is more complex.

Masks can:

• Provide emotional distance from fear

• Reduce social anxiety

• Allow role clarity in high-stress environments

• Create symbolic authority without force

• Protect personal identity from retaliation

In therapeutic contexts, role-play and symbolic identity are well-established tools for emotional regulation and confidence-building. For some RLSH, the costume is less about fantasy and more about containment, a way to step into a role with clear rules and step out of it afterward.

Problems arise when:

• The “hero identity” becomes more real than the civilian self

• Self-worth becomes dependent on public recognition

• Failure or criticism triggers emotional collapse

• The individual feels empty or lost without the role

These warning signs mirror those found in burnout-prone professions like healthcare, activism, and emergency response.

Burnout, Savior Complex, and Moral Injury

RLSH work, especially street patrols and crisis intervention, can expose participants to chronic stress:

• Violence

• Human suffering

• Rejection or hostility

• Legal threats

• Public ridicule

• Internal community conflict

Without institutional support, this stress accumulates.

Common mental health risks include:

• Burnout

• Anxiety

• Hypervigilance

• Depression

• Moral injury (the distress caused by being unable to prevent harm)

A particularly dangerous pitfall is the savior complex which is the belief that one must personally fix problems or that others are helpless without intervention. This mindset increases emotional load, discourages collaboration, and makes stepping away feel like betrayal.

Healthy RLSH communities actively discourage this thinking by emphasizing:

• Team-based approaches

• Clear limits on intervention

• Cooperation with social services

• Acceptance that not every situation can be resolved

When Altruism and Coping Overlap

The uncomfortable truth is this: Altruism and coping are not opposites.

Most people who help others are also helping themselves in some way:

• Teachers find meaning

• Nurses feel purpose

• Activists channel anger

• Volunteers find belonging

RLSH are not unique in this regard, they are simply more visible.

The ethical issue is not whether helping feels good or stabilizing. The issue is whether:

• The behavior is safe

• The individual maintains autonomy

• Consent and boundaries are respected

• The work does more good than harm

• Mental health support is present

When those conditions are met, heroism can be both altruistic and psychologically beneficial.

Stigma, Media Narratives, and Pathologizing Help

Media portrayals of RLSH often frame them as:

• Unstable

• Delusional

• Attention-seeking

• Dangerous vigilantes

While legitimate concerns exist regarding safety and legality, blanket pathologization is intellectually lazy and harmful. It discourages mental health conversations and reinforces the myth that anyone who behaves outside social norms must be unwell. Ironically, this stigma can push RLSH further into isolation, making mental health challenges worse rather than better.

A healthier approach recognizes that:

• Some RLSH are well-adjusted volunteers

• Some are struggling but self-aware

• Some should step back from high-risk roles

• Some need mental health support, not ridicule

Nuance is not endorsement, it is responsibility.

Toward a Healthier Model of Real Life Heroism

If the RLSH community is to be sustainable, mental health must be treated as a core issue, not an afterthought.

Best practices include:

• Regular self-assessment and peer check-ins

• Clear mission statements and boundaries

• De-escalation and nonviolent training

• Rotating roles to prevent burnout

• Encouraging therapy without stigma

• Valuing community service as much as patrols

• Accepting when it’s time to stop

Heroism should not require self-destruction.

Conclusion: The Wrong Question, Asked for the Right Reasons

“Altruism or coping mechanism?” is ultimately the wrong question. The better question is: Is the behavior ethical, sustainable, and psychologically healthy for both the helper and the helped?

RLSH are not a monolith. They are people who are complex, flawed, idealistic, resilient navigating a world where the desire to help often collides with personal pain.

Acknowledging mental health does not diminish heroism. It strengthens it. Because the most responsible kind of hero is not the one who never struggles, but the one who knows their limits, seeks support, and understands that saving the world starts with not losing yourself.

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On an entire other note, if you are an RLSH, please take a moment to fill out this RLSH 2026 Demographics Survey. It's anonymous. Just looking to gather some general information to study. It will end up becoming an article after the end of the year.

The February "Notes From The Rooftops" will be about "Film/TV That Helped Inspired You and How" [as an RLSH].  Keep it to roughly 500 words.  If you want to contribute (active or retired RLSH only), please send an email to Raven (raven@herocore.online).  If I get no responses, then this will be the last of this feature. Deadline: January 31st

If there is something you would like to see me discuss here on Herocore, please feel free to contact me. raven@herocore.online