system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Star Wars] Why didn't Palpatine just stop zapping?

In both III and IX, Palpatine's own force lightning was being deflected back at him and he didn't stop despite it causing physical harm.

I get that dark side powers are caused by—and cause—strong emotions so he was probably blinded by his own anger/hate while using lightning, but he was also dying and iirc Sith don't believe in an afterlife. Wouldn't the threat of dying force him to try something else?
gpt
The Dark Side of the Force is a positive feedback loop - powerful emotions fuel it, and it fuels more powerful emotions. The strongest Sith lords are constantly riding the line between being world-shatteringly powerful and being torn apart by that same power.

When a Jedi loses control, their power just stops working(see Luke in the swamp). When a Sith loses control, their power runs wild.