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Sociopathy (Psychopathy)

A mental disorder characterized by Antisocial Personality Disorder, lack of empathy and the concern for self.

500 Questions

Why are demented people in fiction portrayed as sociopaths?

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Asked by DominicGuyegp7642

In fiction, demented individuals are sometimes portrayed as sociopaths to create a sense of fear or unpredictability in the story. This portrayal emphasizes the loss of empathy and moral reasoning that can occur with certain types of dementia, but it is not an accurate representation of all individuals with dementia. It is important to remember that dementia can manifest in various ways and each person's experience is unique.

Why do psychopaths kill?

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Asked by Wiki User

Most psychopaths do not kill people. Psychopathy is antisocial personality disorder, characterized by a lack of empathy, guilt and inhibition.

Are sociopaths likely to cheat?

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Asked by Wiki User

We don't care for the same reasons others would. We get mad when the other person is obvious, because it ruins our image. Our significant other is our best piece on the chess board save our proteges, so we will always protect our assets being taken from us. It's difficult to cheat on a sociopath, because we can see through you. So in short, if you are a sociopath dating another you won't have a problem. If you are a non-sociopath cheating on a sociopath it will be short lived and they will make you emotionally suffer for betraying them

How can one convince a sociopath to get help?

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Asked by Wiki User

If they apologize, then they don't really mean it. A sociopath does not feel remorse so you can't get them to be sorry.

One has to have a conscience to "own up to" one's actions and theirdestructiveness, or else the confrontation will be perceived as anattack. This doesn't mean that sociopaths should not be confronted,only that until a way is found to change the way they learn, it won'thave the desired effect.

Sociopaths are the way they are because, from birth onward, the brainof a sociopath stores learning information in a random, chaotic wayinstead of in the usual designated places in the cerebral cortex. Partof this involves lack of crucial neurotransmitters, but as of yet noone knows whether this lack is caused BY the brain abnormality or is the cause OF it. It's probably the former.

Since their information -- including emotional information -- isscattered all over both brain hemispheres, it takes too long for thebrain to retrieve and process information, and the entire process ofsocialization becomes so ponderous that ultimately it fails. (See thebook "Without Conscience" by Robert Hare, PhD.)

Since the entire cerebral cortex of a sociopath is almost never ata normal level of alertness (their waking brain waves resemble thewaves of a normal person in a light sleep, alpha waves), this may bethe crucial deficiency that cripples the developing child's ability todevelop many aspects of the human mind. As the child grows, some of thebasic mental and emotional skills the rest of the world takes so forgranted never develop, and crucial among these is the thing calledconscience. That one never develops at all.

Some people may envy the apparent calm of a sociopath, but theirexistence is misery. They cannot connect with other human beings, andas babies they are so uncomfortable being held that they fight towriggle free of all but the most basic necessary contact. Theirheartbroken parents often blame themselves or the child, never knowingthat what is really wrong with the child is in his or her brain.

Under the almost somnolent calm sociopaths project is a constantsense of restlessness and unfulfillment that is nothing other than thebasic need all people have to receive stimulation and support fromothers. But a sociopath has no way of receiving this even if it'soffered. The endless frustration of this, and a discomfort that theyare utterly incapable of articulating or even really understanding, is the source of much of their chronic anger and aggression.

Plus, since they grow up in constant conflict with authority, theyare most often bitterly angry and sometimes violent adults, brittle andcombatative under a thin veneer of charm. Offered friendship, theyappear to respond, but quickly discover that they can get nothing fromit; they see the obvious pleasure of other people in such contact witheach other, and they often seek to "even it up" by stealing what theycan -- material goods, or even human lives. They are constantly toldhow "bad" they are, and by adulthood, most of them believe it. Andbehave accordingly.

Sociopaths rarely feel true happiness. If they do, it is usually inthe condition that some kind of intervention -- such as one of thesmall number of medications made for other conditions that may alsohelp somewhat with theirs -- has taken place, and it will be fleeting.For all their frantic racing around, they are really very dead inside,and this is tragic beyond description. Imagine spending your entirelife trying to get your brain to wake up! And failing. Thousands oftimes.

Only time will tell.

And some people have said that the only way to persuade a sociopath or psychopath to seek help is by threatening him/her with DEATH!!

One way -- or another...

And the main reason sociopaths don't usually seek helpfrom their fellow human beings is that they can'ttrust, rather than that they like being as they are. Plus, they canoften sense exactly what sort of a response any call for help on theirpart is most likely to elicit from professionals and lay folk alike.Sociopaths are not breezing along in paradise. It isn't all a game.It's a truly miserable existence. And it can be made better. It may notbe "curable" yet, but it most certainly isn't as hopeless as so manypeople say. There is therefore nothing to be gained and much to be lostwhen therapists and lay folk try to ostracize sociopaths from the humanrace entirely! Sensationalism and superstition will only preventprogress.

This was written on another question on the same essential topic as this one, by a self-confessed sociopath who was officially diagnosed (other than me!) --

  • Sociopaths, though born that way, are people too. To avoid anentire group of people is absurd. That's like saying, "Since thesepeople have dark skin, everyone should completely avert themselves fromthem." I am a moderate sociopath, and though part of me doesn't want tochange, another does. Many times it is really entertaining to see howstupid people can be, especially when they're so gullible as to believeevery word that mellifluously flows from my lips. Yes, I am parasitic,but even so, there are some people I would like to stop hurting. Ican't find any websites that can provide a way to help my sociopathy.Maybe people like you should stop your self-victimisation and starttrying to actually help people like me! I knew I was a sociopath beforethe age of ten but have only recently had it officially diagnosed. I ameighteen years old now, and I have been lying and destroying others'sanity for a long time. So, please post some helpful tidbits that mighthelp sociopaths resist the sweet urges we get when we encounter weakhuman beings. When you cut us, do we not bleed? When you kill us, do wenot die? Do you honestly think that you're being lied to andmanipulated when we sincerely ask for help. Listen to yourselves! Thisis the internet; ergo, you're safe from our fortified mental grasp.

The essay that follows was written in another answer by anotherself-admitted sociopath, who actually might not be a sociopath. Stillanother person added the brief comment to that effect after her tragic essay.

  • umm... i kindof am one... just so y'all know, it's not so muchfun being one either. i read that sentence up there, "Incapable of realhuman attachment to another." i don't even know what that is, i see it,i approximate it... it's like being outside a door looking through adirty window and watching re-runs of people I've seen in love or withchildren or with friends, and scratching, sometimes banging at theglass to get in and... nothing. I'm fond of people in every sense ofthe word, their little quirks and habits, the way they see life, exceptif they went away it wouldn't bother me much other than finding someoneelse to be fond of. i don't have friends, i only date military menbecause they're ok with only having a girlfriend for a couple monthsand i tell them in advance i won't wait for them... i don't know whatelse to do to limit the damage i inflict on others just as a result ofthem knowing me, short of moving to the mountains... but i still movebetween 2-5 times a year :( it's kindof hard walking around knowingi'll never have what i see making other people so happy and runningwhen i can tell someone is getting close just because i don't want tohurt them more later down the road... i'd like it alot to settle down,i WANT to be able to feel more with people, but it's hard to miss whatyou never had. i want what i THINK it would feel like... it'd be easyto give in and let someone stay because I'm so lonely... but hey, i'vewritten enough, just know i try to be a responsible little sociopath, iwon't ever get married or have kids, i practice safe sex, i won't stayin one city for long... everything you all take for granted i willnever let myself have just because i WANT to take it for granted. beinglike this won't go away so hopefully i can limit the amount of hatethrown my way by limiting my interaction with people, i don't know whatelse to do. and you all might not belive this, but i am sorry,hopefully i can speak for the other people who have damaged your lives.

Comment: The above testimony is clearly not indicative of asociopath because she seems to make efforts to keep from harmingothers, even if it doesn't benefit herself.

There are stories of people diagnosed as sociopaths who did improveto some degree, with the most ceaseless and diligent help. But sincethe vast majority of this huge body of people (there are more thanthree hundred million sociopaths on Earth) cannot get that kind ofattention, they turn to abusing those they envy, and often to crime. Itis certainly vengeance: "If I can't have any of this, why should you?"This is the real reason sociopaths lash out at strong and kind people.No matter what they say, they know that inside, they are always emptyand damaged beyond repair.

Only in neuroscience is there hope for these incomplete people. Thekey lies in awakening the brain, which is risky because sociopaths aremuch more prone to seizures than the rest of the population, and that-- an uncontrolled blast of electrical discharge spreading through thebrain and causing violent convulsions -- is likely to be the firstresponse from brain pathways that, after years or even decades ofsilence, are suddenly flooded with impulses. But if the devices ofneurosurgeons can be tweaked to avoid this shock, and all else relatedto this idea is workable, it's feasible that small electronic devicesplanted in the brain (these already exist, but are not yet being usedfor mental illness) could open up a closed connection.

That leaves us with the problem of whether a lifetime of scatteredinformation can ever be set into order. Probably the best that could behoped for would be a kind of retraining -- like what is now done withstroke survivors and head injury patients -- that would be bothintensive and compensatory.

One of the things that would be necessary would be to try to socializethe person whose congenital birth defect made such a thing completelyimpossible before. Whatever intervention is used, be it drugs orcomputer chips or what have you, it would probably -- I'd say certainly-- be excruciating for the patient at first. With no knowledge of howto cope with the emotions the rest of the world has been dealing withall their lives, the recovering sociopath would be rendered asvulnerable as a baby. Which makes sense, because some of the most basicaspects of the human mind would be developing from the primordialstasis in which they had remained since birth!

A person thus treated would never be fully normal, but the humanbrain is amazing in the way it adapts and continues to develop allthrough life. And given the utterly joyless and meaningless existence asociopath leads, any improvement is better than none.

The matter of missing neurotransmitters in a sociopath is, ofcourse, another problem. Would "waking up" the cerebral cortexeventually stimulate production of these? Or would they have to besynthesized? Only time will tell.

Just as science understands that epilepsy is not demonic possession,that people with dissociative conditions are not harboring ghosts ordevils in their bodies, and that depression is not a "deadly sin," itwould and will be able to prove that sociopathy happens for a reasonand that it can be dealt with. Sociopaths do very bad things. Butbranding them all "pure evil" isn't going to help anyone. It's justmore hate.

I have commented elsewhere that the human brain is the greatest newfrontier in many ways. (Although I certainly have no lack of interestin space.) Sociopaths, along with other "hopeless cases" like peoplewith Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, Asperger's, ADD, ADHD,autism, and the schizophrenias, along with more common disorders suchas depression and addiction, and so on, are a mystery, but scientistshave a way of hammering away at mysteries until they unravel them, and,be assured, they are well on their way to the core of this one.

What famous people have bipolar?

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Asked by Wiki User

  • Sting
  • Jimmie Hendrix
  • Beethoven
  • Emilie Autumn.
  • Robert Calvert
  • Kurt Cobain
  • Ray Davies
  • Mike Doughty
  • Matthew Good
  • Macy Gray
  • Beth Hart
  • Kristin Hersh
  • Daniel Johnston
  • Ben Moody
  • Sinéad O'Connor
  • Phil Ochs
  • Jaco Pastorius
  • Odean Pope
  • Richard Rossi
  • Charlene Soraia
  • Devin Townsend
  • Scott Weiland
  • Pete Wentz
  • Brian Wilson
  • Amy Winehouse
  • Matthew Good
  • Pepper McGowan
  • Christine Herbert

Will a sociopath continue to have bad relationships?

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Asked by Wiki User

I also had a relationship with a Sociopath who I still have to work with and even though he told me he has antisocial disorder, it wasn't until it was ending & I was trying to figure out what just happened to me that I began studying this disorder to make sense of things. Now, he has convinced some that I am the crazy one and his ex believes that I am jealous and continually, but subtly, "rubs it in my face". I have not made one contact with either of them and only talk work when I have to with him even though he has tried to talk to me. I know it is just a selfish attempt to get my attention to feed his ego & then make fun of me some more & tell everyone I can't get over him because I talked to him. Anyway, it's been over a year & I do still feel the need sometimes to tell him off & tell her what I think, but I refuse to give them any kind of response whatsoever. I really believe she must be mentally ill too to put up with him for this long, have his child, and believe his lies, along with her constant harassing. Prayer does help!!....and knowledge is power!!AnswerOf course, a sociopath will continue to use and abuse anyone he comes in contact with in his lifetime....or, it could also be a "she",I suppose. I was married to one, had a son who is one,two nephews who are sociopaths. They are convinced they are perfect. They cannot be improved upon in any manner. They will suck you bone dry and then burn your bones. Yes,it hurts like hell; and I will always wonder what I could have done differently........the answer, get away from these people as fast as you can. They will kill your psyche and ruin your life. The there seems to be quite a proliferation of these personalities in the world today. As always, prayer helps. AnswerI am the same person who posted the question. I'm asking this question because in my trying to heal I am "stuck" on thinking of the new person my sociopathic ex left me for. I was starting to "figure him out" and make sense of things and before I knew it he was seeing someone else. Now I have it in my head that the lying and cheating and mind games and all the other sociopathic traits have magically gone because this new woman is on the scene -- or worse -- that I somehow brought those bad traits out in him even though the woman before me (his ex wife) suffered through years of emotional and physical abuse from him.

Its very strange to me, however, that I wasn't happy being on the emotional roller coaster he had me on and yet HE left ME and I haven't heard from him in weeks. He's telling everyone how great this new woman is and falling all over himself to make her happy. They've been together almost two months now. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to get over him -- the good AND the bad.

Maybe I need to know that I am lucky that he's out of my life and it didn't get to the point of him being physically abusive towards me (I've been told that had we moved in together or gotten married, the physical abuse would have started within a short time). I miss him, can't believe that he's with someone else and its like I never existed to him. I can't seem to get past this.

AnswerI am not going to tell you to stop missing or loving him but the person you thought he was....he wasn't. He moved on to another "victim" (and yes that is what you were too) and you are very lucky that he has found another victim. Even though you don't want to see someone else hurt (I am sure) but you are # 1 now. Believe me from experience I was the "new girl" and it didn't take long for his "true" self (the sociopath) to come out....I pray everyday that he will find a new victim so I will feel a little safer.

They don't change and he will continue to leave a trail of hurt people. I am guessing he is narcissistic also....sociopaths usually are. He wants his life to look like a fairytale (perfect)....because he is perfect and wouldn't settle for less than this. I am sure you were the perfect girl once too and all his friends said how he has never been this way before...blah blah blah. Hang in there and don't be jealous....she can have him and hopefully she figures him out sooner than later too but you worry about you and get out there and get your life back!

AnswerI am in your same situation--my sociopath lied and cheated on me for 7 1/2 years and I still miss him and wish he would call! Sick, I know. He had been leading me on with declarations of love and promises that we would be together and have a great life (long distance relationship). What i really miss is the idea of the fantasy relationship i let him create in my mind, even though his actions were saying other things.

Last week I found a card from a girl he has been seeing for almost three years! He tells her the same thing. I think he was actually going to propose to her though, because with her he also got instant friends (he had none of his own), and even a dog he told me was his but is actually hers! When he found out I exposed him for the liar and cheater he is, he called and told me I was evil and ruined his life! That probably hurt the most, to realize that the other relationship ending was so devastating for him. But again, it's also about outside appearances and she and her friends and family had really only seen one side of him.

So here he is in this so-called perfect new relationship, yet he was still cheating on her and lying to her face when she would question him about anything, and now we know he has also been with other women since she has seen him (and most definitely there were more girls he was involved with since I've known him). Those new relationships are always perfect from the outside (wasn't yours?) but you know the new girl has her suspicions--she just doesn't have the proof yet. I think you should have a nice little conversation with her.

Also, the way healthy people have relationships is so different from the way sociopaths have them: normal people connect on many levels and tend to have a feeling of some connectedness with the human race; sociopaths don't, period. A sociopath can only have a thin thread of connectedness to persons he or she uses for whatever stimulation they can provide. A healthy person finds that hard to comprehend, and even they can be pulled in.

Answer from a SociopathWhat's a normal relationship to you? You being weak and pathetic enough to let someone manipulate you. We are demonized because we can manipulate people with greater ease than anyone else and because we know we are amazing people. You shouldn't be coddled into believing you are mentally healthy and a victim. I've been in a relationship with people such as yourself and we do what we do to you because you're using us as a crutch and it gets tiring. Why do you think were charming? Because people are attracted to strong people. The only good relationship a sociopath will have is with another sociopath, because the only other people who would dare get into a relationship with us would be someone so weak and naive we would destroy them.

If you sociopaths are so perfect and strong then why are you always running away from everything? Strong people fight and stick it out through the hardest situations and by this they benefit by learning and they grow stronger in the process.... even if it is an inconvenience for them...and, my dear, that is what you people are...inconveniences to us. Then again, perhaps we shouldn't demonize you because it's your brain chemistry that is the issue from a physiological and psychological standpoint...factors such as inadequate amount of stress hormones etc..etc.. I will not judge you or any of your kind because we all have our little deep dark secrets hidden within our ID and I'd like to think of the "sociopath" as the ultimate personification of the ID where life is all about ruthless gratification no matter how illogical or harmful "It's" actions may be...Looks to me like the ID and the Ego are having a hayday with tugging each others strings...and the superego? pssshhh it's in a caged little box somewhere in the dark crying. You people need to remember that sooner or later, you always get caught and one day you just might get the needle or a bullet lodged into your head from a so-called victim. Hey, we can think about the pleasures of murder too...everyone does now and then...it's completely...human. Your not perfect...infact, you are classified as a person with brain deficiencies so obviously that's not perfect. After being exposed to your brilliance...we learned a thing or two and are able to mimic such behavior ourselves to break out of a dangerous situation...so keep teaching us, Master... and we shall prevail! Just remember that there are psychology books up-to-date, circulating around the world in every language that lists every little detail that describes what you truly are so in reality...you are just playing a very stupid, pointless game that makes up for your lack of whatever it is that you secretly lack. We all have special abilities and manipulation is just another card in the deck for the human race. In case you haven't noticed, there are many normal functioning people who manipulate and get away with it. It's everywhere. You just major in it.

The best way you can send a huge blow to a sociopath is to walk away. I like this one saying "You can fool people some of the time, but you can't fool people all of the time." If you are involved with a sociopath, eventually you will wake up . The things that they say won't add up and their charming façade will fade.

Can you bruise a sociopaths ego?

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Asked by Wiki User

I just left a sociopath - It is not a game- these people have no conscience and that leaves them prone to do just about anything to you - especially if they think that threats and loss of control of you is at stake. Believe me if you think you bruised a sociopaths ego- You can expect rage, vengeance and to be looking over your shoulder a very long time no matter how far you try to move away.

Why do sociopaths want to remain in your life after a break up?

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Asked by Wiki User

It is my opinion sociopaths want to remain in someone's life for one reason and one reason only.....The sociopath believes there is something left to gain for themselves.....If there were nothing more to gain the sociopath believed he could still benefit from the relationship; it would be over and the sociopath would move on to fresh game and more inviting conquests. For example, if a couple divorce, the sociopath would continue to fuel the first relationship to gain more money or material goods. It is interesting to note, in my opinion, the sociopath could already be involved in a new relationship or perhaps a third or fourth and still be actively devouring relationship number one.

Are children with reactive attatchment disorder sociopaths?

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Asked by Wiki User

My stepson was diagnosed with RAD. His mother is a sociopath, ( which they`re finding out is herditary).I think it`s just plain old sociopathy at work.His behaviours were identical to hers. He had barely any contact with her, and he still had the same facial reactions and violent tendancies.She lied, she was violent, she ignored authority, she had very little experience with close friends, she had that grandiose attitude, she stole form people. Sociopathy is very common actually. 4% of the human population have potential to be sociopaths.You`re predisposed when ou`re born, than you`re enviorment kicks it in??!!

Is a narcissist a sociopath?

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Asked by Wiki User

Research believes yes and they are still looking for it.

What can you do if a sociopath is harassing you?

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Asked by Wiki User

If you are afraid while being in a relationship, I would tell you that your intuition is right. What ever you are feeling is correct...if you think you should leave a relationship, then you should. Most people don't realize fear is an indicator that something is wrong. A sociopath is not a preferred person to mess with. Domination over a relationship is wrong. Relationships that are healthy meet on a level, no one person is important over the other. If you are intimate with this person then maybe they make you do things you don't want to. The question isn't what do you do.... Its what do you want to do? I think you already know the answer. Listen to your intuition.

What happens when a sociopath realises that you have found her out?

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Asked by Wiki User

Well, I've had 2 experiences with sociopaths. When they are found out - they go through a cycle of denial, then apologize profusely for their actions, then they blame you and get nasty, then apologize again, get nasty again when it doesn't work, and on and on. There IS no way to deal with this situation. There is no cure for a sociopath. His/her primary goal is to manipulate others into believing the lies he/she tells, and then getting angry when it doesn't work, and trying everything, saying all the right things, how the love is perfect, it's meant to be, etc...to dupe the unwilling victim into giving them another chance. I believe that, deep down, the sociopath KNOWS he/she is a piece of crap, and when faced with others knowing that, they simply freak out and don't really know what to do. So they try everything.

In the end, after these people destroy the lives of everyone around them, they will ultimately end up alone in some nursing home, with no friends, no family and nothing. The good part: this is what they ultimately deserve. The bad part: it will take years and years and they will continue to hurt people until this eventually happens to them. The even WORSE part, once it does, there will be no reckoning, no "eureka" moment, no epiphany that they messed up. They will die believing everyone around them is ignorant, controlling, more screwed up than they are to not see or be convinced by their awesome-ness.

Your best bet, as a victim of a sociopath, is to realize there is no hope, nothing will every change, it will never get any better, regardless of what they say or promise. There is only disappointment and heartache in the future if you stick around. So...move on. Chalk it up to experience, don't ever forget how you ignored the warning signs and red flags. Trust in your instincts - and ask specific questions, watch their body language, and pay attention to how stories change and evolve. If they get defensive when you ask a question - you know they are hiding something.

Run, don't walk, in the opposite direction. They won't let you leave easily - so be sure to document that you expressed your desire to be left alone, and keep records of how many times he/she continues to bother you. Be strong, and don't let them continue to distract you from the rest of your life.

In sum, the best thing

Is a sociopath capeable of falling in love?

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Asked by Ceight

Of course they can! And as befitting their psychological trait, they are often callous with their choice of partner (because they have no conscience) and totally self-centred in their derivation of pleasure from the act.

And everybody know that sex is a powerful weapon of control, and control/abuse/manipulation are fundamental to a sociopath's existence.

Can you ever trust a sociopath?

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Asked by Wiki User

Sociopaths do whatever they want to, and don't care who gets hurt. There is no treatment, and they never improve. Does that sound like someone you could ever trust?

If you are involved in any type of interpersonal relationship with a sociopath, know that they see you as a pawn, as a resource to exploit, not as a person. They are only in it for themselves.

How do you know if your friend is a sociopath?

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Asked by Wiki User

Are you involved with a psychopath (extreme sociopath)? You may not know because they can be very charming and friendly and can appear to be altruistic, until you get close and inevitably they do something threatening or immoral and then you must set limits that disappoint them. The near-constant state of frustration and dissatisfaction felt by a true psychopath is the source of not only their rages but those eerie, on-and-off-like-a-faucet tears. (Yes, tears are seen even in some men, though of course still more common in children and women.)

But, don't assume anyone is a psychopath based only on the person's apparent attitude and behavior. It is far more complex than that, including factors in the pattern of the person's life and many other characteristics. Please don't go around assuming or calling someone a psychopath just because he/she may have some of the warning signs. Get a professional opinion from a qualified mental health professional if you think you are involved with a psychopath. And then ask what to do, not only for the psychopath but for yourself, because being involved with a psychopath is risky.

ALSO:

Bizarre brain waves from some parts of the brain and none from some other parts; epileptic seizures (usually grand mal); speech impediments caused by a chaotic way of storing information in the brain; low blood-pressure (hypotension); bradycardia (low heart rate); pseudoneurolepsy (falling asleep suddenly); a type of night-blindness caused by constriction of the pupils; sleep apnea; sleepwalking (somnambulism); other sleep disturbances; migraine or cluster-headaches with visual 'auras'; varying degrees of incontinence; lethargy OR wild excitement; unexpected sexual arousal; loss of sense of taste or smell; trouble with depth perception; inability to recognize facial expressions; inability to concentrate on more than one thing at a time; occasional inability to concentrate on anything at all; certain types of muscle spasticity or nonresponsive reflexes associated with a peripheral neuropathy if present.

Many people without ASPD can have any of these problems; without the key psychiatric markers for ASPD, these physical manifestations alone CANNOT be used as evidence of the diagnosis. (For example, Borderline Personality Disorder, which is in most ways the opposite of ASPD, can cause hyperalertness and very fast talking, behavior that also resembles that of a sociopath in a temporary state of excitement.)

The general rule is that the autonomic nervous system of people with some Axis II personality disorders does not respond normally; in BPD the sympathetic nervous system (Fight-or-Flight) is overreactive; in ASPD it is usually (though not always) underreactive.

Most of the physical problems a sociopath exhibits are neurologically based.

They do not have the ability to change the way they are. They may "mellow" as they age, or burn out, but their need to have control over others, the need to be impulsive, their feelings that, even in lying, they never do anything wrong, and their ability to charm everyone they think they need to charm, does not leave them as they age. It's also very hard for someone involved with a sociopath to be able to see what they know is happening, even after catching the sociopath in the lies and manipulation. It's incredibly hard to decide to leave a sociopath, as well as stay away from that sociopath.

One of the reasons for the above is that people can sense that the sociopath needs something, and they keep trying to give it and the sociopath/psychopath keeps trying to take it. But the sociopath cannot truly take in that healing energy of human contact. So, the sociopath becomes frustrated and instead looks to take unfair advantage. And the caregiver may give until it does him/her damage. This won't help anyone: leave therapy to the professionals.

And, as for EVIL...

Mentally ill people, no matter how much troublethey cause, are sick, not possessed. And, yes, some psychopaths do terrible things, forfeiting their lives in the process. But most of them do not kill.

They are, however, bitter and rageful, and often cause deep emotional suffering for others.

Isn't this EVIL? The BEHAVIOR is, yes. But the PEOPLE just are what they are.

Some say psychopaths are damned. Some psychopaths say they're already living in Hell! It can feel that way.

Psychopaths -- Sociopaths -- are the way they are because, from birth onward, the brain of a sociopath stores learning information in a random, chaotic way instead of in the usual designated places in the cerebral cortex.

Part of this involves lack of crucial neurotransmitters, but as of yet no one knows whether this lack is caused BY the brain abnormality or is the cause OF it. It's probably the former.

Another probable cause is the chronic underarousal of the cerebral cortex of a true psychopath.

Since their information -- including emotional information -- is scattered all over both brain hemispheres, it takes too long for the brain to retrieve and process information, and the entire process of socialization becomes so ponderous that ultimately it fails. (See the book "Without Conscience" by Robert Hare, PhD.)

Since the entire cerebral cortex of a sociopath is almost never at a normal level of alertness (their waking brain waves resemble the waves of a normal person in a light sleep, alpha waves), this may be the crucial deficiency that cripples the developing child's ability to develop many aspects of the human mind. As the child grows, some of the basic mental and emotional skills the rest of the world takes so for granted never develop, and crucial among these is the thing called conscience. That one never develops at all.

Some people may envy the apparent calm of a sociopath, but their existence is misery. They cannot connect with other human beings, and as babies they are so uncomfortable being held that they fight to wriggle free of all but the most basic necessary contact. Their heartbroken parents often blame themselves or the child, never knowing that what is really wrong with the child is in his or her brain.

Under the almost somnolent calm sociopaths project is a constant sense of restlessness and lack of crucial fulfillment that is in truth nothing other than the basic need all people have to receive stimulation and support from others.

But a sociopath has no way of receiving this even if it's offered. The endless frustration of this, and a discomfort that they are utterly incapable of articulating or even really understanding, is the source of much of their chronic anger and aggression.

Plus, since they grow up in constant conflict with authority, they are most often bitterly angry and sometimes violent adults, brittle and combatative under a thin veneer of charm.

Offered friendship, they appear to respond, but quickly discover that they can get nothing from it; they see the obvious pleasure of other people in such contact with each other, and they often seek to "even it up" by stealing what they can -- material goods, or even human lives.

They are constantly told how "bad" they are, and by adulthood, most of them believe it. And behave accordingly.

Sociopaths rarely feel true happiness. If they do, it is usually in the condition that some kind of intervention -- such as one of the small number of medications made for other conditions that may also help somewhat with theirs -- has taken place, and it will be fleeting.

For all their frantic racing around, they are really very dead inside, and this is tragic beyond description.

Imagine spending your entire life trying to get your brain to wake up! And failing. Thousands of times.

There are stories of people diagnosed as sociopaths who did improve to some degree, with the most ceaseless and diligent help. But since the vast majority of this huge body of people (there are more than three hundred million sociopaths on Earth) cannot get that kind of attention, they turn to abusing those they envy, and often to crime. It is certainly vengeance: "If I can't have any of this, why should you?" This is the real reason sociopaths lash out at strong and kind people. No matter what they say, they know that inside, they are always empty and damaged beyond repair.

Only in neuroscience is there true hope for these incomplete people. The key lies in awakening the cerebral cortex of the brain, which is risky because sociopaths are much more prone to seizures than the rest of the population, and that -- an uncontrolled blast of electrical discharge spreading through the brain and causing violent convulsions -- is likely to be the first response from brain pathways that, after years or even decades of silence, are suddenly flooded with impulses.

But if the devices of neurosurgeons can be tweaked to avoid this shock, and all else related to this idea is workable, it's feasible that small electronic devices planted in the brain (these already exist, but are not yet being used for mental illness) could open up a closed connection.

That leaves us with the problem of whether a lifetime of scattered information can ever be set into order. Probably the best that could be hoped for would be a kind of retraining -- like what is now done with stroke survivors and head injury patients -- that would be both intensive and compensatory.

One of the things that would be necessary would be to try to socialize the person whose congenital birth defect made such a thing completely impossible before.

Whatever intervention is used, be it drugs or computer chips or what have you, it would probably -- I'd say certainly -- be excruciating for the patient at first.

With no knowledge of how to cope with the emotions the rest of the world has been dealing with all their lives, the recovering sociopath would be rendered as vulnerable as a baby.

Which makes sense, because some of the most basic aspects of the human mind would be developing from the primordial stasis in which they had remained since birth!

A person thus treated would never be fully normal, but the human brain is amazing in the way it adapts and continues to develop all through life.

And given the utterly joyless and meaningless existence a sociopath leads, any improvement is better than none.

The matter of missing neurotransmitters in a sociopath is, of course, another problem. Would "waking up" the cerebral cortex eventually stimulate production of these? Or would they have to be synthesized?

Only time will tell.

SabrinaSingularity with a couple of paragraphs from several other writers (gleaned from several other answers).

Suggestion: Better to sign in; better to be a name rather than a number.

What if your child is a sociopath?

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Asked by Wiki User

Answer:

"then do not be swayed by guilt as they manipulate you to get their own way and control you. think of a 2 year old screaming for their own way .........would you give in?"

Answer:

I would think that a psychopath is more persuasive than a "2 year old screaming for their own way". Although they cannot feel emotions such as empathy and true love, they CAN realize that these emotions exist in "normal" people, and use this for their personal gain. Their lack of conscience allows them to commit the most henious acts without guilt, so why wouldn't it allow a psychopath to shamelessly manipulate those closest to them? And isn't one of the basic instincts of the parent, expecially the female mother, to shelter and protect their child no matter what? I believe that psychopathic children, in a loving family, generally behave nicely and helpfully towards the parents, and towards everybody while in their parents eyesight, and does all he or she can to prevent his or her crimes from ever reaching their parents ears. One of the traits of a psychopath is that he or she is usually unusally smart, perhaps due to the fact that the brain does not dedicate any energy whatsover to creating a conscience. This would also help him manipulate his family and friends. With this being the case, I believe that it is very possible that a family might house a pyschopathic child without realizing it, and therefore, would be very shocked and surprised and angry, if police came to her door and accused her little 9-year-old girl of being a serial killer. 9 year-old serial killers do exist; In Britain, a 10-year-old girl brutally murdered at least two 10-year-old boys, mutilating their bodies after she killed them. A parent, hearing that about her darling child, would be inclinde, I propose, to react hostilly to the news, believe wholeheartedly that the police made a mistake, and her child is innocent, and if the prosecution continues, then they would probably believe that the police themselves have a personal grudge against their child or their family, and were using the sad death of the victim to attempt to further their own ends. All of this is easier to believe than your sweet, darling, Jessica committing serial murders. Although this example is extreme, the point still holds, Would you even realize if your child was a psychopath without psychologicial aid in the form of a psychologist to make the diagnosis?

How do you know when a sociopath has moved on to someone else?

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Asked by Wiki User

Because they don't care. One of the classic hallmarks of sociopaths is their inability to feel remorse or guilt, so that makes it much easier to move on to the next victim when they're unburdened by any feelings over what they did to the last one.

Can you be both narcissist and a sociopath?

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Asked by Wiki User

Sociopaths aren't always "bad guys". The scary, violent murderers you see on TV only represent the very low-funtcioning end of the spectrum. Chances are you've met many sociopaths in your life. They blend, and many times maintain some semblance of a normal life.

Educate yourself.

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Yes, it's incredibly rare, but yes. The sociopath is almost always the dominate personality, the second or other personalities being almost like internal victims, forced to see what the sociopath does without being able to respond until the switch. At least for me, both personalities are aware of the multiple, however only the "normal" empath personality, the secondary one that only rarely surfaces, can remember the events that my sociopathic one experienced. It's hard to explain what it feels like, as the Lizzy I want to tell people, I want to get help to make the other one go away and just be Lizzy. I want to get locked up or die or anything to get rid of Rachel. But as soon as I go back to the sociopath (rachel) I hate myself for thinking that, I hate myself for trusting, for being weak, for wanting to give away the secrets. I can only remember what happened when I was Lizzy for a few hours after the switch back then it's gone until I switch again.

Are sociopaths born like that?

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Asked by Wiki User

Psychopaths are born that way, From biological/genes passed down to them. A sociopath is made. Here is the difference:Disorganized Episodic Aggression: (psychopath)

Organized Sociopathic Hatred: (sociopath)

Ritualistic behaviorSuperficial charm and "good" intelligenceAttempts to conceal mental instabilityAbsence of delusions and other signs of irrational behaviorCompulsivityAbsence of "nervousness" or psychoneurotic manifestationsPeriodic search for helpunreliabilitySevere memory disorders and an inability to tell the truthuntruthfulness and insinceritySuicidal tendencieslack of remorse or shameHistory of committing assaultinadequately motivatedantisocial behaviorHypersexuality and abnormal sexual behaviorpoor judgment and failure to learn by experienceHead injuries; injuries suffered at birthpathological egocentricity and incapacity for loveHistory of chronic drug or alcohol abusegeneral poverty in major affective reactionsParents with history of chronic drug or alcohol abusespecific loss of insightVictim of childhood physical or mental abuseunresponsiveness in general interpersonal relationsResult of an unwanted pregnancyfantastic and uninviting behavior with and sometimes without drinkProduct of a difficult gestation for mothersuicide rarely carried outUnhappiness in childhood resulted in inability to find happinesssex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integratedExtraordinary cruelty to animalsfailure to follow any life planAttraction to arson without homicidal interest

Symptoms of neurological impairment

Evidence of genetic disorder

Biochemical symptoms

Feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy

Psychopaths are NOT born that way. They are influenced but in the end it is on them.

Do sociopaths know what they are?

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Asked by Wiki User

Sociopaths are extremely narcissistic.

They feel life is like a game of Chess. They are the kings, and everyone else are their pawns used to help them win. That is the goal of a sociopath. The chilling goal of a sociopath is to win the game.

What are some things you can do to find out if you are a sociopath?

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Asked by Wiki User

These are completely different and independent diagnosis, thus one could be any of these:

  • bipolar
  • sociopath
  • bipolar & sociopath

Bipolar is a mood disorder and is characterized by extreme variation of mood (manic highs and depressive lows). Bipolar episodes are usually self terminating and between them the person is completely "normal". Treatment with medications (i.e. mood stabilizers) is very effective at both terminating and preventing episodes.

Sociopathy is a personality disorderoften described informally as having a complete lack of conscience. Such people are only able to act in their own personal interest and have no empathy for others or ability to understand that other people have feelings and needs of their own. Many sociopaths are violent criminals. There is no treatment that can create a conscience when one is born without it.

Are psychopaths psychotic?

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Asked by Kittycat895

No not always but they can be.

Does a sociopath's behavior start from childhood?

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Asked by Wiki User

I believe so, yes.

(my sister is a sociopath)

How do you deal with a sociopath daughter?

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Asked by Wiki User

Unfortunately, we don't have that much control over our kids. You could let him know how you feel and get him a copy of "The Sociopath Next Door" to read. (Read it yourself first.) Beyond that, or hiring a hit man, you're pretty much powerless if he is determined. Sociopaths can be extremely charismatic, and are masters at fooling "some of the people all of the time."

Is there any help for a sociopath esp if they want to do better?

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Asked by Wiki User

(1) Since most one-on-one therapy styles are not designed around the special needs of a sociopath, the therapist needs to be someone trained to offer a particular style of therapy in which a sociopath's limitations in interpersonal relations are taken into account. (Example: most sociopaths lie frequently; a therapist who expects this will not be personally upset by or fooled by what might not seem to other therapists to be obvious lies. The lying and other undesirable behavior are designed to cope with a near-total inability to trust other people on the part of the sociopath. Since most regular therapies are based upon trust and something called "transference" -- in which the therapist begins to seem to a regular patient to be something like a family member or spouse, and feelings normally directed at such intimates are instead 'transferred' onto the therapist as part of the normal therapy process -- they cannot usually help a sociopath or psychopath. This does not mean nothing can help a sociopath, but it is still very rare to find clinicians equipped to treat this far from rare disorder!)

(2) Still in its infancy is the study of the neurological basis for true sociopathy or psychopathy. There is a genuinely physical cause of this condition, and right now all that can be done is to find medications (such as the anti-seizure drug Depakote) that partially control or reduce the most disruptive aspects of this condition. In the future, there will almost certainly be neurosurgeries designed to correct the deficiencies in the brain, especially in the cerebral cortex, that are the seed of sociopathy. But just because this isn't yet possible, don't assume nothing can be accomplished; something done well and wisely by someone who knows what he or she is doing is better than nothing.

(3) Staying out of jail (or worse) isn't always easy for the sociopath, yet experts (such as Dr. Robert Hare, author of "Without Conscience," a book about dealing with sociopaths, whom he prefers to call psychopaths) estimate that only about 20% of the prison population consists of sociopaths, and that the vast majority of the roughly four per cent of the entire population of the world who are sociopaths do not reside in prisons. Psychiatric treatment is available in most prisons, but it is often not as helpful as it could be, although Dr. Hare reports that prison officials today are generally wiser about this condition than they were a generation or so ago. As long ago as the 1930s, the neo-Freudian psychoanalyst Lindner reported successfully treating a psychopath in prison, and stated that it might not have been possible elsewhere, because the structured routine of the well-run prison in which he worked made treatment possible. The book in which Lindner reported his experience with the inmate he treated is called "The Fifty Minute Hour," and is probably still available in print.

(4) Some people who are misdiagnosed as sociopathic are actually harmed rather than helped by techniques aimed at dealing with sociopaths. For example, DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), a trauma-based condition that has been mistaken for sociopathy even by seasoned clinicians, almost always will get worse, sometimes leading to the patient's suicide, if the patient is treated as a sociopath. Even other "personality disorders," or character disorders, such as BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder), can easily be made dangerously worse by being treated as if it were sociopathy (often termed Antisocial Personality Disorder). If you believe you are not a sociopath, but one psychologist or psychiatrist has claimed that you are, find another and get another opinion. Testing should be intensive and the diagnosis arrived at quantitatively, not just as a knee-jerk reaction of opinion or even personal dislike.

(5) People are very fond of saying that sociopaths are "evil" and even claiming that they are not really human, or that they are not real people! They do this -- oddly enough -- out of conflict with their own conscience. Why? Because they think they need to reject sociopaths as "evil" in order to justify being angry at them for the trauma that sociopaths inflict upon others much of the time. But this only makes the situation much worse. Labels like "good" and "evil" are natural in human thought, but they don't belong in a scientific assessment and report. Objective facts and subjective judgments don't mix well. Sociopaths present a problem, but solving it requires those who deal with sociopathy and psychopathy to THINK CLEARLY and rationally. For a clinician to take the patient's problems as a personal insult is bad news for all involved.

(6) Diagnosing children as sociopathic is risky and may actually cause a child with a neurological predisposition toward sociopathic behavior to develop the condition. Most clinicians agree that the diagnosis should be given only to adults, and that preventative measures based on what is known right now about child psychology and parenting should and must be given to children who are very clearly moving in that direction. But beware of any therapist who, for example, calls a child "seductive" or even seeks to blame a child for a pedophile's assault! This is not appropriate, period. And the diagnosis of sociopathy is not supposed to be given as a punishment.

(7) No matter the age of the individual, and no matter whether the diagnosis is or is not accurate, if it is directed as an intended insult or punishment, nothing can be gained based on trust.