| Sociopaths
Posted: 3/19/2006 5:36:16 PM |  I just thought it was air signs that had those characteristics.. are all air signs sociopaths??Hmmmm......something to think about...maybee they just need an empathy pill..ecxtasy?? | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 3/19/2006 5:52:16 PM | | sociopath? never met him in person but he is on the news regularly. bush. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 3/20/2006 8:21:25 AM | | That makes my x a sociopath.....and I thought I whas crazy. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 3/20/2006 1:33:58 PM |
Sociopaths
I have been called one more than once by a few People here and I do not understand WHY?????? | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 4/4/2006 8:02:07 AM | isnt a socio-path a trail leadin ta trouble? | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 4/4/2006 8:30:14 AM | I know someone who fits at least Half of these symptoms / characteristics.
Does that make them sissieopaths or sociaopathhalfs? (hehehehe)
What then does one do when there's one in your work space... how to work the relationship...
I can only assume the following, yet there must be more to shield oneself:
Don't lend money
Don't trust the words coming out of their mouths
Don't ask them to watch your pet while you are out of town
Don't ask them to babysit
Don't expect them to be honest in business dealings (IE: write contracts!!)
Don't set them up with blind dates, if you intend to remain friends with the person you introduce them to
.... How to have fun with a sociopath:
Give them a remote control toy animal
Tell them where you hid your money (but didn't)
Sell them beach front property in Idaho
Set them up with Larry the Cable Guy | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 4/4/2006 10:26:08 AM | ooooh...but ashley..i happen ta love larry tha cable guy .....lets give tha sociopaths****cheney instead  | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 4/4/2006 10:26:49 AM | The biggest problem is that people like this are actually I think in my opinion unnatural and are not conductive to society at all. What I mean is that their not neccessarily bad people, far from it. Just that the way a part of their brain may work, makes them unable to
co-operate and get along with others. There may be sacrifices in us getting along with one another but it ends up providing the greater good. If our ancestors didn't work toghether we wouldn't have survived to this point, we wouldn't have this large buildup of culture and technology, there would have been no civilizations. Back then though most populations were so small that if someone was a sociopath. They would be ferreted out very easil. Back then people didn't realize that this person might just be ill in some manner and they would put them in prision or kill them. Now though people who have sociopathic problems can just move state, to state etc. Thats why today we have a lot more closet sociopaths or closet psychopaths out there. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 4/7/2006 12:31:07 AM | This is something I have some experience with, as I have dated a few sociopaths and known a few, though I would not really call them friends.
A big misconception about sociopaths is that they are unpleasant, shadowy, lurking characters. They typically are not. They are some of the most charming, adventurous, and spontaneous people you will ever meet. Until they steal 600 dollars from you, sleep with your girlfriend or run you over with their car as a practical joke.
Literature and experience indicate that there are two main varieties of sociopath.
The first is what is known as the primary sociopath. The primary sociopath tends to have a complete lack of empathy for other human beings, very poor impulse control (particularly anger issues), and despite being charming is typically not very socially sophisticated. There is usually going to be a criminal history with this individual and often also drug use. The lack of impulse control does not preclude above average intelligence, however. Its not unusual for this type of person to be very skilled in some area, such as mechanical maintenance or artistic ability for example.
The second type or secondary sociopath is what you might refer to as a psychopath. This individual is charming like the first type and also lacks empathy, but is distinguished in that the secondary can emulate and manipulate the emotions of others despite this. This makes this person potentially very socially sophisticated and even insightful. This person is able to plan ahead and due to using peripheral parties for criminal activities, is not as likely to have a criminal record. This type, however, tends to have a more tenuous grasp of reality (which can lead them to eventually commiting greater destructive acts than the type above). This person can actually be successful in the workforce and academically, but there may be some case of criminal activity in the way of felony charges that were averted with "adjudication with-held" and "pre-trial diversions". The more intelligent the psychopath is, the less likely you will find this paper trail. If you see someone with a few of those on their permanent record, that is a big red flag. This is easily the less least common of the two categories.
I have found that often primary and secondary sociopaths operate in concert, with the primary sociopath doing the dirty work and the secondary sociopath doing the planning. Usually the secondary is a woman (but not always) and the primary is her boyfriend, and he is not bright enough to be aware that he is completely disposable to her. However, the reverse can also be said. Either can be the primary or secondary, and either the primary or secondary can sell the other out depending on how convenient it is. The secondary sociopath is seen as having a less despensable role in the relationship. So if you meet a woman and a lot of her boyfriends have gone to jail for running drugs and she tries to make you think they were the ones trying to force her to get into drugs, consider the possibility that she was using a boyfriend for that purpose and he got caught and she moved on to another one and then he got caught, etc. Bonnie and Clyde were probably this type of couple. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 4/7/2006 12:56:08 AM | A big indication that someone is a sociopath is when they routinely make other people feel guilty for the sociopath's own ethical indescretions when others draw attention to said ethical indescretions. Sociopaths are amazing in their ability to logically distort their own actions into somehow being the responsibility of someone else. This is a forte of the secondary sociopath, in particular. Not only can they convince people that their ethical indescretions either didn't happen or are someone else's fault but a particularly intelligent sociopath can often figure out how to convince everyone (or almost everyone) at the office or in the family that the person who brought his or her indiscretion to the attention of others is just what they are: a sociopath.
In other words, a sociopath can paint a whistle-blower as a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing, and paint themselves as a saint at the same time. Its only after this pattern continues for a long time that people finally catch on to who is the real culprit. And by then, the person has been "promoted" or "had his or herself transferred". | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 4/7/2006 4:51:03 AM | wow...ok, majestic, i am hereby convinced you've had some one on one dealings with sociopaths....sounds like you had to learn to check ppl out tha hard way.... | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 4/7/2006 5:32:54 AM |
there is no medically (psychologically) definitive way to diagnose a sociopath. hence there are no real sociopaths to date. it's a psychologists' fancyful term for describing people whom they cannot put under the known set of behaviours.
completely untrue. there is a test devised by a canadian psychiatrist ( or psychologist ). I can only refer you to last saturday W5 program on the ctv network. It was about psychopaths. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 8/4/2006 10:42:40 AM | | Very well put. These people are mentally ill. How would you feel if you had one leg and crutches didn't exist? | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 8/4/2006 10:46:44 AM |
The biggest problem is that people like this are actually I think in my opinion unnatural and are not conductive to society at all. What I mean is that their not neccessarily bad people, far from it. Just that the way a part of their brain may work, makes them unable to
co-operate and get along with others. There may be sacrifices in us getting along with one another but it ends up providing the greater good. If our ancestors didn't work toghether we wouldn't have survived to this point, we wouldn't have this large buildup of culture and technology, there would have been no civilizations. Back then though most populations were so small that if someone was a sociopath. They would be ferreted out very easil. Back then people didn't realize that this person might just be ill in some manner and they would put them in prision or kill them. Now though people who have sociopathic problems can just move state, to state etc. Thats why today we have a lot more closet sociopaths or closet psychopaths out there.
Very well put. These people are mentally ill. How would you feel if you had one leg and crutches didn't exist? | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 8/4/2006 2:45:27 PM | Its a personality disorder, not a full blown mental illness.
And there is no way to treat it. People who have an anti-social personality disorder generally do not change, although they may adapt their pathology to fool people in more effective ways.
Sociopaths don't hear voices, have mood swings, or have difficulty understanding human emotions and relationships. They like to exploit and hurt people. That is what they are. If you side with them, there is a pretty could chance its because you identifiy with them. (and for the moron who has to point out that some sociopaths do hear voices and have mood swings, that is because that example would be a sociopath IN ADDITION to other problems which is atypical).
The funniest thing is that sociopaths tend to be popular people until they start getting themselves into trouble. A lot of people that seem like jerks and actually have very good ethics are accused of being sociopaths all of the time.
People like to think people who are pleasant are never sociopaths and people who are unpleasant and tell them the truth when it hurts their feelings and shatters their illusions are the sociopaths. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 8/4/2006 3:28:30 PM | I don't feel alot of guilt for things that I do. Only when it hurts my family and friends. Most people I don't know look at me and treat me like I have the plague, to them I say F-off. I don't feel bad, guilty, pity, etc when anything bad happens to them. I don't even feel happy or excited for them in any way. As long as people don't really mess with me I just don't care. I do care about war and crap like that but not so much about the humans that wage the wars. Humans are stupid and war is the only way of keeping the population down. I seem heartless and whatnot, but really I'm not. I just don't want to have to worry about some stupid **stard across the country who decided to drive drunk or whatever.
That is all. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 8/4/2006 9:04:21 PM |
Actually these people will show their only true love to an animal, if it is their own pet.
They will still show their mean side to the animal, and they will still abuse them, but you can see that they are capable of really love, because it will show only as you watch them with the animal. They don't even know that this feeling for the animal is love.
When they are in a relationship and they have a pet, the other person will actually be jealous of the animal, because they can't understand why this peson won't show them this kind of love.
They can not and will not show this kind of love to a person, any person, ever.
An animal can't in anyway touch their feelings, or irratate them, by making them have to think about something. That is what they think they are protecting. HOW THEY FEEL, HOW THEY THINK. With, and around other human beings.
I very much agree with this statement. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 8/5/2006 12:33:45 AM | The funniest thing is that sociopaths tend to be popular people until they start getting themselves into trouble. A lot of people that seem like jerks and actually have very good ethics are accused of being sociopaths all of the time.
People like to think people who are pleasant are never sociopaths and people who are unpleasant and tell them the truth when it hurts their feelings and shatters their illusions are the sociopaths.
Exactly...The irony is that the sociopath is fully aware of this.The sociopath will always exploit the weaker minded pointing out the obvious in a way that seems profound, telling you things you already know ,or rephrasing things you have said about your personal beliefs on issues that are important to you so that you feel validated and that you really "identify" with this person and they must you. Really these are tactics of any liar or manipulative person although its more difficult to recognize with the sociopath.While the average lie is usually told for more obvious gain, the sole purpose and only motive of the sociopath may be only to hurt you.
It's strange though from my own experience it seems like there is a certain "other personality type" that cannot be affected by a sociopath. People in general might find the soc. charismatic, complex, interesting...etc while these people see none of that , unable to be manipulated.I dont know, it just seems like more or different than others who might pick up on the socio' s B.S. or whatever. I'd like to hear any thoughts on the possible existence of the newly dubbed "anti-path" personality type. \m/ | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 2/15/2007 4:49:52 PM | (Xander) Thank you for clarifying the real criteria to which a sociopath or psychopath (to which they are actually interchangeable) are defined. You can't pick up a book like Martha Stouts' The Sociopath Next Door which is how this thread started and think you have it all figured out. By the way, it should have been noted that you took all of your information directly from her book because that's where it came from - I've read it. (LaurenBee).
(Sociopathy and Psychopathy) Both personality disorders that someone suffers from and they are the hardest to determine in an individual and also the hardest to treat. They affect about 4% of the population (more than most would think. The rates are higher than colon cancer, schizophrenia and many mood disorders). The sad thing is, it's usually a coping mechanism that young children develop themselves when going through highly stressful, periods of early abuse. (Usually at the hands of someone they trust such as a family member or very close family friend that may have been put in the position of trust). Usually sexual abuse leaves the child to develop a sense of "leaving their own mind or body" because it's such a highly stressful time for the child. When they're grown up and it usually surfaces as a mood disorder such as anxiety/depression first, this is what usually gets them into therapy for help.
This dissociative state (leaving their own mind or body when something harmful or something they see as a stressful period) is something they've carried over from thier trauma. And usually an early indicator of a personality disorder.
What everyone needs to realize is that yes, there are many out there that have personality disorders because of what others have done to them. But it doesn't mean that they're going to be the next Ted Bundy or Dahmer. Most are actually the opposite. They don't harm anyone but themselves. Usually, self-harm is what you want to save someone from who has a personality disorder.
Individuals with personality disorders, usually can't keep relationships together, keep harming themselves becaues of what's happened to them in the past and have have trust issues. So rather than buying into what all movies say about sociopaths and psychopaths - get a little more info and realize that you need ALL THE INFO before you go running scared from everyone around you. (There's a lot of people hurting from what others did to them and they're not out to hurt you, they want to heal).
Martha Stout did a very good job in her book but you have to have a good understanding of the other points she's making as well. (She clearly lets you know that not all people without conscience are bad, or the "Devil You Know". You have to under a little of the Psychology behind it).
A good book to look at if you're interested in find out more or if you have someone close to you that's suffering from a personality disorder is: Marsha M. Linehan's book called Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder .
There is also a website that you can check out (among many others) but this is very easy to go through and give you easy facts. www.BPDCentral.com
And for anyone in this thread that called someone or anyone 'psycho', you're one of the reasons that there are still so many stigmas these days with mental health. And so much misunderstanding and frustration because there's a lot more individuals out there that suffer from some form of mental illness, (whether it be depression or anxiety or what have) that someone that's close to you probably does and is afraid to come to you for help.
If everyone could get a little more educated, mental illness wouldn't be such a bad word. It's part of life and it's happening because of our lifestyles and having others to turn too, would make it a lot easier for so many.
Put yourself in someone elses' shoes - some are not that easy to walk in daily. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 2/15/2007 7:34:07 PM | I don't know about what the actual medical defintion of a sociopath is but I do know the type of people the op is talking about. THere is one of them in my class. This girl answered a question that the prof asked but it was the totally wrong answer and the sociopath turned around and said, "What are you STUPID?!!" (and he wasn't saying this in a funny way at all, he literally said it or the pure purpose of degrading this girl) Then his little clan all laughed at this remark. THe girl turned totally red, th eteacher just proceeded to address the class.
You can tell this dude has manipulated each of his cronies into laughing as he puts down other people. He must have a serious inferioirity complex. He overcompensates his inferioiruity complex by having to put down other people.
I mean who does that comeon. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 2/15/2007 8:26:06 PM | From the dictionary:
Sociopath
noun a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.
Psychopath
noun a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior.
There are differences between the two.
One is a personality disorder the other a mental illness. Sociopaths have a lack of conscience while the psychopath's conscience is distorted.
Sociopaths are extremely rare while psychopaths are plentiful. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 2/15/2007 11:02:41 PM | | I have met sociopaths. I had to deal with one at a certain japanese auto plant nearby. This man has no warmth, compassion, empathy, or real ethics. Instead, he is cold, callous, arrogant, self serving, indifferent, and otherwise a worthless scumbag. | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 2/16/2007 4:49:37 AM | Yep, there are a few on this site 
~beach | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 2/16/2007 7:32:05 AM | My Ex, also my son's father, is a card carrying sociopath, he was diagnosed when he was 19, and told me on our second date. Not a bad guy, knows right from wrong, can determine consequences......but lacks emotion about any of it. He has only shown what we describe as love for three beings in his life, two cats and his son. He does have siblings and will lay his life on the line for them, but not out of love; more out of not caring about the consequences.
They are not born this way, and we are actually creating more of them; for whatever reason the bonding process between a child and parent is interrupted very early in life. There is a common thread that proves this, the parents of sociopaths fall into many categories: severe postpartum depression, very successful, gave them up for adoption, addiction issues, etc.
I don't care about the lack of emotion, because I also lack emotion in many cases. What bothered me most was when he was not focused on doing the right thing, he most definitely did the other thing. These people can not be taught to feel, they can be focused, but need constant monitoring......and who has this kind of energy? | |
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| Sociopaths
Posted: 2/16/2007 7:47:26 AM |
Ever met anyone like that ?
uh huh i was married 2 one for 10 yrs.. it was a 'rollercoaster ride'.. yea never knew what each day held 4 ya..  | |
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