”The evil deny the suffering of their guilt – the painful awareness of their sin, inadequacy, and imperfection – by casting their pain onto others through projection and scapegoating.”  People of the lie. M. Scott Peck

”Psychopaths & Sociopaths”

What are the key features of this disorder?

• an impairment to form positive relationships with others
• a tendency to engage in behaviours that violates the rights of others
• a focus on doing whatever it takes to gratify one’s personal desires

 

People with this disorder are deceitful, repeatedly lying or conning others for personal profit or pleasure. They may commit serious violent crimes against others to get what they want and show little or no remorse when caught. They are indifferent to the pain and suffering they caused another. They have poor impulse control and act without concern for the consequences of their behaviour.

As many as 80% of people with anti-social behaviour abuse substances such as alcohol or illicit drugs. There is already evidence of conduct disorder before they turn 15 years old, although the anti-social disorder can only be diagnosed if an individual is at least 18 years old.

What does a psychopath look like?

It is a person

 

• who is born this way – it is a genetic predisposition
• with superficial charm
• who has a grandiose sense of self-worth
• who has a history of pathological lying, cunning and manipulation
• who pretend to feel emotions, but are actually cold and callous
• never feel remorse
• enjoy competing against others to humiliate them
• can hold long-term jobs.

Although they often end up in prisons or dead, many are successful businesspeople, politicians or professionals.

What does a sociopath look like?

”We are not created evil or forced to be evil, but we become evil slowly over time through a long series of choices.” People of the lie. M Scott Peck.

A sociopath is a person who

• displays anti-social behaviour because of environmental factors
• displays erratic and impulsive behaviour
• feels entitled to certain things as “their right.”
• unmoved and cold by what would upset an average person
• has an incapacity to love
• cannot hold a long-term job
• are easily agitated and angered
• has difficulty forming relationships with others (except like-minded people)
• constantly lie and deceive
• has repeated violations of the law
• may sometimes display guilt
• has a weak conscience and blames others for everything
• never takes responsibility

”If evil people cannot be defined by the illegality of their deeds or the magnitude of their sins, then how are we to define them? The answer is by the consistency of their sins” People of the Lie. M. Scott Peck

Treatment

Therapy is more likely to work when an individual admits there’s a problem and wants to change. Sadly, people with antisocial personality disorder are unlikely to believe they need help.

Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice for antisocial personality disorder. Psychotherapy is a type of individual counselling that focuses on changing a person’s thinking (cognitive therapy) and behaviour (behavioural therapy).

There are no medications specifically approved to treat antisocial personality disorder.

If you have a family member or partner who has an anti-social personality disorder, it might be beneficial for you to get help, because people with this disorder are so destructive and without remorse. A mental health professional can teach you skills to set boundaries and help protect yourself from the aggression, violence and anger common to antisocial personality disorder. He or she can also recommend strategies for coping.

Note: ”The feeling that a healthy person (for example a child or a therapist)) often experiences in a relationship with an evil one (paedophile) are one of revulsion. The feeling of revulsion may be almost instant if the evil encountered is blatant. If the evil is more subtle, the revulsion may gradually develop as the relationship with the evil one slowly deepens. For a therapist, it can signify more truly than anything else that he or she is in the presence of an evil one.” Dr Peck says it is a tool that a therapist should use with the greatest of care. People of the Lie. M. Scott Peck

Note: Seek a mental health professional who has training and experience in managing antisocial personality disorder.

Self -help

If you have come into contact with such a person:

Notify your family and friends immediately. Do not be vague. Name names, and specify dates and circumstances. Identify witnesses if possible, and provide supporting documentation if any, is available.

Make sure that several of your friends have the information in the event something happens to you.

Inform the police. The police will do nothing with this information except to keep it on file since they are powerless to act until a crime has been committed. Unfortunately, that often is usually too late for the victim. Nevertheless, place the information in their hands.

The most important factor in keeping psychopaths at bay is to know your vulnerabilities. Are you too, forgiving? Are you too naive and have a tendency to believe people easily? Psychopaths are compulsive liars. Although we don’t write someone off who has lied to us twice – look at how often someone lies and how they react when caught.

When you hire someone – check references thoroughly. Hire on reputation and not on appearance.

When you don’t know anymore: People with an anti-social personality disorder will confuse and hurt you. There comes a time when you realize there’s no point in searching for answers; the only thing is to move on.

A MUST-READ:

 

People of the Lie. M. Scott Peck. 1990

 

 

 

 

Source:

Abnormal Psychology. 6th Edition. Susan Nolen – Hoeksema. P 329 – 332. 2014