”Psychopaths & Sociopaths”

”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

What are the key features of this disorder?

• an impairment to form positive relationships with others
• a tendency to engage in behaviors 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 of the consequences of their behavior. As many as 80% of people with anti-social behavior abuse substances such as alcohol or illicit drugs. There is already evidence of conduct disorder before they turn 15 years of age, although anti-social disorder can only be diagnosed if an individual is at least 18 years old.

What does a psychopath look like?

A psychopath 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 to compete against others to humiliate them
• are able to hold long-term jobs.

Although  they often end up in prisons or dead, many are successful business people 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 behavior because of environmental factors
• displays erratic and impulsive behavior
• feels entitled to certain things as “their right”
• unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal 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 with the law
• may sometimes display guilt
• has a weak conscience and blames others for everything
• never takes responsibility

”If evil people cannot by 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 counseling that focuses on changing a person’s thinking (cognitive therapy) and behavior (behavioral therapy).

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

If you have a family member or partner who has 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 learn how 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 (pedophile) is 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 develop only gradually 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 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 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.

Helpline

You can chat to an online counselor for more help and guidance. It is a text-based service and you may remain anonymous. Just click on LIVE CHAT.

MUST READ:

People of the Lie. M. Scott Peck. 1990

Source:

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