What is sociopathy? Can a sociopath love someone?

Sociopathy is a mental disorder in which a person does not recognize social norms and rules. In his actions, he is guided only by his own benefits, desires and tries to use everyone who is next to him.

Sociopaths are charming and charismatic. But close communication with them is always accompanied by humiliation, trampled self-esteem, and often physical violence.

In this article we told you how to recognize a sociopath. And how to behave if a loved one with whom you live under the same roof has this disorder.

How to cope with social phobia on your own?

Not everyone has the time and money to visit a psychologist. But if you realize that social phobia is interfering with your life, try to cope with it yourself. The following methods work well:

• If you start to feel nervous, practice deep breathing. This will help calm the nervous system and eliminate external manifestations of stress.
• Give up negative thinking. Stop thinking that you won’t succeed, that you will be embarrassed, that you might be ridiculed. If you have a responsible event coming up or just communicating with people, draw in your mind positive scenarios that will certainly come true.
• Love yourself. Take care of your health and appearance, devote more time to rest. You will start to look much better, and therefore you will gain self-confidence.
• Enlist the support of your loved ones. Let them constantly remind you of your positive qualities and encourage you before important events.
• Stop avoiding stressful situations. Engage in them intentionally to practice behavioral skills.

What causes sociopathy?

Martha Stout identifies two important factors that provoke extreme manifestations of sociopathy in people. The first factor is upbringing. When parents distance themselves from their child, neglect his natural needs for emotional and physical contact, are too rude with them, and resort to punishment, then the child withdraws into his own world and ceases to experience feelings normally. In addition, many parents are characterized by emotional suppression of their children. If a child cries, he is told to stop. If he expresses emotions too loudly, they ask him to be quieter or shut up. If a boy cries, they call him a snotty weakling; if a girl cries, they call her a crybaby. Some parents do all this not out of malice, but because they are susceptible to stereotypes, but in this way they provoke their children to become afraid of them and stop expressing any emotions.

The second important factor is the social attitudes that are accepted in society. In the West, the rate of sociopathy has been steadily increasing since the 1990s. The author of the book sees a relationship with social attitudes that are accepted in the United States and other countries. Robert Hare, a renowned psychopathy researcher, writes in his book The Frightening World of Psychopaths:

“Our society is moving in the direction of allowing, reinforcing, and in some cases actually encouraging some of the traits listed in the Psychopathy Inventory—traits such as impulsivity, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse.”

* You can learn more about the ideas in The Frightening World of Psychopaths in our sprint Without Conscience: The Frightening World of Psychopaths Around Us.

We tend to agree with Dr. Hare. Our society encourages individualism, which gives rise to shameless manipulation of people. Sometimes it seems that some cultures are simply designed to breed sociopaths in their society.

Throughout our review, we've been telling you how dangerous sociopaths are. And now we have come to the main section, which will tell you how to interact with sociopaths if you have encountered such people on your life path. In her book, Martha Stout outlines 13 rules that should help anyone understand what to do if they find out that there is a sociopath next to them. Let's take a closer look at them.

Definitions

What is sociopathy

The scientific definition is as follows. This is a mental personality disorder characterized by a triad of main features - asociality, non-recognition of social norms and inability to attach and empathize. Often accompanied by impulsiveness and uncontrollable aggression. In psychotherapy and psychiatry, the following concepts are synonymous with sociopathy:

• antisocial psychopathy;
• antisocial personality disorder;
• heboid psychopathy;
• dissocial personality disorder;
• psychopathy;
• personality disorder of the emotionally incapacitated.

In ICD-11, this diagnosis is listed under code 6D11.2.

Who is a sociopath

A sociopath is a person who suffers from dissocial personality disorder, is clinically incapable of adapting to society, is characterized by deviant behavior, and lacks a critical perception of his words and actions. He is driven solely by his own interests and desires. Those around him are only a means to achieve them. He doesn’t feel any affection, sympathy, much less love for anyone.

According to the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), sociopath and psychopath are synonymous in psychotherapy. In simple terms, this is a person who does not perceive the rules of behavior in society due to mental inability to ordinary feelings.

Psychological portrait of a sociopath

A sociopath begins to exhibit traits of a personality disorder either from early childhood (inherited from parents), or during puberty (puberty serves as a catalyst), and much less often - already in adulthood. As a child, he is distinguished by an obstinate, harmful character and uncontrollable, deviant behavior. He doesn’t listen to anyone and is guided in his actions only by his own desires. At the same time, he can reveal extraordinary abilities in school, grasping everything on the fly. But he studies mediocrely, since he is not interested in grades. The most common pathology in childhood is animal abuse.

Growing up, a classic sociopath radically changes his behavior in public. Outwardly he seems to be a balanced and tactful person. His extraordinary mind allows him to make a career and achieve certain heights in life. No one can suspect him of being a mentally ill person. In fact, he uses many for his specific purposes. Those around him are the same things as a laptop or a microwave. This is a skillful, cunning manipulator. He will never communicate with those who are not interesting to him. Periodically, the illness spills out into terrible attacks of aggression when he fails to achieve something. He never sympathizes with anyone, often is not in any relationship, because he is not capable of love.

Often sociopathy leads to the fact that people, not recognizing either the rules of behavior established in society or the laws in force in the state, become murderers and maniacs. Given their remarkable intelligence, it is not surprising that solving such crimes can be incredibly difficult.

Understanding the concepts

What is the difference between a sociopath and...

...social phobia?

A sociophobe is afraid of society and tries to avoid people. A sociopath simply uses them for his own purposes, manipulates them.

...a psychopath?

No. According to DSM-5, these concepts have the same meaning.

...misanthrope?

The misanthrope hates people and society. A sociopath treats them indifferently - as if they were things.

...an introvert?

An introvert is reserved, focused on his inner world and loves solitude. He does not like noisy companies and avoids parties and public events. But not because he is afraid of people (like a social phobe) or hates them (like a misanthrope), but because he is more comfortable alone. He has a narrow circle of acquaintances (2-3 people) with whom he communicates openly and sincerely and loves them.

To explain in simple words, society is a frightening monster for a social phobe, a repulsive cesspool for a misanthrope, an uncomfortable bus for an introvert, and a thing, a means to an end, for a psychopath and sociopath.

Why should you be wary of sociopaths? What damage can they cause?

Imagine the world's worst predator. For example, a shark or a crocodile. Introduced? Do you think that when a shark hunts its prey, it is tormented by any remorse? When a crocodile grabs an antelope with its teeth, does it think how much the antelope is hurting? Most likely no. Predators are designed in such a way that they do not experience all these feelings. They are cold and calculating in their desire to take possession of the victim. The same can be said about sociopaths - they are real predators among people. But if we can notice a shark or a crocodile and avoid colliding with them, then identifying a sociopathic person is much more difficult; at times, even the most experienced psychologists can’t do it.

To look at the sociopath from the outside, let's study the case of a certain Skip, about whom Martha Stout talks.

Skip was born into a family of wealthy parents, but was deprived of attention from both his mother and father. Skip was an unusual boy with very unusual hobbies. He didn't need friends; as a child he was unsociable. One day, when he was 12, he broke into his father's office and stole documents that showed his father's assets and fortune. The boy liked to read these papers, he imagined how rich he would become when his father died and left him an inheritance.

In the summer, Skip's whole family went to a country house. Skip loved it there. There was nature all around, and nearby there was a lake, which the boy often went to. But Skip didn’t just walk in nature, on the lake he did truly terrible things that give you goosebumps. That lake was famous for the fact that there were many frogs on it. The boy liked frogs. He caught dozens of them, tortured them and conducted various experiments. It gave him pleasure to watch this strange living creature suffer.

Reading about Skip's adventures, one gets the impression that this boy, when he grew up, inevitably turned into a brutal killer. However, this did not happen, at least the author does not mention it.

Skip grew up to become a ruthless social climber. Thanks to his lack of conscience, he intrigued a lot in order to move up the career ladder, and lied in order to conclude million-dollar contracts. The bosses loved Skip, because he brought substantial profits to the company. Skip later married the daughter of an oil billionaire. He became the father of two children. The image of an exemplary family man helped Skip grow higher and higher and enter into more and more expensive contracts. The bosses doted on their employee. And this allowed Skip to get away with many troubles: he often harassed female colleagues, once he was accused of fraud, but the company turned a blind eye to everything and even paid compensation “for silence” from the general budget to victims of harassment. At age 50, Skip became president of the company.

As we can see in this example, sociopaths are guided by cold calculations and only goals that are clear to them. Skip's case shows that sociopaths can use any trick to get their way. Sometimes they do completely unpredictable things, and this is one of the markers by which we can determine that we are facing a sociopath. For example, they can lie for no apparent reason, knowing that their lie will be easily revealed and what they said can be easily verified.

Depending on how rich the imagination of a sociopath is, in what society he grew up, in what family he was brought up in, the damage he can cause to other people also depends. Remember the movie “American Psycho,” in which a successful careerist “cleaned” the streets of homeless people in his free time? This is a vivid image of a violent sociopath. Their actions can be completely unpredictable, and the damage is incredibly serious.

Famous people with the disorder

People suffering from a mild form of sociopathy often become heroes of popular films and TV series. Sherlock Holmes from the modern remake of the famous work by Conan Doyle classifies himself as a “highly active sociopath”.

Another famous screen genius, Dr. House, also resembles him. Both of these characters defiantly disregard social norms, ignore the emotions of those around them, while brilliantly showing themselves in action. Of course, such an image is highly romanticized - in reality, communicating with such a person would present certain difficulties.

Such famous criminals as Chikatilo and Jeffrey Dahmer suffered from sociopathy. In order to satisfy their perverted aggressive needs, they did not disdain terrible murders and torture, being convinced of their own impunity.

Some researchers classify such famous historical figures as Hitler and Caligula as sociopaths. It is difficult to say now how reliable this diagnosis is for such individuals, but certain signs of the disorder were inherent in them.

To summarize, we can say with confidence that dissocial personality disorder is a serious problem both for the person himself and for his environment

Therefore, it is extremely important to try, one way or another, to cope with the manifestations of this condition.

Source

Criteria for diagnosing sociopathy

What a doctor pays attention to when diagnosing dissocial personality disorder.

1. A chronic style of course of pathological character traits, unrelated only to episodes of another mental illness. That is, a person diagnosed with, for example, schizophrenia can be a sociopath. But he will remain a sociopath even when his schizophrenia goes into remission.
2. Pathological character traits are observed from childhood and persist into adolescence and adulthood.
3. Not always, but quite often the sphere of professional development of a sociopathic personality suffers.
4. The disorder invariably leads to persistent distress for the sociopath himself, although this condition becomes much more noticeable to others only in his adulthood.
5. Disharmony in the personal positions and actions of the sociopath. He can actively demand exceptional honesty from others, and actively prove that only such a position in life can be truly correct, but at the same time constantly lie and other variants of disharmonious phenomena.
6. No problems in establishing contacts with others, but at the same time great difficulties or even impossibility in maintaining long-term relationships with other people, including family members.
7. Affective discharge of aggression, even violence.
8. A pronounced tendency to blame other people and never take responsibility for oneself.

In terms of the development of cognitive functions, a persistent decline in the level of development of stability and concentration of attention has been noted since childhood. Sociopaths find it difficult to maintain their attention on any object; they are difficult to train. They are not critical of their mistakes, do not work on them and attribute them to circumstances or other people. Cannot withstand systematic long-term activities.

Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/street-people-children-school-boy-2805643/

Common features

A common feature of sociopaths and psychopaths is a tendency to manipulate and deceive, ignoring the safety, feelings and rights of other people. Contrary to existing stereotypes, people with antisocial disorder are not always violent or short-tempered. Similar traits are listed in the DSM-5, the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders. A mental disorder is diagnosed if a specialist detects in a person, in addition to the general symptoms of a personality disorder, at least three of the following:

• Disregard for social norms and regular violation of laws.
• Constantly deceiving other people.
• Impulsivity, inability to plan.
• Aggressiveness, irritability, tendency to escalate conflict.
• Ignoring the safety of others.
• Irresponsibility, inability to fulfill financial obligations.
• Lack of empathy and the ability to experience remorse and remorse.

These symptoms first appear in adolescence. If not properly monitored, a person may experience a serious personality disorder in later life.

Causes of sociopathy

At the moment, no reliable causes of sociopathy have been identified. There are only a few lines of thought.

1. The reasons are endogenous in nature. Here the possibility of a genetic root of this disorder is considered, and research is being conducted on whether sociopathy is inherited.
2. The reasons are exogenous in nature. And here sociopathy is considered only as a product of a pathological social environment in which the individual has been for a long time from early childhood, and has also been subjected to constant exposure to inadequate forms of upbringing.

Most specialists tend to occupy an intermediate position between these two views, and consider each case of sociopathy purely individually, assuming the presence of both congenital and acquired traits.

Photo: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/narrative-history-dream-tell-794978/

The superior temporal sulcus of the brain is responsible for recognizing emotions in other people. There is an opinion that sociopaths have dysfunction in this area of ​​the brain, which leads to various errors in the perception of the constantly surrounding emotional reactions of other people, and as a result of this, there is a persistent violation in communication with them and subsequent impulsive and even aggressive behavior. But no reliable studies have been conducted to date.

Sociopathy is also considered in the context of a combined disorder in other diseases, such as schizophrenia, various other psychotic conditions, and the consequences of traumatic brain injury.

Signs of sociopathy

Sociopathy (dissocial personality disorder) should not be confused with protest behavior. Sociopaths not only cannot independently diagnose the presence of this disorder, but also deny it if others or specialists talk about it.

Sociopaths are prone to illegal activities

A person with dissocial disorder does not respect the law and does not consider it necessary to adhere to social norms. Therefore, such people more often commit illegal acts and, according to statistics, more often serve their sentences in correctional institutions.

Neglect of danger

A sociopathic personality regularly demonstrates disregard for safety requirements, without thinking about the value of either their own or others’ lives. In this way, the sociopath shows his own illusory power and demonstrates superiority over others. In everyday life, this can be observed on highways, when the driver constantly creates emergency situations, violating both written and unwritten rules of behavior on the road.

Sociopaths are hypocrites

Lying is one of the characteristics of dissocial disorder. Since there are no moral standards for a sociopath, he will, without any hesitation, for his own benefit, deceive, forge documents, impersonate someone else, and manipulate deliberately false information.

Sociopaths are irresponsible

This is also one of the main signs that an individual has a dissocial disorder. Such a person is incapable of acting in anyone's interests other than his own: he does not care about his family, does not maintain strong friendships, easily changes jobs or passes on trade secrets to competitors. A sociopath not only does not feel moral discomfort from such actions, but also tries to shift the obligations he has assumed onto others or does not attach any importance to his own irresponsibility.

Aggression and irritability

Sharp, hot-tempered reactions to what is happening are also characteristic manifestations of sociopathy. A person with this type of personality disorder may start a fight or throw objects. Most sociopaths are irritable and aggressive, and their difficulties with the law are most often associated with attacks on people. This factor determines another feature inherent in sociopaths: they are most often lonely, because on the one hand they realize that a group of people can repel them, and on the other hand, it is quite difficult to coexist with them.

Sociopaths bully others

A person with a dissocial disorder tends to demonstrate his physical superiority to others, mock people who are not so strong, intimidate them, and torture animals. A sociopath, as a rule, develops many ill-wishers from his environment over time precisely because of his antisocial behavior.

Disability in learning social interaction

With dissocial personality disorder, a person does not draw conclusions from events that have already occurred and does not trace a cause-and-effect relationship. In cases where social interaction has led to some negative consequences, the sociopath does not change his actions, but does the same the next time. He feels neither guilt for his destructive actions nor, accordingly, remorse.

Sociopath destroys other people's property

Such people take particular pleasure in destroying or spoiling what belongs to other people. In this way, sociopaths challenge society and demonstrate disdain for established norms and rules of behavior. For a sociopath, the destruction of other people's property is another confirmation of his special position, elevated above others.

If a person has three or more of the signs listed, then with a high probability he may be diagnosed with dissocial personality disorder (sociopathy).

Sociopaths don't know what they are

Consider the situation: a sociopath was caught red-handed in his deeds. For example, Skip, whom we wrote about above, was accused of fraud when concluding transactions. Under normal circumstances there would have been serious public outcry, courts, press, huge fines and even imprisonment. But Skip escaped all this. His charisma and cold charm had such an effect on people that many simply did not believe that their “successful and talented” colleague was capable of such a thing. The case was put on hold. And what about Skip himself? Didn't he feel guilty? Not at all. When asked, he said that these were the machinations of envious people who wanted to “ruin” the career of a successful employee. Skip wasn't lying. He didn't really feel like he was at fault.

Martha Stout writes that sociopaths, like predators in the animal kingdom, do not feel any remorse. They are absolutely confident that they are doing everything right. And people who may disagree with them are considered their blood enemies, whom they will fight with all available methods.

How do people become sociopaths?

A sociopathic personality develops under the influence of negative sociocultural conditions. Domestic violence, lack of love, attention and education, childhood psychological trauma - all these are triggers that contribute to the development of a sociopathic disorder. The psychology of a sociopath is shaped by the environment, exacerbating natural deficiencies.

How does a sociopath behave?

► A sociopath is a genius at disguise. 80% of the time he behaves exactly the same as most people around him. What distinguishes him from other people is only his pathological deceit, selfishness, and ability to perform extraordinary actions. Most often, the understanding that something is wrong with this person comes only through close and prolonged communication.

Can a sociopath love?

► Love is too deep a feeling, which implies the formation of attachment. However, we should not forget that physiologically sociopaths are the same people, which means they also produce neurotransmitters - serotonin, dopamine, etc. Accordingly, the question of whether a sociopath can fall in love should be answered positively. However, his feelings are more about the desire to satisfy sexual needs and the desire to achieve the favor of his chosen partner.

Does a sociopath have feelings?

► The main feeling of a sociopath is self-love. Therefore, he is easily hurt by disrespect and criticism. A sociopath may become attached to those who benefit him. So, if normal people grieve over the death of loved ones, a sociopath painfully experiences the loss of the comfort that the deceased person provided him.

Is a sociopath dangerous?

► The level of danger of a sociopath depends on many factors: his upbringing, the presence of control from society, the presence of concomitant mental disorders. For the most part, sociopaths pose a threat to their immediate environment, since the danger of punishment prevents them from openly breaking the law.

Causes of sociopathy

A number of other studies have also shown that sociopaths most often become people with certain genetic disorders, who did not receive the right upbringing or were victims of violence. It follows from this that even in the presence of certain genetic abnormalities or underdevelopment of the prefrontal cortex, environment and upbringing play a decisive role.

How to get rid of sociopathy?

There are certain psychotherapy techniques that help sociopaths integrate into society and understand the motivations of normal people. However, there is no complete treatment for dissocial personality disorder. Moreover, most sociopaths do not consider themselves unhealthy, and therefore do not try to be treated.

Recommended reading

To study this interesting topic in more depth, it is worth reading the following books about sociopathy:

• M. Thomas, “Confessions of a Sociopath. Live without looking into your eyes”;
• S. Petri “Toxic people: Self-defense without weapons”;
• J. Douglas, M. Olshaker “Descent into Darkness”;
• M. Stout “The Sociopath Next Door”;
• M. Thomas “Confessions of a Sociopath”;
• D. McKenzie, Psychopath Free;
• R. Haer “Deprived of Conscience”;
• K. Tilman, “Sociopaths.”

How do sociopaths disguise themselves? Why are they so difficult to notice?

The camouflage tools of sociopaths are quite wide. All their methods, to one degree or another, come down to charming or intimidating people. Let's take a closer look at the most common techniques, one or more of which will help you understand that this is a sociopath.

Charm

Many sociopaths have mastered this technique. They easily gain a person’s trust and at first meetings evoke the most positive emotions and impressions. The further into the forest, the more firewood. In Skip's case, we learned that he masterfully used his charm to gain the trust of clients and his superiors.

It is important to remember that not all charming people are sociopaths, but you should be wary if the first time you meet a person, they break all your natural psychological defense mechanisms: mistrust and critical thinking.

Seduction

Very often this means entering into very close emotional or physical contact with those at whom this technique is aimed. Sociopaths cold-bloodedly seduce people in order to get what they want - financial support, information, or just a temporary relationship that may be beneficial to the seducer.

Crocodile tears

This is usually a last resort tool used by sociopaths. Its manifestation is especially likely when someone comes very close to revealing the dishonest deeds of an unscrupulous person. A sociopath, who is pressed against the wall, immediately turns from a predator into a victim: she sheds bitter tears, repents of all sins, presses for pity. Such a performance has a very effective effect on unprepared people - depending on the degree of mastery of the technique, a sociopath can either get off with a light punishment or get away with it completely.

Strange behavior

This is not exactly a technique of influence, but something that is characteristic of all sociopaths. This is a marker with which we can figure out an unscrupulous person. How does the strange behavior manifest itself? Always different. For example, a charming employee may lie to colleagues, knowing that his lie will very soon be revealed. In the book, the author describes a case where the head of the medical department, at the end of the working day, when everyone was ready to go home, approached a colleague who was junior to her in status and said that the colleague was urgently called by the chief physician for a meeting. The junior employee knew nothing about this, did not receive any message from his superiors, was at a loss, but still ran in a hurry to the chief physician's office. The woman who lied could have guessed that in just a few minutes her lie would be exposed. However, out of envy of the young employee or for other reasons, she wanted to show her superiority and power over him. She succeeded for a short time.

The common thing in the strange behavior of sociopaths is that such behavior was not previously characteristic of the person whose image was played by the sociopath. Be careful.

How to deal with a sociopath?

Some rationalists advise not to communicate at all with such people who, in the eyes of the public, walk on the edge of a knife. Why adapt to a person who devalues ​​interpersonal connections? Such wise advice is not suitable for any of us, because a person close to us through family ties may be a sociopath. Of course, it is possible to abandon it, and public opinion will rarely condemn such a decision. However, how can you continue to live in harmony with yourself when not a single attempt has been made to correct the current situation?

How to behave with a sociopathic man?

Public opinion often likes to focus on the fact that the strong half of humanity has no right to weaknesses and oddities. A sociopathic man is, first of all, a person with whom you cannot behave in the following way:

• Provoke aggression
  . You should not play with fire, which can not only burn you, but can turn you into ashes. This is especially true for women who decide to play “cat and mouse” with a dangerous person. A relationship with a sociopath can be called “Russian roulette.” Do any of the women still have the desire to pull the tiger's whiskers?
• Indulge yourself with illusions
  . When asked how to live with a sociopath, you want to answer - with a constant eye on the possible consequences. In isolated cases, such mental deviation can be corrected. Most likely, it cannot be treated at all, even by a specialist with extensive practice.
• Show your superiority
  . The sociopath will definitely not tolerate the voiced model of behavior and will fiercely rebuff the insolent person. However, the manipulator must understand that he is dealing with a strong and intelligent opponent. Sociopathic men try not to enter into direct conflict with such people. In the end, they often won’t offer to communicate, because they will understand the futility of putting pressure on the consciousness of a strong-willed person.

Tips for Dealing with a Sociopathic Woman

It's time to talk about what people often try to keep silent about. In the eyes of the public, representatives of the fair sex should be gentle and sensitive creatures. A female sociopath is the exact opposite of the stated characterization.

If life turns out this way and there is such a cynical warrior in your immediate environment, then you should adhere to certain tactics in dealing with her:

1. Accuracy in actions
   . The vast majority of sociopaths like to spend their leisure time writing rape reports. There is no point in relying on their decency in the future, because the concept of conscience does not exist for such persons. Whenever possible, men should try not to be alone with them. The presence of third parties is also not a guarantee of calming the hysterical person. She may have the delightful idea of ​​faking an attempted gang rape.
2. The ability to say “no”
   . Female sociopaths are far from stupid in their life aspirations. Most of them want to find a “rich perch” and leech at it. You should initially forget about love on the part of such women, because they do not know such a feeling. It is better to endure a series of hysterics after announcing a hard “no” to intimate assaults than to then completely ruin your own life.
3. Avoiding verbal pauses
   . Many women love to talk about even minor events. The flow of information from sociopaths is generally difficult to stop. In most cases, they voice false facts, which is worth remembering. When communicating with such people, psychologists advise simply talking to the manipulator. You can broadcast anything you want, but the topic of the conversation should not contain personal information about the speaker.

Sociopathy Test

If, after reading the article, you notice habitual signs of behavior, take the sociopathy test. Answer the questions provided, writing down the result. If you agree with the statement, give 2 points; if you do not, give 0; if you do not completely agree, give 1.

1. Laws are not written for you; they can be broken without fear.
2. You can say that you sympathize, but you are not familiar with this feeling.
3. You do not feel attachment to people, even to your parents and relatives.
4. You don't like it when people make jokes about you. You never laugh at yourself.
5. You can deceive a person if you need something from him.
6. You are smart and quick-witted.
7. You constantly do things without thinking about the consequences.
8. Children's pranks and hooliganism have always led you to big troubles.
9. You are incapable of being faithful.
10. You do not divide your actions into good and bad.
11. Animals irritate you and you may hurt them.
12. You are unfamiliar with pity and sympathy.
13. You live here, now and for yourself. What happens tomorrow does not matter.
14. You do not try to justify the trust of other people.
15. You consider other people to be inferior to you in terms of development and intelligence.
16. You don't need friendships and family.
17. You can easily lie to partners and colleagues.
18. You are bored working in one place for a long time with the same people.
19. You easily manipulate people.
20. You have an addiction.

If your score exceeds 12 points, you have signs of a sociopath. Analyze your concepts and actions; perhaps you should contact a specialist or try to work on yourself. After all, becoming aware of your negative habits and aspects is already a step towards a good life.

Features of a psychopath

Psychopathy is a congenital disorder caused by genetic predisposition. The first difference between a sociopath and a psychopath lies precisely in this: sociopathy, on the contrary, is a product of environment and social factors.

Psychopathy has been associated with disorders of brain development. Scientific research has shown that the parts of the brain of psychopaths responsible for impulse control and emotion regulation are underdeveloped. Psychopaths cannot build relationships with other people and create emotional attachments. Instead, they are forced to build superficial, artificial relationships aimed at manipulating loved ones for maximum benefit. Psychopaths perceive people only as means to achieve their own goals. They do not experience remorse or guilt about their own actions.

In society they are known as charming, decent and reliable people with stable jobs. Many of them have families and strong relationships with a partner. Quite often, psychopaths are highly intelligent and well educated, learning a lot on their own. If they find themselves involved in a criminal story, they will try to minimize the risk of punishment.

How many sociopaths are there in society?

You will be surprised, but there are enough of them to, like parasites, poison society and drag it down. According to studies, approximately 4% of the population, i.e. four out of a hundred people, suffer from the defect of lack of conscience, i.e. sociopathy. This is a lot, considering how many respectable people can succumb to the manipulations of sociopaths. To show the destructive power of the influence of sociopaths, the author of the book cites as an example the sensational experiment of Stanley Milgram (more in our sprint “Beyond Morality: The Psychology of Submission to Authority”). The essence of the experiment was that people were placed in two different rooms. In one room there was a person who had to answer questions from another subject from the second room. If the answer to the question was incorrect, the subject had to punish him with an electric shock (the electric shock was fake, but the person who pressed the button did not know about it). In addition, next to the person who asked the question was a scientist who controlled the effect of the punishment and tried to prevent people from stopping giving the other person "shocks". What did the experiment show us? For every hundred people, there were approximately 70 people who unquestioningly obeyed the “scientist’s” demands, that is, they were ready, on his orders, to torture another person almost to death. All these 70 people were ordinary people without any psychological abnormalities. But they carried out the will of a “crazy” authority, whose authority was proven simply by the presence of a white coat and a badge as an employee of a research center.

Types of Sociopaths

In psychology, there is a division of sociopaths into active

and
passive
(latent).

The former do not bother to disguise themselves and openly display negative character traits: selfishness, rudeness, arrogance, irresponsibility and immorality. Meeting this type will clearly not be the most pleasant experience in life.

Passive sociopaths hide their base traits and try to have minimal contact with the outside world so as not to reveal their true nature.

Highly active sociopath

This is not a professional classification. This phrase became popular thanks to the light hand and sharp language of modern Sherlock Holmes, inimitably played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Literally in the series the definition sounded like “high functioning” and was translated by various sources as a highly active, highly adapted or highly functional sociopath. What lies behind this formulation? A sociopath of this type was able to effectively adapt to life in society; he has excellent social interactions that satisfy all his whims and desires.

Cheerful Sociopath

It is also not a professional psychological term, but a simplified definition of one of the possible behavior patterns of a sociopath. Due to their exceptional intellectual characteristics, some individuals with antisocial disorder have found a way to successfully exist in society. They wear the mask of an extrovert, radiate positivity, and successfully play the role of the soul of the company. But the basis is only the desire to achieve one’s own benefit. When he gets what he wants, the sociopath quickly cools down, loses interest in the company and shows complete indifference.

Male Sociopath

Dissocial personality disorder is more common among men. In addition to the obvious psychopaths who have crossed all possible boundaries (maniacs, tyrants, repeat offenders), there is the option of male womanizers. These immoral hero-lovers skillfully manipulate women, “spin” them, and extract maximum benefits from relationships. A woman in itself has no value for them, so when they find a more interesting subject, they easily abandon their former passion.

You can suspect a sociopath in your man by his unstable behavior, harsh and rude phrases, and tendency to humiliate his interlocutor.

Sociopathic Husband

Sociopaths are not prone to long-term relationships. They can get married only if this event is extremely profitable. Most likely, until the moment of official marriage, a woman does not even know about the dark side of her chosen one.

As family life progresses, the following negative traits will certainly begin to appear: stubbornness, hot temper, deceit, embitterment, cruelty. Events can develop according to the saddest scenario: constant domestic clashes, conflicts, scandals. A sociopathic husband does not take into account the interests of the family, does not remain faithful to his wife, does not care about the welfare, humiliates those closest to him, and uses violent methods in raising children. Very often, such troubles as alcoholism, drug addiction, and gambling addiction come to the house of a sociopath. Of course, a loving woman can try to reach out to her husband and try to convince him of the need for help from a psychiatrist. But the chances of success are very low. Sociopaths tend to deny their deviant behavior. If a woman does not want to live in fear for herself and her children, it is better for her to break up with such a man.

Sociopathic woman

Representatives of the fair half of humanity, even in sociopathy, can be charming and attractive. Fatal bitches who “go over their heads” easily break hearts and achieve significant success in their careers.

Sociopathic child

Antisocial personality disorder can appear even at an early age. Already in preschool boys, signs of sociopathy can be noted. Behavioral deviations in girls usually appear during adolescence. Such children begin to show criminal tendencies early on: stealing from their parents’ wallet, petty theft in a store. For them, abuse of animals, humiliation of younger children and weak peers are in the order of things.

Sociopathic children are not just naughty and mischievous, they openly confront their parents, do not listen to the advice of their elders, skillfully lie and do not admit to their wrongdoing, even when caught red-handed.

At the slightest suspicion of such a disorder in your child, you need to visit a psychologist in order to begin correcting behavior as early as possible.

My profession is a scoundrel: 9 signs of a relationship with SUCH a man

Who am I talking about? This is the common name for men who enter into family or love relationships with emotionally dependent women and begin to abuse them, using moral and sometimes physical violence. The name “sociopath” is also used for them. They say this is a type of psychopathy.

Sociopaths are characterized by a lack of empathy. They are not able to sympathize, empathize, feel pity, they do not know a sense of duty and responsibility. They do a good job of imitating them, but when they say “I'm sorry,” they don't actually feel sorry. This makes them heartless, deaf to the suffering of others.

But they have a highly developed ability to show aggression, cruelty, cynicism and other negative qualities. And sociopaths are also characterized by a lack of conscience. They evaluate the possibility of committing this or that action solely from the position of “it’s beneficial for me - it’s not beneficial for me.”

Even the real threat of punishment does not always deter them from reprehensible actions. It is noted that among criminals the percentage of sociopaths is higher than the average among the population.

They cleverly fool a woman, turn her head, and then cynically abandon her. They all operate according to the same scheme, knowing which, you can with a high degree of probability understand that you are being drawn or have already been drawn into a toxic relationship.

Sign #1: I never loved anyone before you!

This is exactly what a sociopath will tell you. He will convey this idea to you in different ways, but always at the beginning of your acquaintance. He will convince you of your exclusivity, lift you onto a pedestal, look into your eyes with a languid gaze, gently hold your hand, and sigh sadly. It was from this that the Viscount de Valmont began his seduction of Madame de Tourvel.

He will create an atmosphere of cosmic, fantastic love, which the world has never known before. What is the sacrifice? Oh, she had a great honor: to warm the unfortunate man with her love, to snatch him from this darkness, to show him how wonderful it is to love and be loved. And she selflessly takes on the fulfillment of her mission, instead of wondering: how could it happen that a person lived to adulthood and never fell in love with anyone? After all, this is not normal.

Sign #2: You are the first woman he finds worthy

Thousands, thousands of women buy these assurances! Well, of course - after all, it sounds so sweet, it makes you feel like a winner over all those others, unworthy, and yet “a woman does not rejoice in anything as much as victory over her rival.” Rivals. Although in fact such words should alert an attentive woman: doesn’t it seem strange that a man has not met a single worthy girl in his entire life? Did he really come across all stupid, greedy fools? This is the first point.

And the second point - when a person says this, he means that he has not met women worthy of - who? - myself. Does he think too much of himself? But alas, a woman wants to be the one and only, superior to everyone, and the sociopath gives her this opportunity, which deeply touches her heart.

It must be said that women with a fair dose of narcissism in their souls are very good at this. This narcissism does not necessarily take the overt form of “I am better than everyone else.” It disguises itself perfectly as humility, especially among religious women. “I am a humble servant of the Lord, God protects me,” - it is women who have such thoughts in their beautiful heads, who have a high chance of becoming a victim of a sociopath.

While enjoying their piety, they cannot admit the thought that God is capable of sending them a scoundrel to be their husband. This simply cannot happen, because she doesn’t deserve it. The feeling of security deprives them of the instinct of self-preservation, they cease to be afraid of sociopaths and easily fall under their spell.

Sign #3: You're lucky. More than ever!

He is ready to carry you in his arms, write poems in your honor, give you a hand when getting out of the car, he is emphatically polite and gallant. He begins to behave in such a way that the woman, wringing her hands, thinks: “Oh, God! Yes, this is the same prince that everyone dreams of, but who for some reason got to me, a sinner!”

Overjoyed, she is already half-blind and deaf to the obvious signs of the pathological relationship into which she is being drawn.

Sign #4: It’s so easy to offend me

Well, like a baby! The vulnerable and delicate soul of the poor fellow cannot withstand any coldness addressed to him, no suspicion, no reproach. In any negative situation, he focuses on his suffering, on how bad he feels, while being completely uninterested in your feelings.

The psychology of a very large number of women is such that they are afraid of being left without a man. Add to this the fact that young girls rarely fall into the web of sociopaths. Their victims in the overwhelming majority of cases are ladies about 30 years old and older, yearning for male society, perhaps already giving up on themselves, perhaps having an unsuccessful marriage, living with their spouse for the sake of some hackneyed idea: for the sake of children, divorce is a sin and all that stuff. In love, often for the first time "reciprocally", the woman is now terribly afraid of losing the treasure that has fallen into her hands and is ready to do anything just to keep her prince.

Sign #5: He always blames others for everything.

A distinctive feature of a sociopath is the inability to admit guilt and persistent denial of one’s guilt in negative events. Oh yeah, he's a bastard. But it's not his fault. Life made him this way (mother, previous partners, orphanage, etc.) In fact, he is preparing a path for retreat - he diligently instills in her the idea that if he leaves her, then his victim will be to blame for this. And one more thing - in the circle of friends and acquaintances he speaks badly about you. This is also preparation for further retreat. He does this so that when you start talking about the nightmares that you have experienced, no one will believe you.

Sign #6: “You don’t deserve me!”

Remember in the first point we said that a sociopath starts by putting his victim on a pedestal? Perhaps many of you have a question: why does he do this? I will answer: for the sole purpose of throwing the victim off him. And throw it away in the most cruel, most mocking way. He does not know how to communicate with others on equal terms; the very idea of ​​equality scares him. He knows how to either idealize or demonize. Depending on the mood and behavior of the partner.

The culmination of his alliance with the victim is to throw mud at, destroy everything that is of the highest value to the victim. If this is marital fidelity, then he will demonstratively cheat on her. If these are children, then he will turn them against her or make attempts to deprive her of parental rights. If this is a religion, then he will rudely trample all its canons and foundations, doing it so that the victim is aware. If this is the victim's own virtue, then he will defame her at every corner, spreading the most vile rumors about her.

To devalue, depersonalize, trample everything that the victim values, to see her tears and despair - this is the true goal of a sociopath, this is what gives him the feeling of victory. A moral victory for the little boy who left both his grandmother and his grandfather, and in his current relationship did not fall so low as to become henpecked.

Sign No. 7: Topsy-turvy

Every time you try to discuss your problems in a relationship with him, to come to a constructive solution, you come across a wall of rejection: your partner either evades the conversation, sometimes in the most idiotic ways, for example, you tell him that he greatly offended you yesterday , and in response he begins to sing “Internationale”. Or he enters into a discussion, but at the same time masterfully turns the generally accepted concepts about relationships inside out. His arguments are absurd, but he is so convincing in them that at some point you begin to think that maybe you really are crazy and need to be treated?

Sign No. 8: Did he love me?

Analyzing the cruelty with which he dealt with you, his entire behavior from beginning to end, you come to a terrifying conclusion: he did not love. Yes exactly! He didn't love because sociopaths can't love. They always build relationships with everyone - with loved ones, with friends, with spouses - on the principle of business: they will need you as long as they receive benefits from you. Material or moral. As soon as you cease to be beneficial to him, he will break with you, trampling on years of friendship, marriage, and family ties.

His “love” for you is just a game, and you were a pawn in that game. And this is another humiliation that you have to endure. He played with you, parasitized on your feelings and emotions, got everything he wanted from you, and left.

Some women find it so difficult to come to terms with this idea that they pursue their object for a long time after a breakup and constantly try to sort things out with him, to express to his face everything that is so painful. You shouldn’t do this - you won’t be able to appeal to his conscience due to the lack of one, and you will weaken your psyche.

Sign No. 9: “Samaduravinovata”

Once toppled from their pedestal, victims usually wait for an explanation from the sociopath. But he will respond to any reproaches in the spirit of “it’s my own fault,” as Valmont did - by abandoning Madame de Tourvel. He preempted all her possible reproaches with the phrase “It’s not my fault.” (In the film it sounds like “This is beyond my strength,” which does not change the essence).

You did it this way, you wanted it, you sought it yourself, you brought me to this. Moreover, he will deeply touch her ego: “I thought you were different, but you are the same as everyone else!”

That's it, he deprived the victim of the feeling of exclusivity that he so diligently instilled in her. The catchphrase, the pinnacle of aerobatics (not all sociopaths use it, only those who have achieved perfection in their profession) - “A little more, and everything would be fine. But you didn’t have enough patience/wisdom/tact/feminine flair, and therefore - good bye, may love, good bye!” - and he leaves his victim with a feeling of terrible guilt for being the reason for the deterioration and rupture of such a fabulously beautiful relationship.

After reading all this, a logical question arises: can a sociopath have stable family relationships?

Maybe. Oddly enough, maybe. However, this should not be confused with love. A sociopath can only be tamed by an exactly the same sociopath, but who will outplay him, who will not allow him to leave her, and then he himself will find himself in the role of a dependent victim. Their relationship will resemble a business alliance and will last as long as each of them helps the other achieve their goal - as was the case between Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil.

This union can last for years, sometimes until the last breath of one of the union participants, and it will be quite smooth and stable, so much so that the uninitiated may get the impression that the sociopath has finally found his happiness. But this impression is deceptive. A cunning and intelligent sociopathic partner will play with him, either distancing him, but just enough so that he does not leave completely, or attracting him to her, but just enough so that he does not imagine that he has power over her.

Breaking up with a sociopath

I decided to separate this part of the article into a separate block. The fact is that breaking up with a sociopath is so traumatic for his victims that many of them stop trusting men in general and never enter into a new relationship again, fearing another injury. I once came across an article by a foreign psychologist who said that a sociopath is quite capable of driving his victim to deep neurosis and even suicide. This is true. Not all women are able to withstand the shame and humiliation that a sociopath subjects them to.

The mistake of many women who manage to get into a relationship with a sociopath is that they do not decide to break up for quite a long time. They hope that their man will reform and repent. “I will change him with my love, I will beg him, I will make him different.”

Remember once and for all: sociopaths do not change . Sociopathy is not just a lack of upbringing, it is a painful condition whose roots lie in genetics and neurology. Working with sociopaths is the job of specialists, and you will never be able to rehabilitate him on your own.

Breaking up is always traumatic, and breaking up with a sociopath is especially traumatic, because it’s not enough for him to just leave - he needs to trample you. No matter what stage of the relationship you break up with him, he will still play his role and try to humiliate you to the maximum. But, nevertheless, the sooner you do this, the fewer losses you will have to endure. These are both moral and material losses.

When leaving, the sociopath will not limit himself to humiliating the victim - he will also try to rob her as much as possible . And having children will not stop him - he will take everything. A friend told me that her husband, after 10 years of a destructive marriage, packed everything he could into bags, and what he couldn’t, he broke and broke.

A sociopath does not know such qualities as generosity, pity, compassion, a sense of duty - this is precisely what sociopathy consists of, so do not even count on any decency on his part. He will squeeze your property to the last spoon, he will fight for every nail. He will not hesitate to take away toilet paper, matches and a half-empty tube of toothpaste. But this will not be enough. He will tease you with his imaginary well-being with another woman on his Facebook or Vkontakte page. Many women become addicted to this type of masochism and continue to suffer for years over what did not and could not happen.

If you want to get out of a relationship with a sociopath as safely as possible, then immediately cut all the loose ends and run without looking back, otherwise you will turn into a pillar of salt. Run and don't look back - the law of preserving your mind and your own psyche.

Judging by the materials, responses and testimonials that have recently begun to surface on the Internet, among believers there is a fairly large layer of male sociopaths. Unfortunately, the clergy are no exception. It is susceptible to the same diseases, the same pathologies as society as a whole. From this we can conclude that Christianity has a certain attractive force for sociopaths.

They find something in him that allows them to justify themselves. It has been established that a sociopath is not able to take into account the needs of those around him (sociopaths have extremely developed selfishness); accordingly, he believes that those around him will not take into account his needs. This means that in order to achieve something from those around him, he should subjugate them to himself. For this purpose, they perfectly adapt Christianity to themselves.

At a minimum, they are always very concerned about the obedience of their wife and children. Obedience, not love, is what the sociopath puts at the forefront of family relationships. To the maximum, sociopaths often penetrate the clergy with the same goal: to control, receive, take advantage of and be inaccessible to punishment and censure. Christianity and dignity attract them because they allow them, on “legal” grounds from the point of view of a sociopath, to demand blind obedience from those around them.

Is it possible to fight a sociopath?

It is very difficult because of his love of low blows, resourcefulness, vindictiveness and a penchant for the most cynical lies. Actually, there is only one way to pacify a sociopath - to make public all his unseemly actions. Publicity is the only thing a sociopath is afraid of, because publicity will deprive him of his good boy image, and then it will be difficult for him to use his charms to seduce new victims. If you remember, Valmont dealt his final blow to the Marquise in exactly this way: he made public her involvement in intrigues against Madame de Tourvel, Cessile de Volanges and other persons who became victims of her depraved mind.

From this we can conclude that if among your friends there is a person with signs of a sociopath, he should be openly opposed in his actions , even if he has clergy. If someone preaches domestic violence as the norm (yes, I’m talking about Father Tkachev’s sensational sermon), then they must say to their face that such behavior is not acceptable. If someone behaves rudely to his wife or abuses his children, this should also be discussed openly.

Well, that’s basically all I wanted to say. Published

Author: Liliya Malakhova

PS And remember, just by changing your consumption, we are changing the world together! © econet

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Don't confuse it with anxiety

It is worth understanding that excitement and anxiety are natural human states that arise in any new or incomprehensible situation. This is an integral part of preparing for an important event, conversation or long-awaited meeting. Normal levels of anxiety do not prevent you from functioning and interacting with people. Despite all these feelings, you strive to develop your personality and make new acquaintances. If we are talking about social phobia, negative feelings overwhelm a person. They are accompanied by external manifestations (increased sweating, shortness of breath, nausea, urge to urinate, etc.). A person is literally seized by horror, and therefore he “locks” himself at home, trying to protect himself from similar sensations in the future.

Is sociopathy treatable?

According to the author, sociopathy is incurable. On the other hand, few sociopaths will be able to admit their illness and voluntarily undergo treatment. Is there really nothing that can be done? Unfortunately, we cannot treat the lack of feelings that such people lack. But you can work with such people: instill responsibility in them, talk about the rules and norms of behavior accepted in society, explain what feelings are, how other people experience them, explain what damage can be caused to other people by incorrect behavior, etc. d. As we have already learned, sociopaths will never be able to learn to feel like normal people, but they will know how others express these feelings and will be able to adapt.

Who is a sociopath?

A sociopath is a person suffering from a personality disorder that manifests itself in an extremely negative attitude towards other people and society as a whole.

Sociopaths have serious difficulties in perceiving other people's emotions, so their lives often develop in a dramatic way. They find it difficult to make friends, and personal relationships are usually unsuccessful. At the same time, many of them, in adulthood, independently understand that they perceive the world incorrectly, so they turn to a psychotherapist for help.

By the way, in official psychology the term “dissocial personality disorder” is used (in ICD-11 – “dissociality”). The word “sociopathy” is considered obsolete and is not used when making a diagnosis, but is found in professional literature. The term "sociopath" is also popular due to its brevity and convenience.

The main feature of sociopaths is the lack of emotional intelligence (EQ), which allows us to feel and predict the emotions of others. People with dissocial personality disorder tend to be impulsive and aggressive in their interactions, and are quick to resort to insults or accusations. At the same time, they are convincing enough to make the interlocutor feel guilty.

Typically, sociopaths behave negatively even with people close to them. But this does not mean that they are natural villains. They simply perceive reality differently and are not aware of their harmful impact on others. People who become their victims often also do not understand the complexity of the situation in which they find themselves. To better understand what a sociopath is, let's study the main signs of a sociopath.

Summarize

Sociopathy is the most dangerous personality disorder because these people are unpredictable, inconsistent and uncontrollable. There are no laws, moral and ethical standards for them.

In ordinary life, it is not easy to recognize a sociopath - these are sociable, charismatic people who feel the interlocutor well and masterfully adapt to him. But close communication is fraught with psychological and even physical injuries. Sociopaths are alien to compassion, pity, respect, affection - they evaluate people from the position of “benefit or disadvantage.”

10 signs will help you recognize a sociopath. If a close relative suffers from the disorder, follow the rules we described. In any case, you need to be in touch with a psychotherapist and follow his recommendations.

Material prepared by: Alexander Sergeev Cover photo: Depositphotos

Behavior and characteristics of sociopaths

The various behavioral, emotional and cognitive characteristics of sociopaths include the following traits.

1. Superficial charm is really superficial, has no basis, carries elements of pretense, inconsistency with the real qualities of the sociopath himself. If they need to achieve some goals that are significant to themselves, sociopaths may for a short time follow the general norms of society - be charmingly smiling, socially active, etc.
2. Pathological deceit - lying really does not have any compelling reasons behind it; it is not associated with the fear of punishment for misdeeds or an attempt to hide something. Perhaps this phenomenon has its root in the desire to charm the interlocutor by any means or in an attempt to evoke strong emotions in the interlocutor, since sociopaths have a reduced ability to recognize the emotional reactions of the interlocutor.
3. Lack of a sincere feeling of empathy (sympathy), regret.
4. Impulsivity or even aggressiveness, which is also associated with the sociopath’s constant communication errors or personal cognitive errors in the perception of himself, the world around him and others.
5. Lack of guilt.
6. No sense of shame.
7. Lack of a sense of self-preservation, intolerance to boredom, constant search for dangerous adventures.
8. Lack of a sense of personal responsibility, unbearability of this responsibility and a constant attempt to shift it onto other people, even if all the evidence is obvious.
9. General emotional coldness in response to both positive and negative and even shocking events in one’s own life or environment. Cold, glassy look.
10. Inability to follow social norms, constant attempts to violate them.
11. A history of promiscuity (promiscuity) is also possible.
12. Inadequate high self-esteem and equally inadequate, sometimes even unrealistic, setting of one’s own goals. “Inflated ego” and complete intolerance to criticism.
13. Sociopaths, when communicating with other people, only effectively use manipulation techniques. They are incapable of productive ways of contact.
14. Sociopaths maintain extremely long, intense eye contact. Either because they do not feel the increasing anxiety and discomfort of other people from this, or because they, on the contrary, feel and specifically achieve this for their further manipulations.
15. Sociopaths do not draw conclusions from analyzing their own or others' experiences. They repeat the same mistakes repeatedly and even endlessly.
16. Sociopaths cannot tolerate frustration. Frustration refers to that very feeling when, at the moment, here and now, your need cannot be satisfied. This is a moment of discrepancy between desires and available opportunities. A person encounters frustration almost every day and, naturally, knows how to tolerate it. A sociopath wants everything here and now, regardless of the situation; the emergence of a feeling of frustration leads him to aggressive manifestations.

Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/wooden-mannequin-wooden-mannequin-791720/

Interesting Facts

• A person who simply does not like society is not a sociopath. Perhaps you can call him a social phobe or an introvert, or maybe he is simply anxious or lacks sufficient communication skills. But now we definitely understand that sociopaths are not afraid of people and society.
• A sociopath is sane and capable of responding and accounting for his actions, unlike many other mental disorders.
• We have already discussed that a sociopath cannot withstand many feelings, such as frustration, the unknown, and his own failure. But there is one feeling that a sociopath can endure perfectly - this is the feeling of loneliness.
• It is extremely rare for a sociopath to seek help from specialists (psychiatrist, psychotherapist, psychologist) on his own. Most often his relatives bring him.
• A sociopath pushes the boundaries of what is permitted, boldly looks beyond the boundaries of social norms, and sometimes, but not always, it is with the help of this inadequate courage that he achieves a lot or makes interesting discoveries.
• Sociopathic personalities are really interesting to relatively healthy people. They attract with their superficial charm, interesting oddities of behavior, and a certain aura of mystery. This is why sociopathic traits can often be found in the main characters of literary works, movie characters or mythical characters.

Recommendations for those nearby

If you notice that your loved one is a sociopath, then the first thing to accept is that sociopathic disorder is incurable. What follows is your choice whether you are ready to bear such a person next to you, because you will have to “carry” him.

Yes, some methods of psychotherapeutic and drug therapy are now being used in relation to such individuals, but it should be understood that all the work is aimed only at mitigating the corners of the disorder, and not at remission.

Therefore, the first recommendation for those who for some reason are forced to communicate with sociopaths is to spend as little time as possible interacting with such a person. You should build clear boundaries for communication with him, be able to boldly say your “no,” withstand and respond to his aggression, limit communication with him by time, and clearly communicate that today you can give him an hour, but tomorrow you will be completely busy. Of course, this is difficult to do if it is a member of your family and not a work colleague. If you cannot do this on your own, then seek help from a psychologist.

Always remember that a sociopath often lies. This will help you avoid many unfavorable events in your life and negative feelings if you always make allowances for the fact that perhaps his business and personal promises to you are lies.

Don't try to explain his behavior; he can't do it himself. He is like that, he has a personality disorder, that's the whole reason.

Do not look for any special good goals in the behavior of a sociopath. There aren't any either. He can manipulate their presence if he sees that you are attracted to it, but in reality such people are unprincipled.

If possible, reduce communication with such individuals to nothing.