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4% of the US population are sociopaths. That is more than the US gay population. That tells you something. It is funny they don't have sociopath pride month and sociopath pride parades...lol....at least you'd know to avoid it like the plague...
Narcissists are just as bad and they make up about 2% of the US population.
BPD is just as bad and they make up another 2%.
Paranoid personality is just as bad and they make up 2.5% of the population.
Histrionic personality is 3% of the population and they are more of the theatrical version of the sociopath...
Asperger syndrome is similar to sociopathy and who knows how many of those are in society....
Those types of people tend to congregate around each other too, so if you meet one and get introduced to his family or friends be prepared and brace yourself to meet others of their kind......
Those are millions of people in the United States that are truly messed up, they have no guilt, are manipulative, uncaring, controlling, and bringers of frequent irritation and frustration.......it's truly pitiful isn't it....
Artsy, I know this sounds like a lot of gay bashing going on here, but I don't think that's what people are trying to say. Most gays or bisexuals are probably not sociopaths, but most sociopaths (possibly, that's what we're trying to determine) are probably bisexual and I think the possible reason is that they don't care about people and therefore don't really care who they're putting it into or getting it from b/c sex is just a tool. BTW, Hitler was also bisexual.
Also, please don't include Asperger's as being related to sociopathy--they are actually very hurt by criticism but don't have the social skills to belong--it's very much related to ADD. Think of sociopathy as being on the opposite end of the spectrum from neurosis. NPD, BPD, and sociopaths blame everyone else for the problems but those with neurosis blame only themselves--think Woody Allen and his internal dialog in Annie Hall--I don't know how most people with Asperger's and ADD are, but I think neurosis runs high among this population--I'm neurotic as hell, and TG I am--I hurt only myself.
I've been following the news of Drew Peterson and his missing 23-year-old wife. She was his fourth wife. His third wife was found dead under suspicious circumstances and now the his latest wife Stacey is missing. He's been on the news and he almost jokes about it. Here he is:
Both Drew Peterson and Scott Peterson showed absolutely no remorse or emotion after the disappearance of their wives. In fact, they are stone, icy cold. How can someone commit cold blooded murder and walk away feeling nothing? I don't get it. Both men were very charming. And they both had an incredible ability to lie without flinching. Does Drew Peterson really imagine he is going to get away with murdering two women? Does he really imagine is that clever that no one will catch him?
Any woman who would marry a man named Peterson is out of their minds.
Sociopaths do exist. The traits they exhibit are consistent amongst those types of people.
I normally would agree with you about psychiatry being full of it. They are bed buddies with big pharma.
The thing is, there really isn't a "cure" for sociopaths, as they would never seek help cause they don't think they have a problem.
I'm gonna get some flack for this, but too bad we can't just bust a cap in those people once we id'd them.
I just reckon that mental illness is such a vague concept.
If defined as a persistent state of wellbeing, then granted it makes sense. But when we start labelling non-normal behaviours as mental illnesses, then it gets beyond science and into the realm of pseudo-science. Normal is subjective and absolutes don't exist in the human sphere.
I just reckon that mental illness is such a vague concept.
If defined as a persistent state of wellbeing, then granted it makes sense. But when we start labelling non-normal behaviours as mental illnesses, then it gets beyond science and into the realm of pseudo-science. Normal is subjective and absolutes don't exist in the human sphere.
That may be true, but I think we can all agree that anyone who tramples on the rights of others with no regard for their feelings is probably not quite right. And anyone who would murder someone just to avoid responsibility for them is certifiably insane--I think that would be true in any human culture I can think of. In any given culture, there is justified killing and unjustified killing and UK is never okay.
This is truly one of those philosophical issues that I've been thinking about for years though: to what extent is someone responsible for their actions when mental illness is the issue? Just because someone isn't screaming and kicking in a padded cell doesn't mean they're not crazy, and that person in the padded cell wouldn't necessarily harm anyone but themselves. And now I'll step over into spiritual territory: if God made us this way, to what extent does He hold us responsible for our actions? If a sociopath has no soul, isn't that God's responsibility to give us one? Or did God have a plan for those people too? I mean, it's not like we can help it if we're born w/o a soul. Most of us are born with a sense of right and wrong, and that guides our behaviors even more than knowing the law, so if you're born w/o a sense of right or wrong and you truly don't care what happens to you--Drew Peterson showed no emotion to the prospect that he might be given capital punishment--then what is your incentive to obey the law? There is absolutely none.
Another thing I wonder is what feeling these men had for their women in the beginning of the relationship. If they're incapable of feeling love, then why did Scott P. get so caught up in a torrid love affair with another woman before he killed his wife? Did he feel anything for Laci in the beginning? Was it pride b/c she was so pretty? Did he just want to fit in with society so he got married? Did he actually believe that he was in love with her, but really she was just a mirror pointing back to himself? Or did he actually feel the same "in love" feelings that we all feel in the beginning of a relationship, but we find out they're only just lust if real love doesn't kick in after a couple of years? If a person is truly a psychopath, does he/she know it? I suppose there aren't answers to these questions, though if there are any PP here, will they please stand up? No never mind.
I just reckon that mental illness is such a vague concept.
If defined as a persistent state of wellbeing, then granted it makes sense. But when we start labelling non-normal behaviours as mental illnesses, then it gets beyond science and into the realm of pseudo-science. Normal is subjective and absolutes don't exist in the human sphere.
Oh another thing I forgot to mention: all species on earth have a built in mechanism that makes them unwilling to kill their own species. Some of them are able to circumvent that in certain situations, such as polar bears killing their own offspring in order to mate again with the mother, but only humans are able to circumvent that entirely, but again, that is generally in certain situations, such as war, sacrifice killings (in certain other cultures), or famine. We are the only species capable of killing "loved ones" in cold blood and hiding the body, and that is only a very small subset of the human species, so it's safe to say that they are insane. Just because they can get up on a TV interview and talk about it calmly does not make them normal. (not that I think that's what you're trying to say)
Oh another thing I forgot to mention: all species on earth have a built in mechanism that makes them unwilling to kill their own species. Some of them are able to circumvent that in certain situations, such as polar bears killing their own offspring in order to mate again with the mother, but only humans are able to circumvent that entirely, but again, that is generally in certain situations, such as war, sacrifice killings (in certain other cultures), or famine. We are the only species capable of killing "loved ones" in cold blood and hiding the body, and that is only a very small subset of the human species, so it's safe to say that they are insane. Just because they can get up on a TV interview and talk about it calmly does not make them normal. (not that I think that's what you're trying to say)
This is a great thread, we have lived next to a neighborfromhell who has (we surmise) antisocial personality disorder or the like.... all the symptoms. Cannot tolerate any boundaries, only talks to people when he needs something from them, after that he discards them like trash. If he realizes you are onto his "game" of his pretending to be "mr good guy" and he is really evil... he will make your life living h*ll. Never smiles or laughs unless he is laughing at you at your expense. Scary starey eyes.
After dealing with NFH for 16 years now, I read the book "The sociopath next door" which was mostly very helpful... it made us realize that people like this are mentally ill and they will NOT change... and that there have been more people like this in my life than I previously realized!!
My "red flag" for me is that you cannot please these people EVER. No matter WHAT you do - unless you are completely kissing their b*tt 100% of the time - they will find a reason to hate and dislike you. They continually need new victims who are not onto their game in order to feed their huge egos... i.e. personality disorders.
They are all sick and unfortunately we live next to one Good thing now is that the entire neighborhood is finally onto him, and it turns out he was playing the same sick head games with all of us.... we ALL hate him now - and it feels good to realize you are not the only one that he picks on. See the antisocial personality disorders also seem to separate their victims from each other, so we never actually talked to one another for a long time... then our stories about him all seemed to jive with each others experiences...
It is really sick how they are. And they will NEVER get help because they know ALL! They are the greatest - NO ONE can tell them anything. THEY are always the victims, people are always picking on THEM... blah blah blah...
Human nature in root is tinkering on the edge of socio-pathological behavior at all times, in my view. What tends to harness these thoughts and conclusions and desires in, is superstition for the lesser-intellects (religion, talk of "karma," et al) and a kind of social intelligence for the Brights. That is, the ability to understand that while "karma" is clearly false, there is a very real, observable, testable utility in creating a kind of positive energy around you that ultimately comes full circle.
Sociopaths, in my experience, tend to be intelligent, and have found a way to make it all work psychologically- found a reason to fake a smile and get out of bed- while still having an incredibly morbid generalized outlook on human nature and the natural world, that gives them social permission to behave as they want. It's obvious to say that they simply don't give a sh**, but I challenge all of you to honestly, genuinely, sincerely try to go through life not finding happy go-lucky "justification", or poetic clarity, in the little things, and sincerely not giving a sh**. It's hard to find reasons to continue on the struggle this way. Insofar as this is true, I think sociopaths tend to carry a stronger intellectual playbook, and are generally more learned than most, which is how they make it all "tick."
My "red flag" for me is that you cannot please these people EVER. No matter WHAT you do - unless you are completely kissing their b*tt 100% of the time - they will find a reason to hate and dislike you. They continually need new victims who are not onto their game in order to feed their huge egos... i.e. personality disorders.
It is really sick how they are. And they will NEVER get help because they know ALL! They are the greatest - NO ONE can tell them anything. THEY are always the victims, people are always picking on THEM... blah blah blah...
Exactly. You pretty much said everything I was going to say.
That may be true, but I think we can all agree that anyone who tramples on the rights of others with no regard for their feelings is probably not quite right. And anyone who would murder someone just to avoid responsibility for them is certifiably insane--I think that would be true in any human culture I can think of. In any given culture, there is justified killing and unjustified killing and UK is never okay.
This is truly one of those philosophical issues that I've been thinking about for years though: to what extent is someone responsible for their actions when mental illness is the issue? Just because someone isn't screaming and kicking in a padded cell doesn't mean they're not crazy, and that person in the padded cell wouldn't necessarily harm anyone but themselves. And now I'll step over into spiritual territory: if God made us this way, to what extent does He hold us responsible for our actions? If a sociopath has no soul, isn't that God's responsibility to give us one? Or did God have a plan for those people too? I mean, it's not like we can help it if we're born w/o a soul. Most of us are born with a sense of right and wrong, and that guides our behaviors even more than knowing the law, so if you're born w/o a sense of right or wrong and you truly don't care what happens to you--Drew Peterson showed no emotion to the prospect that he might be given capital punishment--then what is your incentive to obey the law? There is absolutely none.
Another thing I wonder is what feeling these men had for their women in the beginning of the relationship. If they're incapable of feeling love, then why did Scott P. get so caught up in a torrid love affair with another woman before he killed his wife? Did he feel anything for Laci in the beginning? Was it pride b/c she was so pretty? Did he just want to fit in with society so he got married? Did he actually believe that he was in love with her, but really she was just a mirror pointing back to himself? Or did he actually feel the same "in love" feelings that we all feel in the beginning of a relationship, but we find out they're only just lust if real love doesn't kick in after a couple of years? If a person is truly a psychopath, does he/she know it? I suppose there aren't answers to these questions, though if there are any PP here, will they please stand up? No never mind.
Again, the beliefs of psychiatrists.
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Good thing now is that the entire neighborhood is finally onto him, and it turns out he was playing the same sick head games with all of us.... we ALL hate him now - and it feels good to realize you are not the only one that he picks on. See the antisocial personality disorders also seem to separate their victims from each other, so we never actually talked to one another for a long time... then our stories about him all seemed to jive with each others experiences...
