Can a sociopath be cured or is there any medicine for a sociopath?

Answer 1

From all the research I've done in the field of mental illnesses, I would have to say the answer is no. A sociopath has little or no conscience, little or no sense of guilt. Brain scans of sociopathic brains have shown differences between their brains and those of non-sociopathic brains.

Answer 2

No. Sociopathy -- or more currently Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) is a character disorder and, as such, is incurable with what we know today. The sociopath, however, may learn certain things by rote that will help them function within society, albeit at something of a disadvantage.

They are researching avenues for antisocial personality disorder. I would like a new face put on this disorder. I wish they would change the name to dyslogic syndrome, or illogical syndrome. Most antisocial people exhibit exactly the same tencencies, such as manipulation, lying, boastful, controling, critical, abusive, which is a case for it being a disorder, similar in chemical ways to autism or bipolar or Alzhermer's, where they do not realize that they are acting a certain way, or they lose cognition or they become lost, neurologically, in their own brains. I think most people accept bad people in society, while they tend to avoid different, and that is why antisocial people go undetected all the time. Olanzapine has been tried, for antisocial, fairly successfully, but it caused metabolic problems. Do not give up on them. There is something out there that will help them treatment wise.

Addendum:Regarding the prior rebuttal, I really like your take on it. It includes a couple of semantic inaccuracies, but that's not your fault in that I think most of the problem here is in the naming of names. What was termed "Sociopathy" prior to the name-du-jour (APD) was a more specific condition that only recently, we are "realizing" is related or similar (or not). Bear in mind that, in psychotherapy, naming of conditions is not only stimulated by changes in research and science, but is also hugely affected by billing factors; You can't treat if you can't receive any recompense. So we confuse taxonomic identification with the politics of billing, and you'll see disorders grouped not by taxonomic concerns, but by treatment criteria: Good red tape but bad science.

That said, old-school sociopathy is classically identified (in a grossly simplified version) as a total lack of empathy (which indicates a huge disassociation), a lack of affect (ditto) and a failure to apprehend cause/effect relationships. As such, people who fit specifically this symptom set are often at odds with the law and, one could argue, because they are not able to formulate the basis for most laws, especially the more serious ones that don't have rote explanations, but tend towards gray areas. The question really becomes, "how do you give someone empathy and create an association?". At this time, we have no idea.

While this disorder has behavioral and physiological factors, we aren't at a point where we can say which are causal and which are symptomatic -- and which start as symptoms and exacerbate the condition. As such, I reiterate, we currently lack the technology to cure this, and I am not convinced that we've started on this path, although I'd be happy to be convinced otherwise.

Who knows what the future may bring, both good and bad? But -- unfortunately -- while this issue is not by any means closed, today we have no direct course to the cure and can only attempt palliative treatment.

I hasten to discriminate between the sociopathy I describe and other diagnoses that fit in closely and also have the benefit of pleasing the Payers. It's VERY important (to me anyway) to note that everyone diagnosed as APD does NOT meet the diagnostic criteria for the now-defunct "sociopath". Some of these folks do not lack the connection to other humans and pets, and as such can be treated. Sadly, I do not believe that, at this time the true sociopath can.

If you wish to continue this chat, may I suggest we move to discussion?

Answer 3

Sociopathy is a personality disorder characterized by lack of guilt and feelings of disconnection from other people. It can be successfully treated by psychotherapy. However, in order for the treatment to work, the sociopath must recognize that they are doing something wrong and seek help - and lack of guilt is the number one symptom of this disorder.

Therefore, while it is possible, it is less likely than with other mental conditions.

Answer 4

In my opinion NO. They have a personality disorder that stays with them all their life. If the say they have, they are manipulating liars.But we already knew that.. didn't we?

Answer 5

No. There is neither a cure nor an effective treatment for psychopathy.

Answer 6

There is no known cure or effective treatment for a true sociopath.

Answer 7

the short answer, no. nothing can help them