When a sociopath hides his disorder from most should you tell him you know of his problem?

Answer 1

I should think it greatly depends on the individual sociopath and the level of your relationship with him or her. I for one, would become immediately distrustful if someone I had known for a short period of time informed me that they were able to see through my carefully constructed mask. Further, I would likely do everything in my power to begin a campaign of misinformation and discrediting of that person to the end that even if they should speak to someone else about my 'problem', they would be met with disbelief. Other than my mother, who knew what I was from a very early age, only two people have seen beyond my facade (to the best of my knowledge), and it has taken nearly a decade of almost daily contact in both cases. For whatever reason, they have opted to remain in contact. After knowing these two people for such an extended time, it was a bit of a relief when they approached me (individually, to the best of my knowledge they don't know that the other knows) and broached the subject. One was very direct and simply said to me one day, "You're a sociopath, aren't you?". The other invited me out for drinks and skirted the topic all evening, but the end result was the same. In short, If I know a person long enough to become comfortable with them, I've had no trouble being confronted with my nature in the past. A final word of advice, if I may? I realize I don't speak for all of us, but I imagine most sociopaths will be put on the defensive at the use of the word 'problem'. Most of us don't have a problem, Most of you have a problem with us. Most persons with Antisocial Personality Disorder do not recognize that they have a disease. If a person exhibits behaviors and personality features suggestive of this disorder, a diagnosis of APD is a real possibility, but should be undertaken by an objective party. Confronting an indivdual with this disorder often yields denial, and deception and manipulation are central features of this condition, so informing such a person that they may be a sociopath may not be useful. Some individuals with this disorder may be irritable and aggressive, these are sometimes referred to as aggressive sociopaths, in which case any direct confrontation should be avoided.