Sociopathy (Psychopathy)

Are you involved with a psychopath (extreme sociopath)? You may not know because they can be very charming and friendly and can appear to be altruistic, until you get close and inevitably they do something threatening or immoral and then you must set limits that disappoint them. The near-constant state of frustration and dissatisfaction felt by a true psychopath is the source of not only their rages but those eerie, on-and-off-like-a-faucet tears. (Yes, tears are seen even in some men, though of course still more common in children and women.)

But, don't assume anyone is a psychopath based only on the person's apparent attitude and behavior. It is far more complex than that, including factors in the pattern of the person's life and many other characteristics. Please don't go around assuming or calling someone a psychopath just because he/she may have some of the warning signs. Get a professional opinion from a qualified mental health professional if you think you are involved with a psychopath. And then ask what to do, not only for the psychopath but for yourself, because being involved with a psychopath is risky.

ALSO:

Bizarre brain waves from some parts of the brain and none from some other parts; epileptic seizures (usually grand mal); speech impediments caused by a chaotic way of storing information in the brain; low blood-pressure (hypotension); bradycardia (low heart rate); pseudoneurolepsy (falling asleep suddenly); a type of night-blindness caused by constriction of the pupils; sleep apnea; sleepwalking (somnambulism); other sleep disturbances; migraine or cluster-headaches with visual 'auras'; varying degrees of incontinence; lethargy OR wild excitement; unexpected sexual arousal; loss of sense of taste or smell; trouble with depth perception; inability to recognize facial expressions; inability to concentrate on more than one thing at a time; occasional inability to concentrate on anything at all; certain types of muscle spasticity or nonresponsive reflexes associated with a peripheral neuropathy if present.

Many people without ASPD can have any of these problems; without the key psychiatric markers for ASPD, these physical manifestations alone CANNOT be used as evidence of the diagnosis. (For example, Borderline Personality Disorder, which is in most ways the opposite of ASPD, can cause hyperalertness and very fast talking, behavior that also resembles that of a sociopath in a temporary state of excitement.)

The general rule is that the autonomic nervous system of people with some Axis II personality disorders does not respond normally; in BPD the sympathetic nervous system (Fight-or-Flight) is overreactive; in ASPD it is usually (though not always) underreactive.

Most of the physical problems a sociopath exhibits are neurologically based.

They do not have the ability to change the way they are. They may "mellow" as they age, or burn out, but their need to have control over others, the need to be impulsive, their feelings that, even in lying, they never do anything wrong, and their ability to charm everyone they think they need to charm, does not leave them as they age. It's also very hard for someone involved with a sociopath to be able to see what they know is happening, even after catching the sociopath in the lies and manipulation. It's incredibly hard to decide to leave a sociopath, as well as stay away from that sociopath.

One of the reasons for the above is that people can sense that the sociopath needs something, and they keep trying to give it and the sociopath/psychopath keeps trying to take it. But the sociopath cannot truly take in that healing energy of human contact. So, the sociopath becomes frustrated and instead looks to take unfair advantage. And the caregiver may give until it does him/her damage. This won't help anyone: leave therapy to the professionals.

And, as for EVIL...

Mentally ill people, no matter how much troublethey cause, are sick, not possessed. And, yes, some psychopaths do terrible things, forfeiting their lives in the process. But most of them do not kill.

They are, however, bitter and rageful, and often cause deep emotional suffering for others.

Isn't this EVIL? The BEHAVIOR is, yes. But the PEOPLE just are what they are.

Some say psychopaths are damned. Some psychopaths say they're already living in Hell! It can feel that way.

Psychopaths -- Sociopaths -- are the way they are because, from birth onward, the brain of a sociopath stores learning information in a random, chaotic way instead of in the usual designated places in the cerebral cortex.

Part of this involves lack of crucial neurotransmitters, but as of yet no one knows whether this lack is caused BY the brain abnormality or is the cause OF it. It's probably the former.

Another probable cause is the chronic underarousal of the cerebral cortex of a true psychopath.

Since their information -- including emotional information -- is scattered all over both brain hemispheres, it takes too long for the brain to retrieve and process information, and the entire process of socialization becomes so ponderous that ultimately it fails. (See the book "Without Conscience" by Robert Hare, PhD.)

Since the entire cerebral cortex of a sociopath is almost never at a normal level of alertness (their waking brain waves resemble the waves of a normal person in a light sleep, alpha waves), this may be the crucial deficiency that cripples the developing child's ability to develop many aspects of the human mind. As the child grows, some of the basic mental and emotional skills the rest of the world takes so for granted never develop, and crucial among these is the thing called conscience. That one never develops at all.

Some people may envy the apparent calm of a sociopath, but their existence is misery. They cannot connect with other human beings, and as babies they are so uncomfortable being held that they fight to wriggle free of all but the most basic necessary contact. Their heartbroken parents often blame themselves or the child, never knowing that what is really wrong with the child is in his or her brain.

Under the almost somnolent calm sociopaths project is a constant sense of restlessness and lack of crucial fulfillment that is in truth nothing other than the basic need all people have to receive stimulation and support from others.

But a sociopath has no way of receiving this even if it's offered. The endless frustration of this, and a discomfort that they are utterly incapable of articulating or even really understanding, is the source of much of their chronic anger and aggression.

Plus, since they grow up in constant conflict with authority, they are most often bitterly angry and sometimes violent adults, brittle and combatative under a thin veneer of charm.

Offered friendship, they appear to respond, but quickly discover that they can get nothing from it; they see the obvious pleasure of other people in such contact with each other, and they often seek to "even it up" by stealing what they can -- material goods, or even human lives.

They are constantly told how "bad" they are, and by adulthood, most of them believe it. And behave accordingly.

Sociopaths rarely feel true happiness. If they do, it is usually in the condition that some kind of intervention -- such as one of the small number of medications made for other conditions that may also help somewhat with theirs -- has taken place, and it will be fleeting.

For all their frantic racing around, they are really very dead inside, and this is tragic beyond description.

Imagine spending your entire life trying to get your brain to wake up! And failing. Thousands of times.

There are stories of people diagnosed as sociopaths who did improve to some degree, with the most ceaseless and diligent help. But since the vast majority of this huge body of people (there are more than three hundred million sociopaths on Earth) cannot get that kind of attention, they turn to abusing those they envy, and often to crime. It is certainly vengeance: "If I can't have any of this, why should you?" This is the real reason sociopaths lash out at strong and kind people. No matter what they say, they know that inside, they are always empty and damaged beyond repair.

Only in neuroscience is there true hope for these incomplete people. The key lies in awakening the cerebral cortex of the brain, which is risky because sociopaths are much more prone to seizures than the rest of the population, and that -- an uncontrolled blast of electrical discharge spreading through the brain and causing violent convulsions -- is likely to be the first response from brain pathways that, after years or even decades of silence, are suddenly flooded with impulses.

But if the devices of neurosurgeons can be tweaked to avoid this shock, and all else related to this idea is workable, it's feasible that small electronic devices planted in the brain (these already exist, but are not yet being used for mental illness) could open up a closed connection.

That leaves us with the problem of whether a lifetime of scattered information can ever be set into order. Probably the best that could be hoped for would be a kind of retraining -- like what is now done with stroke survivors and head injury patients -- that would be both intensive and compensatory.

One of the things that would be necessary would be to try to socialize the person whose congenital birth defect made such a thing completely impossible before.

Whatever intervention is used, be it drugs or computer chips or what have you, it would probably -- I'd say certainly -- be excruciating for the patient at first.

With no knowledge of how to cope with the emotions the rest of the world has been dealing with all their lives, the recovering sociopath would be rendered as vulnerable as a baby.

Which makes sense, because some of the most basic aspects of the human mind would be developing from the primordial stasis in which they had remained since birth!

A person thus treated would never be fully normal, but the human brain is amazing in the way it adapts and continues to develop all through life.

And given the utterly joyless and meaningless existence a sociopath leads, any improvement is better than none.

The matter of missing neurotransmitters in a sociopath is, of course, another problem. Would "waking up" the cerebral cortex eventually stimulate production of these? Or would they have to be synthesized?

Only time will tell.

SabrinaSingularity with a couple of paragraphs from several other writers (gleaned from several other answers).

Suggestion: Better to sign in; better to be a name rather than a number.

Psychopaths are born that way, From biological/genes passed down to them. A sociopath is made. Here is the difference:Disorganized Episodic Aggression: (psychopath)

Organized Sociopathic Hatred: (sociopath)

Ritualistic behaviorSuperficial charm and "good" intelligenceAttempts to conceal mental instabilityAbsence of delusions and other signs of irrational behaviorCompulsivityAbsence of "nervousness" or psychoneurotic manifestationsPeriodic search for helpunreliabilitySevere memory disorders and an inability to tell the truthuntruthfulness and insinceritySuicidal tendencieslack of remorse or shameHistory of committing assaultinadequately motivatedantisocial behaviorHypersexuality and abnormal sexual behaviorpoor judgment and failure to learn by experienceHead injuries; injuries suffered at birthpathological egocentricity and incapacity for loveHistory of chronic drug or alcohol abusegeneral poverty in major affective reactionsParents with history of chronic drug or alcohol abusespecific loss of insightVictim of childhood physical or mental abuseunresponsiveness in general interpersonal relationsResult of an unwanted pregnancyfantastic and uninviting behavior with and sometimes without drinkProduct of a difficult gestation for mothersuicide rarely carried outUnhappiness in childhood resulted in inability to find happinesssex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integratedExtraordinary cruelty to animalsfailure to follow any life planAttraction to arson without homicidal interest

Symptoms of neurological impairment

Evidence of genetic disorder

Biochemical symptoms

Feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy

Psychopaths are NOT born that way. They are influenced but in the end it is on them.

These are completely different and independent diagnosis, thus one could be any of these:

• bipolar
• sociopath
• bipolar & sociopath

Bipolar is a mood disorder and is characterized by extreme variation of mood (manic highs and depressive lows). Bipolar episodes are usually self terminating and between them the person is completely "normal". Treatment with medications (i.e. mood stabilizers) is very effective at both terminating and preventing episodes.

Sociopathy is a personality disorderoften described informally as having a complete lack of conscience. Such people are only able to act in their own personal interest and have no empathy for others or ability to understand that other people have feelings and needs of their own. Many sociopaths are violent criminals. There is no treatment that can create a conscience when one is born without it.

Get help, the faster the better.

And if you possibly can, find someone trained by Dr. Robert Hare of Canada; he has developed a specialized type of therapy that will help child psychopaths (sociopaths) veer off the destructive path and have the best life the illness allows! Arguably, he is the ONLY one who knows how to train therapists to deal with sociopaths, and has a special type of therapy developed for children with this devastating mental illness.

See his BOOK, "Without Conscience," available at online bookshops, and you'll be able to understand much more.

I read that all three-year-olds would be considered psychopaths if assessed by adult standards, and this is developmentally normal because they don't know any better. I remember when I was that age myself, I honestly did not understand that actions had real consequences (apart from the consequences my parents chose to impose for reasons I didn't understand) and I could not wrap my brain around the concept that people had feelings. Kids need to be taught this stuff - and to actually be made to understand it, not just be told. I couldn't tell you how to do that though.

There are theories that some children can have an "attachment disorder" that puts them at risk for future sociopathy. If treated early enough and appropriately, however, the prognosis does not have to be negative.

NEW INFORMATION:

Can a child be a psychopath?

It was up until very recently believed that children cannot be diagnosed as psychopaths; the newest research, recently published, says that it starts in the womb. The condition is inborn and, so far, incurable. But neuroscience will almost certainly be able to develop some way of compensating for and even partially correcting this terrible condition with the use of computer chips and other artificial implants in the brain, and as well a certain type of specialized inpatient therapy geared to awakening as much as is possible in the person as soon as the condition is diagnosed.

One of the problems with anything wrong with one's central nervous system is that if it's severe and pervasive enough, it can interfere with the autonomic and peripheral nervous systems as well. In psychopaths, such maladies as what was once called neurasthenia (a state of unnatural sedation) or epilepsy (seizure disorders) are far more frequent than in the general population. Many people who are not psychopaths have some of the more than 100 forms of peripheral neuropathy, but some of these may be more common in psychopaths.

The autonomic nervous system, which prepares the body for emergencies (fight-or-flight) is erratic and inefficient in a psychopath, which can, in some situations, lead to fatal accidents; human beings have adrenaline for a reason, and the sympathetic nervous system of a true psychopath is sluggish and cannot sustain arousal for long. (In Borderline Personality Disorder, the problem is the opposite: the sympathetic nervous system responds too easily, too strongly, and way too often!)

Aside from this is the fact that a true psychopath has an extremely peculiar brainwave pattern: while awake, their brain waves most resemble a hybrid of normal waking brain waves and alpha-level sleep waves. And they often tend to sleep deeply.

Emotionally, they are cold, detached, distant, and yet deeply resentful of normal people. They know they're missing something, and often spend most of their typically short, tragic lives avenging themselves on others for what they cannot ever enjoy. So they are not truly emotionless, but they do not love, do not know true joy, and are hostile and destructive.

This ISN'T the work of the Devil; it's Nature gone horribly awry. ANYTHING THAT CAN DAMAGE THE DEVELOPING NERVOUS-SYSTEM IN A FETUS OR VERY YOUNG CHILD CAN CAUSE OR SEVERELY EXACERBATE THIS CONDITION.

THAT INCLUDES STREET DRUGS, ALCOHOL, and even SMOKING!!!

It also includes some medications; check with your obstetrician before taking anything at all during your pregnancy!

During delivery, using a forceps to grasp the baby's head should be avoided if at all possible. Any touching of the area over the FONTANEL (soft spot on top of the baby's head) must be done with caution until the fontanel has closed.

Any head injury that causes dizziness -- even without loss of consciousness -- should be treated as a medical emergency.

And another thing: NEVER SHAKE YOUR BABY!!! NO MATTER WHAT!

Sadism is when someone gains pleasure (especially sexual pleasure) from inflicting pain, from torturing others, or from observing the suffering of others.

If you like sadism, then you enjoy hurting people for pleasure.

His sadism led him to attack strangers on the street, just to witness their fear.

You have asked a complicated question and you should research both subjects online to gain a better understanding of each category. Here is a brief explanation to help get you started.

A sociopath is a person whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. Their brains are programmed incorrectly. Some researchers believe they have found the abnormality in a specific area of the brain that is associated with sociopathic behavior. Most, if not all, sociopaths are narcissistic. All narcissists are not sociopaths.

The criteria for a diagnosis of sociopath require an ongoing disregard for the rights of others since the age of 15. This disregard is manifested as: reckless disregard for the safety of themselves or others, failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors, deceitfulness such as repeated lying or deceit for personal profit or pleasure, and lack of remorse for actions that hurt other people in any way. The path of the sociopath is a straight line between themselves and what they want. They will lie, cheat, steal, hurt others and not feel a bit of remorse for any actions they take to accomplish their goal.

The following characteristics and behaviors are common:

• Glibness and superficial charm
• Manipulative
• Extreme narcissism
• Secretive
• Grandiose sense of self
• Authoritarian
• Paranoid
• Ultimate goal is to create a willing victim
• Incapable of real human attachment
• Pathological lying
• Lack of remorse, guilt or shame
• Shallow emotions
• Incapacity for love
• Lack of empathy
• Poor behavior controls
• Impulsive
• Early behavior problems
• Irresponsibility
• Unreliability
• Promiscuity/infidelity
• Parasitic lifestyle
• Lack of realistic life plan
• Criminal or entrepreneurial versatility

There are all kinds of degrees of narcissism that range from a person with normal, healthy self love to a person with narcissistic personality disorder, a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration, the belief that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings.

Extreme narcissists have a grandiose view of their own abilities, a lack of empathy for others, an acute need for praise and an inner rage that can erupt rapidly- especially when the grandiose self image is disputed, questioned or threatened by any real or imaginary assault from the outside.

Common behaviors and characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder may include but are not limited to the following:

• Believing that you're better than others
• Pathological lying
• Authority on everything
• Problems with interpersonal relationships- especially maintaining them for long
• Arrogance
• Excessive candor
• Lack of self awareness
• Defective social conscience
• Cannot tolerate offers of help or advice
• Expects indulgence from others
• Inability to recognize viewpoints of others or listen to others
• Flirtatious and seductive with strangers
• Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
• Exaggerating your achievements or talents
• Expecting constant praise and admiration
• Believing that you're special and acting accordingly
• Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings
• Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
• Taking advantage of others
• Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
• Being jealous of others
• Believing that others are jealous of you
• Setting unrealistic goals
• Being easily hurt and rejected
• Having a fragile self-esteem
• Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional

Many of the behaviors associated with sociopathy and narcissistic personality disorder overlap. A person with narcissistic personality disorder can easily cross over into a classification as a sociopath depending on the severity of their actions and behaviors.

You have asked a complicated question and you should research both subjects online to gain a better understanding of each category. Here is a brief explanation to help get you started.

A sociopath is a person whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. Their brains are programmed incorrectly. Some researchers believe they have found the abnormality in a specific area of the brain that is associated with sociopathic behavior. Most, if not all, sociopaths are narcissistic. All narcissists are not sociopaths.

The criteria for a diagnosis of sociopath require an ongoing disregard for the rights of others since the age of 15. This disregard is manifested as: reckless disregard for the safety of themselves or others, failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors, deceitfulness such as repeated lying or deceit for personal profit or pleasure, and lack of remorse for actions that hurt other people in any way. The path of the sociopath is a straight line between themselves and what they want. They will lie, cheat, steal, hurt others and not feel a bit of remorse for any actions they take to accomplish their goal.

The following characteristics and behaviors are common:

• Glibness and superficial charm
• Manipulative
• Extreme narcissism
• Secretive
• Grandiose sense of self
• Authoritarian
• Paranoid
• Ultimate goal is to create a willing victim
• Incapable of real human attachment
• Pathological lying
• Lack of remorse, guilt or shame
• Shallow emotions
• Incapacity for love
• Lack of empathy
• Poor behavior controls
• Impulsive
• Early behavior problems
• Irresponsibility
• Unreliability
• Promiscuity/infidelity
• Parasitic lifestyle
• Lack of realistic life plan
• Criminal or entrepreneurial versatility

There are all kinds of degrees of narcissism that range from a person with normal, healthy self love to a person with narcissistic personality disorder, a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration, the belief that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings.

Extreme narcissists have a grandiose view of their own abilities, a lack of empathy for others, an acute need for praise and an inner rage that can erupt rapidly- especially when the grandiose self image is disputed, questioned or threatened by any real or imaginary assault from the outside.

Common behaviors and characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder may include but are not limited to the following:

• Believing that you're better than others
• Pathological lying
• Authority on everything
• Problems with interpersonal relationships- especially maintaining them for long
• Arrogance
• Excessive candor
• Lack of self awareness
• Defective social conscience
• Cannot tolerate offers of help or advice
• Expects indulgence from others
• Inability to recognize viewpoints of others or listen to others
• Flirtatious and seductive with strangers
• Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
• Exaggerating your achievements or talents
• Expecting constant praise and admiration
• Believing that you're special and acting accordingly
• Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings
• Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
• Taking advantage of others
• Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
• Being jealous of others
• Believing that others are jealous of you
• Setting unrealistic goals
• Being easily hurt and rejected
• Having a fragile self-esteem
• Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional

Many of the behaviors associated with sociopathy and narcissistic personality disorder overlap. A person with narcissistic personality disorder can easily cross over into a classification as a sociopath depending on the severity of their actions and behaviors.

You have asked a complicated question and you should research both subjects online to gain a better understanding of each category. Here is a brief explanation to help get you started.

A sociopath is a person whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. Their brains are programmed incorrectly. Some researchers believe they have found the abnormality in a specific area of the brain that is associated with sociopathic behavior. Most, if not all, sociopaths are narcissistic. All narcissists are not sociopaths.

The criteria for a diagnosis of sociopath require an ongoing disregard for the rights of others since the age of 15. This disregard is manifested as: reckless disregard for the safety of themselves or others, failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors, deceitfulness such as repeated lying or deceit for personal profit or pleasure, and lack of remorse for actions that hurt other people in any way. The path of the sociopath is a straight line between themselves and what they want. They will lie, cheat, steal, hurt others and not feel a bit of remorse for any actions they take to accomplish their goal.

The following characteristics and behaviors are common:

• Glibness and superficial charm
• Manipulative
• Extreme narcissism
• Secretive
• Grandiose sense of self
• Authoritarian
• Paranoid
• Ultimate goal is to create a willing victim
• Incapable of real human attachment
• Pathological lying
• Lack of remorse, guilt or shame
• Shallow emotions
• Incapacity for love
• Lack of empathy
• Poor behavior controls
• Impulsive
• Early behavior problems
• Irresponsibility
• Unreliability
• Promiscuity/infidelity
• Parasitic lifestyle
• Lack of realistic life plan
• Criminal or entrepreneurial versatility

There are all kinds of degrees of narcissism that range from a person with normal, healthy self love to a person with narcissistic personality disorder, a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration, the belief that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings.

Extreme narcissists have a grandiose view of their own abilities, a lack of empathy for others, an acute need for praise and an inner rage that can erupt rapidly- especially when the grandiose self image is disputed, questioned or threatened by any real or imaginary assault from the outside.

Common behaviors and characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder may include but are not limited to the following:

• Believing that you're better than others
• Pathological lying
• Authority on everything
• Problems with interpersonal relationships- especially maintaining them for long
• Arrogance
• Excessive candor
• Lack of self awareness
• Defective social conscience
• Cannot tolerate offers of help or advice
• Expects indulgence from others
• Inability to recognize viewpoints of others or listen to others
• Flirtatious and seductive with strangers
• Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
• Exaggerating your achievements or talents
• Expecting constant praise and admiration
• Believing that you're special and acting accordingly
• Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings
• Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
• Taking advantage of others
• Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
• Being jealous of others
• Believing that others are jealous of you
• Setting unrealistic goals
• Being easily hurt and rejected
• Having a fragile self-esteem
• Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional

Many of the behaviors associated with sociopathy and narcissistic personality disorder overlap. A person with narcissistic personality disorder can easily cross over into a classification as a sociopath depending on the severity of their actions and behaviors.

You have asked a complicated question and you should research both subjects online to gain a better understanding of each category. Here is a brief explanation to help get you started.

A sociopath is a person whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. Their brains are programmed incorrectly. Some researchers believe they have found the abnormality in a specific area of the brain that is associated with sociopathic behavior. Most, if not all, sociopaths are narcissistic. All narcissists are not sociopaths.

The criteria for a diagnosis of sociopath require an ongoing disregard for the rights of others since the age of 15. This disregard is manifested as: reckless disregard for the safety of themselves or others, failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors, deceitfulness such as repeated lying or deceit for personal profit or pleasure, and lack of remorse for actions that hurt other people in any way. The path of the sociopath is a straight line between themselves and what they want. They will lie, cheat, steal, hurt others and not feel a bit of remorse for any actions they take to accomplish their goal.

The following characteristics and behaviors are common:

• Glibness and superficial charm
• Manipulative
• Extreme narcissism
• Secretive
• Grandiose sense of self
• Authoritarian
• Paranoid
• Ultimate goal is to create a willing victim
• Incapable of real human attachment
• Pathological lying
• Lack of remorse, guilt or shame
• Shallow emotions
• Incapacity for love
• Lack of empathy
• Poor behavior controls
• Impulsive
• Early behavior problems
• Irresponsibility
• Unreliability
• Promiscuity/infidelity
• Parasitic lifestyle
• Lack of realistic life plan
• Criminal or entrepreneurial versatility

There are all kinds of degrees of narcissism that range from a person with normal, healthy self love to a person with narcissistic personality disorder, a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration, the belief that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings.

Extreme narcissists have a grandiose view of their own abilities, a lack of empathy for others, an acute need for praise and an inner rage that can erupt rapidly- especially when the grandiose self image is disputed, questioned or threatened by any real or imaginary assault from the outside.

Common behaviors and characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder may include but are not limited to the following:

• Believing that you're better than others
• Pathological lying
• Authority on everything
• Problems with interpersonal relationships- especially maintaining them for long
• Arrogance
• Excessive candor
• Lack of self awareness
• Defective social conscience
• Cannot tolerate offers of help or advice
• Expects indulgence from others
• Inability to recognize viewpoints of others or listen to others
• Flirtatious and seductive with strangers
• Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
• Exaggerating your achievements or talents
• Expecting constant praise and admiration
• Believing that you're special and acting accordingly
• Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings
• Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
• Taking advantage of others
• Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
• Being jealous of others
• Believing that others are jealous of you
• Setting unrealistic goals
• Being easily hurt and rejected
• Having a fragile self-esteem
• Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional

Many of the behaviors associated with sociopathy and narcissistic personality disorder overlap. A person with narcissistic personality disorder can easily cross over into a classification as a sociopath depending on the severity of their actions and behaviors.

Anything is possible and I've seen stranger things occur. If the person is dedicated in other areas in their life, more than likely they can be helped. If they are fighters and think THEY are always right, won't listen to reason then don't expect any changes anytime soon. Look at this person and try to see their good qualities and if you see that they are good in other areas of their lives and you love this person, promise yourself 4 - 6 months with that person and if you don't see changes (aren't even made part of it with the psychiatrist/psychologist) then it's time to move on.

"Change" is inevitable in this world and it can either make things better or worse for all of us. The guilt of "change" being laid upon us if we let it, is always being afraid of "change" and not looking forward into the future. When we win through change we have won much, but when we lose through change we not only win, but learn great lessons to carry on the torch for better changes in the future, while learning lessons that strengthen our characters.

Good luckHave a good weekendMarcy

The relationship can survive IF he actually takes the steps to get help and maintain the treatment. This will not be easy on him but it's well worth it if it saves the relationship.

Mere promises, especially from a sociopath, mean next to nothing.

MORE INFORMATION:

Sociopaths are the way they are because, from birth onward, the brainof a sociopath stores learning information in a random, chaotic wayinstead of in the usual designated places in the cerebral cortex. Partof this involves lack of crucial neurotransmitters, but as of yet noone knows whether this lack is caused BY the brain abnormality or is the cause OF it. It's probably the former.

Since their information -- including emotional information -- isscattered all over both brain hemispheres, it takes too long for thebrain to retrieve and process information, and the entire process ofsocialization becomes so ponderous that ultimately it fails. (See thebook "Without Conscience" by Robert Hare, PhD.)

Since the entire cerebral cortex of a sociopath is almost never ata normal level of alertness (their waking brain waves resemble thewaves of a normal person in a light sleep, alpha waves), this may bethe crucial deficiency that cripples the developing child's ability todevelop many aspects of the human mind. As the child grows, some of thebasic mental and emotional skills the rest of the world takes so forgranted never develop, and crucial among these is the thing calledconscience. That one never develops at all.

Some people may envy the apparent calm of a sociopath, but theirexistence is misery. They cannot connect with other human beings, andas babies they are so uncomfortable being held that they fight towriggle free of all but the most basic necessary contact. Theirheartbroken parents often blame themselves or the child, never knowingthat what is really wrong with the child is in his or her brain.

Under the almost somnolent calm sociopaths project is a constantsense of restlessness and lack of fulfillment that is nothing other than thebasic need all people have to receive stimulation and support fromothers. But a sociopath has no way of receiving this even if it'soffered. The endless frustration of this, and a discomfort that theyare utterly incapable of articulating or even really understanding, is the source of much of their chronic anger and aggression.

Plus, since they grow up in constant conflict with authority, theyare most often bitterly angry and sometimes violent adults, brittle andcombatative under a thin veneer of charm. Offered friendship, theyappear to respond, but quickly discover that they can get nothing fromit; they see the obvious pleasure of other people in such contact witheach other, and they often seek to "even it up" by stealing what theycan -- material goods, or even human lives. They are constantly toldhow "bad" they are, and by adulthood, most of them believe it. Andbehave accordingly.

Sociopaths rarely feel true happiness. If they do, it is usually inthe condition that some kind of intervention -- such as one of thesmall number of medications made for other conditions that may alsohelp somewhat with theirs -- has taken place, and it will be fleeting.For all their frantic racing around, they are really very dead inside,and this is tragic beyond description. Imagine spending your entirelife trying to get your brain to wake up! And failing. Thousands oftimes.

There are stories of people diagnosed as sociopaths who did improveto some degree, with the most ceaseless and diligent help. But sincethe vast majority of this huge body of people (there are more thanthree hundred million sociopaths on Earth) cannot get that kind ofattention, they turn to abusing those they envy, and often to crime. Itis certainly vengeance: "If I can't have any of this, why should you?"This is the real reason sociopaths lash out at strong and kind people.No matter what they say, they know that inside, they are always emptyand damaged beyond repair.

Only in neuroscience is there hope for these incomplete people. Thekey lies in awakening the brain, which is risky because sociopaths aremuch more prone to seizures than the rest of the population, and that-- an uncontrolled blast of electrical discharge spreading through thebrain and causing violent convulsions -- is likely to be the firstresponse from brain pathways that, after years or even decades ofsilence, are suddenly flooded with impulses. But if the devices ofneurosurgeons can be tweaked to avoid this shock, and all else relatedto this idea is workable, it's feasible that small electronic devicesplanted in the brain (these already exist, but are not yet being usedfor mental illness) could open up a closed connection.

That leaves us with the problem of whether a lifetime of scatteredinformation can ever be set into order. Probably the best that could behoped for would be a kind of retraining -- like what is now done withstroke survivors and head injury patients -- that would be bothintensive and compensatory.

One of the things that would be necessary would be to try to socializethe person whose congenital birth defect made such a thing completelyimpossible before. Whatever intervention is used, be it drugs orcomputer chips or what have you, it would probably -- I'd say certainly-- be excruciating for the patient at first. With no knowledge of howto cope with the emotions the rest of the world has been dealing withall their lives, the recovering sociopath would be rendered asvulnerable as a baby. Which makes sense, because some of the most basicaspects of the human mind would be developing from the primordialstasis in which they had remained since birth!

A person thus treated would never be fully normal, but the humanbrain is amazing in the way it adapts and continues to develop allthrough life. And given the utterly joyless and meaningless existence asociopath leads, any improvement is better than none.

The matter of missing neurotransmitters in a sociopath is, ofcourse, another problem. Would "waking up" the cerebral cortexeventually stimulate production of these? Or would they have to besynthesized? Only time will tell.

In any case, the desire to get well on the part of the man in the question -- assuming it is genuine -- is a rare but gradually increasing trend: when there are actually concrete solutions, or at least (at this point) partial solutions, the miserable existences of sociopaths may be mitigated. It's hard to trust, but dying terribly young -- or living in isolation while everyone around him (or her) seems to be having a wonderful life (which of course not everyone is, but it may well seem that way to the sociopath) -- aren't the only options any more...and although very, very few sociopaths can see that right now, it's not unheard of, not impossible, and not going to be the only way out once neurologists and neurosurgeons figure out how exactly to wake up those sleeping segments of the brain of the true psychopath (sociopath).

It's not a matter of "if," but "when".

I'm kind of an agnostic, because it's hard for my kind to believe in the divine. But one thing I get: if the universe came into being from one singularity that exploded in the Big Bang, that impetus or power of motion, creation, and destruction -- and change, endless -- came from that first singularity -- which, in turn, HAD TO HAVE COME FROM SOMEPLACE!!! That means that everything that exists is vested with the power that is the momentum from the Big Bang. In some cases, it's this incomprehensible thing called life; the animus; the body with spirit, whatever that is. I surmise that this power that is in everything might be God. As to its purpose, I have no clue.

I was forced to choose for good, forced by my own life's circumstances, to decide whether I wanted to go on living knowing what things I could most likely never have (things almost everyone else has and may even take for granted, and cannot conceive of living without), or die by my own hand or by that of another, all because I could not accept life without what gifts I'd never known.

I had come to a point where I had recovered from a serious mental illness as much as I could, receiving the best help available to me, but knew that the chances of altering the massive damage done to my nervous system and brain were almost nonexistent. ALMOST.

But it isn't the hope of finding the impossible to be possible that kept me alive -- it was the realization that if I died now, I'd never get what I'd lost anyway, so what good would dying do? Plus I'd quite possibly never get anything else.

Even for a deeply religious person, which I admit I am not, or for a deeply moral person (which I have no choice to be, given the nature of my condition), suicide is not generally considered the 'moral' choice for dealing with personal loss; there have been exceptions throughout history, but these were mostly in religions which, unlike Christianity, believed in reincarnation, so that death was not accepted as a reality at all! But I do not believe in reincarnation, and even if I did, why would ending "this" life help me or anyone in the "next"?

So, I chose to live, because if I am to have any of what life offers, it follows that I must be alive to do it!That is true not only for me but for you and for everyone in the world.

Anything else -- miracles or more losses; surprises or disappointments; inspiration or heartbreak, or simply a sense of peace -- will have to follow on that first decision: to accept being alive, which is BEING. (To beis to exist is to live.)

As soon as you die, change as we know it stops. (The change which is the disintegration of the body without life is not, after all, something that is experienced by the one who has died, but, rather, by those he or she has left behind, who, like myself long ago as a very young child, are often severely traumatized by the witnessing of the death of another person, and must struggle with it for a long time.) Life is over. It exists only in a fixed and immovable strip of time. In the present and future, life of the one who has just died exists only in memory -- the memories held by those who live.

As long as we continue to live, we have no real way of knowing that life will remain unendurable. That means we have hope, if we can perceive it.

Remembering this is what helps prevent people from committing suicide -- or murder.

Life is worth everything.