DEAR EPPY,
I have been reading your column for quite some time now. I think you are the person to ask about my concern. I hope you don’t mind if I don’t give the reason why I’m asking about this, but I would really appreciate an answer regarding this matter. Can you enlighten me about psychopaths? What are the symptoms?
PSYCHO SCARED
DEAR PSYCHO SCARED,
The term “psychopath†is quite confusing for most people. Some use this term to mean being “crazy.†But “psychopathy†is a personality disorder and, according to James Ogloff in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, it is considered to be the first personality disorder. Even clinicians confuse this as they use it interchangeably with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Although they share some features, these two are distinct from each other. Ogloff reports that psychopathy was also referred to in the past as: manie sans delire, moral insanity, moral imbecility, degenerate constitution, congenital delinquency, constitutional inferiority, psychopathic taint, and psychopathic personality.
Psychopathy is described in BMC Psychiatry by Lindberg, Laajasalo, Holi, Putkonen, Weizmann-Henelius, and Hakkanen-Nyholm as a condition that involves behavioral and interpersonal problems that result in the violation of social norms/expectations. A person with this condition is impulsive and is irresponsible. When one is interacting with this type, it is quite evident that they lack in empathy and guilt.
Researchers and clinicians refer to them as having “shallow emotion.†That is, they can just dismiss anyone and anything without thinking twice. It may seem that they may feel for you, but the feelings do not produce behavior that manifests deepness of feelings. For example, they can show you they like you. But you will be surprised that they can just dismiss you if you do something they didn’t like. You will feel like you were tissue paper that can be discarded after use. Relating with them is quite difficult as they are arrogant, cold, and dominating. It is best to be careful with these people as they are highly manipulative. They are short-tempered; therefore, one must be cautious as they can be aggressive and violent.
According to Lindberg, et.al., psychopathy is associated with sexual deviation. Specifically, they are sadistic and violent. As you can see, people with psychopathy seem to possess behaviors that are criminal in nature. Interestingly, victims of psychopaths are strangers. The incidence of victims among family members is not high.
When one reads up on antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy, one will have difficulty differentiating between the two. They sound alike, but clinicians and researchers say they are not. Aside from having all the characteristics of psychopathy, people with ASPD have more. People with ASPD would inflict psychological and physical harm. ASPD has a broader range of responses than psychopathy. ASPD is identified more with behavioral responses while psychopathy is identified by the personality characteristics. In prison, the percentage of people with antisocial personality disorder is much higher than people with psychopathy.
According to Ogloff, below are the characteristics of psychopaths and people with antisocial personality disorder.
People with psychopathy:
1. Superficial charm and good intelligence.
2. Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking.
3. Absence of “nervousness†or psychoneurotic manifestations.
4. Unreliability.
5. Untruthfulness and insincerity.
6. Lack of remorse or shame.
7. Inadequately motivated antisocial behavior.
8. Poor judgment and failure to learn from experience.
9. Pathological egocentricity and incapacity for love.
10. General poverty in major affective reactions.
11. Specific loss of insight.
12. Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations.
13. Fantastic and uninviting behavior, with drink and sometimes without.
14. Suicide rarely carried out.
15. Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated.
16. Failure to follow any life plan.
You wouldn’t want to relate with this person at all. If you fall in love with this person, you cannot expect any compassion or feelings for you. Having sex with this person is like having a conversation. It’s really nothing to them.
Characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder:
1. Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors, as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
2. Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure.
3. Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead.
4. Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults.
5. Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others.
6. Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations
7. Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
As you can see, the person with antisocial personality disorder is worse than the person with psychopathy. This is the reason why they are a lot in prison more than people with psychopathy. Violence is prevalent in the person with ASPD.
I hope you got what you needed. EPPY
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E-mail eppygochangco@gmail.com.
(Author’s note: In response to one of my readers, I am sharing this information with those of you who need support groups: Try e-mailing surrogathelfen@gmail.com. They provide sessions for people with addiction problems, families of people with personality disorder, battered wives, and many more.)