Are You a Sociopath?

[~TheBigK~]

Hey, maybe we can get our exes together and they can kill each other with crazy.

Haha, interestingly enough I can apply almost all of them to my ex as well. Looks like our exes on this forum are just winners.

Anywho, these are the only ones that apply to me so I don't think I need to worry too much.

•Need for Stimulation

•Secretive

•Paranoid

[scepticalbeliever]

Here is a list of ways to identify a sociopath. This list is from "Profile of a Sociopath". Is is a pretty good list of sociopathic indicators.

•Glibness/Superficial Charm

•Manipulative and Conning

•Grandiose Sense of Self

•Pathological Lying

•Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt

•Shallow Emotions

•Incapacity for Love

•Need for Stimulation

•Callousness/Lack of Empathy

•Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature

•Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency

•Irresponsibility/Unreliability

•Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity

•Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle

•Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility

•Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them

•Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them

•Authoritarian

•Secretive

•Paranoid

•Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired

•Conventional appearance

•Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)

•Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim's life

•Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim's affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)

•Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim

•Incapable of real human attachment to another

•Unable to feel remorse or guilt

•Narcissism, grandiosity (self-importance not based on achievements)

•May state readily that their goal is to rule the world

(Obviously, in order to be a sociopath a person doesn't have to exhibit anything like all the above. Usually, the lack of a conscience, the manipulation of others, dishonesty and the inability to love and/or have lasting and profound personal relations and cruelty are key symptoms and often much more revealing than having been in trouble with the courts).

The article can be found here: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_know_if_someone_is_a_sociopath

Well, crap, looks like it's time for therapy.

Oh totally. LOL

[Kazahel]

•Glibness/Superficial Charm

•Manipulative and Conning

•Grandiose Sense of Self

•Pathological Lying

•Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt

•Shallow Emotions

•Incapacity for Love

•Need for Stimulation

•Callousness/Lack of Empathy

•Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature

•Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency

•Irresponsibility/Unreliability

•Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity

•Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle

•Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility

•Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them

•Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them

•Authoritarian

•Secretive

•Paranoid

•Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired

•Conventional appearance

•Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)

•Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim's life

•Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim's affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)

•Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim

•Incapable of real human attachment to another

•Unable to feel remorse or guilt

•Narcissism, grandiosity (self-importance not based on achievements)

•May state readily that their goal is to rule the world

I think I can answer no to that whole list. I think I might appear to be secretive though but really I am not. And I might be slightly paranoid of others but I think I have good reason to be.

So I think I am the pretty much the opposite to a sociopath.

Which makes me wonder what is the opposite of a sociopath?

[Jessicat]

Scary to think that most people have some of those problems sociopath or not.

Errr..

[Makazradon]

I dunno, I feel like it's way more complex than absolutes of 'normal', 'sociopath' or 'psychopath' with a checklist. As others have mentioned, there are people who are relatively normal who exhibit some of those attributes. Not to mention, there are varying degrees of anti-social personality disorders. Some are minor (Asperger syndrome) some are extreme (sociopath).

Wow, I was about to say that list describes alot of people! Especially obama!

Well, I'm going to assume that you know him personally, because only someone who knows a person can make that grand of a judgment about them.

Either that, or you're a conservative who judges opposing positions harshly without any logical basis..... nah. No way, that's a long shot.

Edited January 22, 2011 by Makazradon

[Agent X]

I have some of those traits, so I must be.

But I blame it on normal people. If it weren't for them I wouldn't be the man I must be today.

Thank you normal people.

[mattryan209]

About the only thing I notice on the list about myself is that I can be very irresponsible and unreliable.Everything else I am exactly the opposite.For my age I can be unfortunately incredibly irresponsible and unreliable at times god knows I try but my head isn't always screwed on tight.I guess its related to ADD because I am very unorganized and forgetful

I wish I would have noticed that list earlier though because I had 2 recent friends who had just about all of those traits.I dropped both of them only after at least 3 years of believing their b.s. because I finally realized that I was beginning to act just like them and it really screwed up things in my life at the time.These sociopaths are so charming and seemingly sincere that they are very good at the art of lying and manipulating.They are more like wolfs in sheeps clothing and are highly toxic people in general.When things are going good for you they try especially hard to find ways to ruin it for you and when things go horrible for you they try to rub it in.They won't make it easy for you to end your friendship either.They are very good at guilt trips and will try to make it look like your the bad person.

Sorry for the rant, hopefully someone will see some of what being friends with a sociopath is like.If your deeply religious,an empathetic person,lonely, or have a low self esteem watch out because those are the exact type of people they target.

Edited January 24, 2011 by mattryan209

[mindflash]

This kind of diagnostic may as well be invented by sociopaths. If you look closely, everyone is a bit "insane". Every trace of "psychological disorder" may be found in most of the normal people. What makes someone sick or not is his unability to live well with others, as well as the intensity of his traces.

It's very important that we understand that no one (even psychologists and psychiatrists) is a psychological policemen. No one has the right to judge sanity or insanity in regular people. We should only diagnose people that can't help themselves or are incapable of living in society. It's a way to help people and protect others, not to rule people behavior, thoughts and feelings.

Nobody should feel ashamed of their own incapabilities, there are no perfectly sane people, the ones that want to look like one are more probable of being the sociopaths and psychopaths we are so afraid of.

[hecate]

That list should be a pre-requisite for entry into law school. Just sayin'.