Are You Dealing With A Psychopath?

Many times the term “psychopath” is used to describe someone in your life in an unsavory way or is how you describe your ex-husband as an insult. History has been full of psychopaths and some of our favorite movies as well as TV shows, depict the psychopath in all of their psychological and torture porn glory.

Psychologists have a loose description that most of them can agree on. In this description, psychopaths have an inability to feel either sympathy or empathy to those around them. This may have come about due to childhood or other life trauma, or they may have been born with just an inability for social connection on a deep level, although the former is believed to be more common than the latter.

Psychopathy is a unique personality disorder but may manifest in different ways for different individuals. It does not automatically result in someone behaving violently or being unable to function. It also does not make you a criminal or manipulative.

Psychopaths also lack the ability to feel guilt or remorse. While most people will have some kind of bad feeling when they reflect on a memory or situation where they behaved in an unsavory way . . . psychopaths just don’t. In fact, most of the time, they never think they did anything wrong (psychopaths are like the crackhead half sister of narcissists).

Exaggeration

No one in the world is better than them. Psychopaths view the world as them being the absolute best at everything and no one can compare. Psychopaths retain a very self centered view of the world. Psychopaths also believe that other people are also only looking out for themselves and that rules quite simply don’t apply to them. Psychopaths also are reticent to take responsibility for their actions towards those around them.

Chaotic

Psychopaths are impulsive and instinctive. They do whatever they feel whenever they feel like it. Like Yolo culture but WAY bigger. Psychopaths have a hard time controlling themselves, their emotional responses, and when they are angry . . . they just explode.

Insincere

A psychopath may say anything just to ingratiate themselves to other people. Also, a psychopath does not really have genuine emotion behind virtually anything they say. While a psychopath does indeed have feelings, they have a disconnect with the emotions of those around them. A psychopath may pretend to have feelings and say/do things that may make you believe that they have emotional attachment or connectedness to you but in reality, it is just another way for them to get what they want. Remember, a psychopath at the core, only cares about themselves. They prefer logic and reason over emotions.

Mooching

Psychopaths often latch on to those around them in order to live. They will even steal from you or co-opt your space. Psychopaths will waste resources, fail to contribute. Psychopaths also will not leave on their own accord, it will be up to you to cut them out before you end up in eviction or bankruptcy court.

High Tolerance For Bad Things

Psychopaths tend to have a higher tolerance for things that gross most of us out. Horrific images, pungent odors, while most of us try to look away or get rid of a gross odor, it really doesn’t bother the psychopath. They possess an ability to block out gruesome things like blood, guts, rotting garbage, etc. that the rest of us just don’t have.

This tolerance has been attributed to a lack of emotional investment and connectiveness to others which is why images of pain and suffering do not affect the psychopath the way it does an average person.

It’s All In The Face

Psychopaths have a tendency to focus on different areas of faces than other people do. While most people are looking for eye contact, a psychopath will more often than not, be looking at a person’s mouth. Psychologists have found that the reasoning behind this tendency is that a person’s mouth can still impart expression but without the connection of looking into someone’s eyes.

Cannot Detect Distress In Those Around Them

Basically, psychopaths cannot determine if someone is upset or just faking. They also cannot tell the difference between purely physical distress and emotional distress. Again this goes back to the psychopath’s lack of emotional connection to those around them and the ability to empathize with others. Therefore, psychopaths are very unwilling or unlikely to help others unless there is a way for the psychopath to benefit.

Final Thoughts:

While almost everyone has referred to someone as being “psycho” or a “psychopath” at some point, or maybe all of you have lead perfectly functional lives, these seven traits are a great indicator that someone in your life may very well be dealing with the psychological disorder known as psychopathy.