"Bishop" Anthony Owens, one of the original Lovefraud case studies, was back in the news last week. Perhaps you remember Bishop Owens. He married eight women, and divorced none of them. His last wife found out about his multiple marriages and turned him into the police. Owens was convicted of one count of bigamy and spent 17 months in prison. He was paroled in November 2005. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Owens is back in jail because he violated his probation. He left the state of Georgia to re-establish his traveling ministry. And while he was traveling, he was proposing to more women. The newspaper reported that at least four women claim Owens has proposed to them …
Exercise to treat depression and anxiety
The trauma that a sociopath inflicts on those who love him/her can be exceptionally difficult to overcome. In the wake of a relationship with a sociopath, former partners can suffer with clinical depression, generalized anxiety, PTSD and panic disorder. All of these conditions are said to respond to SSRI antidepressants like Prozac and to psychotherapy. However, many people have written to Lovefraud.com lamenting that antidepressants and psychotherapy have not been particularly effective for them. The one good thing about a crisis is that it can be an opportunity to make major life change. I am a firm believer that it is possible to come out of a crisis better and stronger. I am also …
I am Blessed. A Victor’s Story — Four years after the sociopath
On Monday, May 21, 2003 at 9:14 am, a miracle drove up in a blue and white police cruiser and set me free. I was in hiding with the sociopath who was trying to escape Canada into the States where he said he had money hidden. I didn't really believe him but I didn't care what happened to me. By that point in our 4 year 9 months relationship, I had completely given up on me and given into him. It was only a matter of time before he killed me as I had become an albatross holding him back from getting out of the country - at least that's what he kept telling me. I know he wanted me to take my own life, but why bother? I was already the walking, breathing dead. What difference would it make if I …
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Optical illusions: autostereograms and sociopaths
Editor's note: The following essay was contributed to Lovefraud by Kenneth Royce at www.javelinpress.com. Ken discovered that a "friend" was a pathological liar, serial thief and con artist. "Though he made off with over $10,000 of my property in a very complicated scam," Ken says, "it's had the ironic benefit of outing him for the sociopath he is, and thus warning many other unsuspecting people." Autostereograms produce an illusion of depth using only a single image. The image is usually generated by computer, by repeating a narrow pattern from left to right. By decoupling eye convergence from focusing operations, a viewer is able to trick the brain into seeing a 3D scene. How to see …
New hope for the children of sociopaths
Those who have read Just Like His Father? know that sociopathy is a disorder with a strong genetic basis. Science has further established a genetic link between sociopathy, addiction and ADHD. The children of sociopaths, therefore, carry genetic risk for sociopathy, addiction and ADHD. If a genetically at-risk child receives special nurturing during the developmental years, prior to puberty, he/she has the greatest chance to grow up free of these disorders. To attach real numbers to the problem of sociopathic parents and their children, consider that 25% of U.S. women are victims of domestic violence. Studies of male perpetrators of domestic violence reveal that 50% are sociopaths and …
The psychopath and our own self-image
"His online personal ad shows him as a clean-cut, athletic man with a friendly face, a sense of humor and a love for the outdoors. Many women would consider him a serious prospect, based on his ad. The problem is, Mike Andes is a convicted murderer ”¦" A reader recently sent Lovefraud this news story about Prison Personals, produced by KATU in Portland, Oregon. It turns out that thousands of convicts are looking for love online. Prisoners generally do not have access to the Internet. But apparently friends and family members can provide information to websites such as WriteAPrisoner.com, which then posts ads. Anyone who wants to respond to an ad—offering a gesture of friendship to some …
ASK DR. LEEDOM: What is the difference between a narcissist and a sociopath?
The first question victims of love fraud ask concerns themselves and is generally something like, “Why is this so hard for me mentally?” The second question concerns the perpetrator, “What is wrong with him/her?” Many seek answers to these questions on the internet and in the popular psychology literature. A person looking for answers in these sources is just as likely to read about narcissism as he/she is to read about sociopathy. Thus the confusion between narcissism and sociopathy begins. When trying to understand the difference (if any) between narcissists and sociopaths, it is important to understand why we have psychiatric diagnoses in the first place. We have diagnostic categories bec …
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Finding grace in the healing journey
On Monday I had lunch with a friend from my past. In our early twenties we worked together. Just the two of us at first in an office that eventually grew to +20 people. For my friend, Leslie* and for me, this was an exciting, and a stressful time. We both grew up in similar circumstances where alcohol played an enormous role in our formative years. We both had older siblings and we both had dreams we were too afraid to speak. My friend Leslie was the first woman I knew who married an abuser. I remember at the time I didn't go to her wedding because I could not in good conscience wish her well -- I knew the things he did to her before they married. Why would she marry him, I …
Con artist swindles 132 women, taking $320,241
Lovefraud has just posted a new case study about Patrick M. Giblin of New Jersey. This guy swindled 132 women, whom he met through telephone dating services, out of $320,241—and those are just the crimes that the authorities know about. Giblin blew the money on casino gambling. Giblin's sentencing took place in the federal courthouse in Camden, New Jersey, on April 17, 2006. Giblin told the court his version of "the devil made me do it" story—that he took all that money from all those women because he was addicted to gambling. Giblin's apology Oh, he put on quite a show, reading a letter of apology to his victims. Here it is: I am a greedy idiot who was concerned about one thing only, HIM …
ASK DR. LEEDOM: FAQ #1 “Why is this so hard for us mentally?”
The question victims of sociopaths most frequently ask is, “Why am I having such a hard time getting beyond this?” I am going to give an answer, but I'm afraid that since the answer is intellectual and not emotional, it may not feel complete or satisfactory. This is how a reader phrased this question: It's interesting because it seems like a lot of members on the board (myself included) have mentioned how difficult it is to get rid of thoughts of their sociopath. They seem to haunt us even after they have left our lives. As if the damage and destruction was not enough, they continue to be a part of our lives through our minds. We have to acknowledge that this question is not only asked by v …
ASK DR. LEEDOM: FAQ #1 “Why is this so hard for us mentally?”Read More