The Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy says "a constellation of traits” defines the psychopath. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) measures 20 personality traits and behaviors to determine a person's level of psychopathy. But some common ideas about psychopaths are wrong, says Dean A. Haycock, author of Murderous Minds: Exploring the Criminal Psychopathic Brain: Neurological Imaging and the Manifestation of Evil. He suggests six common misconceptions about psychopaths, the first being that all psychopaths are insane. Because psychopaths know the difference between right and wrong, legally, they are not insane. The other five misconceptions are that all mass …
Beware The Female Sociopath
Twenty years ago, a newspaper unknowingly helped conceal a sociopath's secrets by painting the woman as a loving maternal figure. In an interview granted by the publication, she described her "heartbreak" over lack of adequate benefits for her mentally handicapped son. Attached to the article is a photo of the frail looking woman, packing a lunch for him as he looks on in the background. Frustrated with the state's deficient programs, she is quoted as having "cried many, many tears" because there were such limited opportunities for her son. Little did the interviewer know it was all a ruse to cover the truth: this same mother mentally, verbally and physically abused her son, gaslighted him, …
The Sociopath Creates a Dream
If you've been romanced by a sociopath, you know how remarkable it can be. In the first moments—the courting phase. In the time when you felt more desirable and more perfectly matched than ever before in your life. The time you fell in love. I wrote about my own sociopathic romance in The Other Side of Charm. And it was really hard for me after fifteen years of bad to go back to the good. It was more than hard. I cried a lot while writing about my early days with my ex, holing myself up in my house during any spare moment to write and to cry into the loneliness. And even though I've written it all out by now, I still cry if I talk about it. If someone asks what it was like. I cry b …
Mary Ann Glynn, LCSW: Remorse Revisited
By Mary Ann Glynn, LCSW, located in Bernardsville, New Jersey Partners in our support group are often confused by the fact that after a verbal outburst, physical abuse, or once the ruse is up, sociopaths may seem remorseful. They might see the consequence of their actions, may even cry and be emotional, or apologetic. There might be efforts to change by more responsive or caring behaviors. If the relationship gets pushed to the breaking point, they may engage in therapy. Most partners' experience the sociopath in therapy as completely blaming everything on them and/or trying to control the therapy sessions. But, some had a different, more perplexing experience. Their experience was that the …
Katherine Underwood, in disguise, pursues her ex, Budimir Drakulic, who owes her $1.6 million
Twenty years ago, Katherine Underwood, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, started dating Budimir Drakulic, who claimed he was a professor at UCLA. Eight months later, he asked her for money and kept asking until he took everything she had. Underwood sued and won a judgment. Because she couldn't afford a private investigator, she put on disguises and followed Drakulic herself. Donna Andersen just wrote the story for MailOnline.com. I'm not done wig you! The many disguises woman wore to spy on ex-lover who owes her $1.6 m after 20 years …
Two men guilty of killing their young children out of anger towards the mothers
Jeremy Brent Cramer, 38, of Lacey, Washington had a confrontation with his wife, Nataliya. She wanted him to clean up his act. Cramer took their almost 4-year-old son, Broderick, and left. He drove until he ran out of gas in Montana. Then he took the child, smashed his head with a rock, slashed his throat and dismembered the body. On April 4, 2014 Cramer was sentenced to life without parole. Washington man gets life in prison in son's death, on News.Yahoo.com. In New Jersey, Arthur Morgan III was angry with Amani Benton for breaking off their engagement. So he took their daughter, 2-year-old Tierra Morgan-Glover, strapped her into her car seat, weighed it down with a tire iron, and …
Two men guilty of killing their young children out of anger towards the mothersRead More
What NOT to do when you realize you’re involved with a sociopath
You've been living in insanity. Your partner seems to randomly lash out or give you the silent treatment, and then says you're to blame. Your finances are in shambles, and you're to blame for that too even if you're the only one working. You are positive that this person is cheating on you, but he or she insists you are paranoid and delusional. Or, in a variation on a theme, you are living with the distinct feeling that something is amiss, although you can't quite figure out what it is. You Google terms like "emotional abuse" or "signs of cheating" or "love and deceit." Eventually you end up on Lovefraud. Suddenly, everything makes sense. The articles describe what you're experiencing. …
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LETTER TOLOVEFRAUD: I saw her true self when we were alone; she put on a show for others
Editor's Note: This letter to Lovefraud was submitted by Lovefraud reader “Pricer," about his wife. Donna, I would first like to thank you for your efforts in helping others like us cope with the aftermath of a relationship with a sociopath. I also express my condolences for you and everyone else who has suffered at the hands of such a person. I, like yourself, never knew what a sociopath even was until my divorce and I got online searching for answers. My search led me to your site and others and I want to let you know that what you are doing here is not only a good thing but the right thing as well. I am a member on your site and just like everyone else, my story is much too long f …
LETTER TOLOVEFRAUD: I saw her true self when we were alone; she put on a show for othersRead More
When The Boogeyman Is Real – Seeing Sociopaths Through A Child’s Eyes
You are home alone. In bed. In the dark. Suddenly there is a loud thud. It came from inside the house. What was that? You are trying to fall asleep, but your nerves won't let you. Laying on your back staring at the ceiling, you clutch the blanket around your neck. You are careful not to move. What if there is someone - or something - in the house? Did you lock the doors? Are you sure? You strain your ears to listen. The little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Goosebumps cover your arms. Your heart is pounding. You hold your breath. You are so frightened that tears well up in your eyes, but you don't dare cry. Audibly crying might attract the attention of......it. That fear was …
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Prologue of a Sociopath
The following piece considers our rampant professional failure to not only identify sociopaths but also to know how to label and talk about them if they are identified. It is an excerpt from The Other Side of Charm, which is by me, H.G. Beverly. Here it is: I'm going to start you off by talking about psychopaths. Why not? I can't think of a better way to start off a story about how a charming, apparently caring man can maintain a sparkling smile as he devastates you. Maybe you'll recognize some of these tendencies in people you know. Maybe you'll be surprised. So let's talk about it. Psychopath. Sociopath. Antisocial Personality Disorder. The labels are muddled and confusing because th …