How to recognize and recover from everyday sociopaths - narcissists

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Mary Ann Glynn: Book Review of ‘The Psychopath Inside’

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The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain — by James Fallon Review by Mary Ann Glynn I first came across James Fallon's research on a show about psychopathy and the brain on the Science Channel. I was fascinated by what he found out by mistake about his own brain, which has added an interesting and significant spin to the discussion of nature and nurture in psychopathy. For thirty-five years James Fallon has been a neuroscientist educator and researcher, and has engineered major breakthroughs in stem cell research. His research lab led to the creation of three biotech companies, one of which won a national award from peers. His main areas of s …

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Mark Manson reveals why ‘Love is Not Enough’

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Mark Manson is an author and entrepreneur who posts on his website hundreds of articles about psychology and modern culture. ”˜Love is Not Enough' is a straightforward look at love through Mark Manson's eyes. Manson compares John Lennon's notion that “all you need is love” with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor's idea that “love is not enough.” Manson sides with Reznor and warns that there are three harsh truths about love: love does not equal compatibility, love does not solve your relationship problems, and love is not always worth sacrificing yourself. Manson summarizes that love is a wonderful experience. It's one of the greatest experiences life has to offer. And it is something ever …

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Blame the victim, again

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Editor's Note: This SPATH tale was submitted by the Lovefraud reader who goes by the name “Sisyphus Unchained.” He was handsome; he was charming; he had an incredible zest for life.  But more importantly he was manipulative, deceitful and dangerous. In 2007 I met a man with whom I thought I shared interests: educational/community development projects in Southern Africa. He portrayed himself as the founder of a South African-based charitable project focused on the needs of orphaned/disadvantaged youths in the townships of Johannesburg (which much later, once I investigated further, all turned out to be non-existent). Over the course of the next four years he skillfully interspersed his r …

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Fraudulent love syndicate in Malaysia pulls in $68,955

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Five Nigerian students between the ages of 25 and 34, attending a private college in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, plus another girl local to Sungai Buloh, were arrested for operating a fraudulent dating syndicate on Facebook for the past six months. The suspects formed relationships with the victims and then requested that the victims transfer money into the suspects' accounts. So far, the syndicate has collected a total of RM 223,000 (US$68,955). Local Girl Involved In FB Love Fraud, from Malaysian Digetst.com …

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Ray Rice, the NFL, and domestic violence

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[youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/VbwTMJroTbI] I would like to thank the unidentified employee of the now-closed Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, who leaked the video of the NFL player Ray Rice punching his fiancée in the head, knocking her unconscious. The employee likely sold the video to TMZ for thousands of dollars. In my opinion, it was worth every penny he or she received, because now the public's attention is focused on the issue of domestic violence. It's about time. In the U.S., 20 people per minute are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in three women, and one in 14 men, have e …

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Why I wrote, ‘Entangled’

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By Natalie Monroe Divorced after thirty years and unsure about my future, my confidence level was at an all-time low. Alone for the first time in my life and living in Florida, I felt isolated, but too scared to get back into the dating scene. Luckily, I didn't have to. Only three months on my own, an old classmate through the high school website contacted me. I remembered him right away. “Daniel Weaver” (not his real name) one of the popular boys and someone who never had an interest in me. Taking a chance, I agreed to meet him in New York, on my next trip home. Good-looking and charming, he said all the right words to make me fall for him. Intent on overcoming the difficulties of a long dis …

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The critical thinking skills and instincts he tried to erode ended up saving my life

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Editor's note: This story is from a Lovefraud reader whom we'll call "Eve2014." I have what is known as Narcissistic Victim Syndrome, and have suffered from it since I was narcissistically abused* by my father, who was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. I have been diligently and continuously working on myself in therapy for many years, with a slew of diagnoses that are all incorrect. It is only because of my involvement with a psychoanalytic therapist who behaved like a sociopath,** that I have reached the depths of emotional devastation and worked like a demon to solve the mystery. I cannot say whether Dr. X is a sociopath, psychopath, or narcissist, as I am not …

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Lovefraud Female Sociopath Survey – please share what you know

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Do you know a woman or girl who you believe may have sociopathic traits? If you do, tell Lovefraud about her. Most experts believe that there are more male sociopaths than female. In fact, experts estimate that there are three times as many disordered males as females. Research about sociopaths is generally done with males. Not much is known about disordered women. So I'd like to gather data about female sociopaths for a new book that explains what they are really like. I'm looking for input from Lovefraud readers who have been involved with female sociopaths in any of the following capacities: Spouse or ex-spouse Romantic partner She is your mother She is your stepmother She is …

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LETTER TO LOVEFRAUD: Sociopathic wife determines what husband is ‘allowed’ to do

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 Editor's Note: This letter to Lovefraud was submitted by a Lovefraud reader whom we'll call “Friend's Keeper.” I am writing this about a friend who I am trying to help who is clearly involved with a sociopath. My friend is a male, married to a sociopathic woman. Her acts and behavior are really unbelievable unless you see for yourself. What he's ”˜allowed' She takes his entire paychecks (salary plus state pension totaling $14,000/mo), and puts him on a $100/mo allowance, which he gets only if he's good, while she takes the rest. She convinces him it's all for him. He's only allowed out of the house to go to work, and she times him on when he gets home. He's not allowed out on the even …

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Research shows smart, psychopathic business managers may be able to conceal their disorder

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When Carolyn Bates was an undergraduate attending the University of Hudddersfield in England, her final-year project for her psychology degree turned out to be groundbreaking research into the links between psychopathy and intelligence. According to Science Daily, Bates said that she was intrigued by research that showed while one percent of the population were categorized as psychopaths, the figure rose to three percent in the case of business managers. “I thought that intelligence could be an explanation for this, and it could be a problem if there are increased numbers of psychopaths at a high level in business,” she said. After administering a number of tests to 50 participants, Bate …

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