How to recognize and recover from everyday sociopaths - narcissists

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How to work with your brain to so you can feel better

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Dealing with sociopaths and the havoc they create crushes your sense of wellbeing, mood, self-esteem, confidence and happiness. In short, sociopaths make you miserable. Sometimes all you want is to feel better. Eric Barker wrote an article on BusinessInsider.com about how to feel happier. He summarized the work of multiple neuroscientists to come up with four steps you can take that will improve your outlook. They are: Ask "What am I grateful for?" Label negative emotions Make a decision Touch someone These aren't just "feel good" platitudes the suggestions are based on what affects your brain. Take these steps and you just might start to feel better. And that will enable you to deal with …

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Q&A with Jaqueline Kraft Bruno, Intuitive Life Coach and Reiki Master

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Lovefraud is pleased to introduce the newest member of the Lovefraud Professional Resources Guide, Jacqueline Kraft Bruno. Jacqueline is an Intuitive Life Coach, Reiki Master and survivor of narcissistic abuse.  What experience have you had dealing with sociopaths or other disordered personalities—personally, professionally, or both? Professionally, my experience includes working in substance abuse treatment. As a counselor, I worked with addicts and their families of all ages. I have worked in out patient and in-patient programs and as an Interventionist in private practice. Many of my co-workers were aware of the disordered people in their families prior to beginning their careers. I was a …

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LETTER TO LOVEFRAUD: Is he blind to the fact that he exploits and manipulates?

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Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following email from a reader whom we'll call "Clara." My ex friend, after lying, abusing, manipulating everyone has now found himself in a whirlwind of trouble. Owes everyone in town, credit card issues, issues with every law agency known to man, IRS, trouble with his two previous ex wives, etc. Is now going around saying to everyone what goes around comes around, everyone is out to get him, he can't win or get ahead, no one has any sympathy or empathy for him. He "tries" to be a decent caring guy. Except he fails to mention he pathologically lied to everyone, stole money from people, was sleeping with other guys' wives, carrying on with single women …

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How to know if you were raised by a narcissist, and what to do about it

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You feel like a doormat, you are competitive with siblings, you have no sense of yourself. Worse yet, you can't figure out why you feel the way you do. An insightful article on Huffington Post, written by Anna Almendrala, suggests that your problem may not have originated with you, but with your parents. Maybe your parents were narcissists. The article describes six ways you may feel or behave now, why your emotions or behaviors may be the result of a narcissistic parent, and how you can recover. 6 Signs you were raised by a narcissist, on Huffingtonpost.com. Story suggested by a Lovefraud reader.       …

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He knew her for 20 years, but didn’t know she was a lying, cheating sociopath

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  Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following email from a reader whom we'll call "Jesse." I'm so saddened by the events from the past 5 months it pains me to relive them. I'm just trying to move on. I saw someone I know but really wasn't close to her. We saw each other a few times in the past 20 years, just a hello she was always smiling and happy, shy. My close friends knew her also but not close either. So we went out one afternoon to catch up on our lives since we knew each other. Funny looking back how our lives were exactly the same, or so I was being "mirrored" well. Quickly we were in Love. She was living at her parents, sleeping on the couch. No real job. So I moved her in, …

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What I, as a Highly Sensitive Person, learned the hard way about sociopaths

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  Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following email froma reader who posts as "emotionallyraped." She previously wrote the blog post "Highly Sensitive People are perfect targets for sociopaths." Obviously, anyone with a conscience is a potential victim for the sociopath. Among people with a conscience, I would say a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) would be the easiest to detect, right? So, if HSP's are more easily spotted among the population with conscience, then would you agree that HSP's are likely a sociopath's most common target? Assuming you agree, would it not make sense that socios would be experts at feigning the emotions and actions of Highly Sensitive …

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My sociopath husband embezzled $400,000 from me, and it was legal

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  Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following story from a reader whom we'll call "Miriam." I met a con man in 2002 on Match.com while I was living and teaching school in Germany. We were married one year later in Germany and moved three times during the marriage. He lied to me every day for seven years. Because of the fraud, I lost my retirement house, much of the furniture and furnishings I had collected over 20 years, my car, my life savings, and seven years of my teaching salary. My husband only worked part time for nine months, but was managing all of our money. He made promises to me that were all broken. He had opportunities to work but always told employers "we don't need …

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Checklist: Is your partner a sociopath?

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  Almost every day, I receive email from people who have discovered Lovefraud and have a burning question to ask me: "Am I involved with a sociopath?" I've heard this question so many times that I've finally created a quick and easy way to help answer it Lovefraud's "Is your partner a sociopath?" checklist. The 29 items on the checklist are drawn from the Lovefraud Romantic Partner Survey, which was completed by more than 1,300 respondents in 2012. It identifies the behaviors that people who were in relationships with sociopaths experienced and witnessed, time and time again. These are the same behaviors I continue to hear about from hundreds of readers. So if you are wondering …

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Silly science: Researchers say liking bitter foods is linked to antisocial personality traits

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Every day, my breakfast is topped with curry powder, which contains turmeric, which is bitter. I must have my coffee in the morning. For lunch I usually eat a salad containing arugula and radishes. I love using fresh herbs from my garden, such as parsley, basil and cilantro. And I'd love to eat dark chocolate every day, but I resist that. All of the foods I mentioned are bitter, so I must be a sociopath. Researchers from the University of Innsbruck in Austria say that they've found an association between people who say they like bitter foods and antisocial personality traits. According to reports on Science Direct and Medical Daily, almost 1,000 people all Americans were handed long lists …

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7 reasons loving a cheater can be a gift

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Realizing that you're involved with a sociopath is heartbreaking, devastating, earth-shattering. But, as bad as it is, good can come out of the experience. You can gain a better understanding of the world and the people in it. You can gain a better understanding of yourself. And, if you commit yourself to recovery, you can come out the other side healthier than ever, with an opportunity for true happiness. I've written about this quite a bit here on Lovefraud. In my second of two articles for YourTango, I've expressed this view to a wider audience. You can read it by clicking the link below. 7 reasons loving a cheater is the best gift you'll ever give yourself, on YourTango.com. BTW I …

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