How to recognize and recover from everyday sociopaths - narcissists

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Signs of a sociopath in Houston murder of 2 adults, 6 kids

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On Saturday, David Conley of Houston broke into the home of his former partner, Valerie Jackson, with whom he shared a child. He handcuffed and shot Jackson, Dewayne Jackson, identified as her husband, and six children, including his own son. Conley told investigators that he broke in and killed eight people because Valerie Jackson had changed the locks on the doors. In my opinion, this tragic story is an example of a romantic involvement with a violent sociopath. Earl Yanske, Valerie Jackson's brother, said that Conley struggled with bipolar disorder. "He'd be in a very happy mood one moment, then the next moment go off," Yanske said, according to Chron.com. "He was always very …

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Japanese judge calls adultery a ‘business arrangement’ that doesn’t harm a marriage

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So the Japanese CEO of a company has a sexual relationship with the owner of a Tokyo hostess club. His wife sues for damages, claiming that he committed adultery. The judge rules that it was not an extramarital affair, because, according to The Guardian, "his relationship was a purely commercial arrangement that had not harmed their marriage." Japan's legal sector was shocked by the ruling. Japanese court endorses adultery for business purposes, experts say, on TheGuardian.com.   …

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A “psychopath gene”?

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Psychopathy is highly genetic people can be born with a predisposition for the disorder to develop. Scientists have identified a gene that's linked to increased risk of violent or aggressive behavior. It's the MAOA gene also known as the "warrior gene." This doesn't mean that this gene causes psychopathy the disorder develops due to a complex interaction of heredity and life experiences. But this may be a piece in understanding the psychopathy puzzle. A single gene has been linked with being a psychopath and it's very controversial, on Finance.Yahoo.com. …

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Why you weren’t thinking clearly when you fell for the sociopath

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Romantic love really does wreak havoc on your brain chemistry. In fact, love has pretty much the same effect on your brain as cocaine. Berit Brogaard has written a book called On Romantic Love: Simple Truths about a Complex Emotion. Brogaard writes: When you fall in love with someone, norepinephrine fills you with raucous energy, serotonin boosts your self-confidence, and dopamine generates a feeling of pleasure. New love is a kind of love addiction but not yet a kind of pathological love addiction. In falling in love, however, the brain is on crack—a dangerous state of mind. An excerpt from the book was published on Salon.com. It explains, in detail, how parts of the brain are affected by t …

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Q&A with Tiffany Kettermann, an expert in narcissistic abuse

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What experience have you had dealing with sociopaths or other disordered personalities—personally, professionally, or both? I am a counselor in Portland, Oregon with both personal and professional experience in healing from personality disordered and exploitative relationships. Having had my own experience with toxic relationships and healing, I am able to provide empathy, support and insight for survivors in ways that many therapists cannot. I have worked with domestic violence survivors and on community crisis teams to help survivors of trauma and abuse, and I train other professionals in understanding and supporting survivor experiences. I currently offer a women's open support g …

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My new heroes: Ashley Madison cheating site hackers

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AshleyMadison.com, a dating website for married cheaters, has been hacked. The website's slogan is, “Life is short. Have an affair.” Now, the personal details of 37 million members, including nude photos and sexual fantasies, have been compromised. This is a moral dilemma for me. Of course, hacking a website is criminal. But as far as I'm concerned, all of those cheaters are getting what they deserve. The hackers, a person or group calling itself the “Impact Team,” has demanded that the website owner, a company called Avid Life Media, take down Ashley Madison (AM), and another hookup site that it owns called Established Men (EM) and Cougar Life. Here's the statement from the Impact Team: …

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FBI asks for help in finding 240 teen sextortion victims of Lucas Michael Chansler

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[youtube_sc url="https://youtu.be/ixAYkkub4Pw"] Lucas Michael Chansler threatened and blackmailed 350 teenaged girls into sending them explicit images of themselves, eventually collecting 80,000 images and videos of child pornography. Chansler, 31, of Julington Creek, Florida, pretended to be a 15-year-old skateboarding boy when the contacted the girls. He is now serving 105 years in a federal prison for his crimes. But many of his victims remain unidentified. So the FBI is asking the public's help in identifying additional victims. His screen names included "HELLOthere" and "goodlookingguy313." If you have information that may help identify victims of Lucas Chansler or believe you may have b …

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BOOK REVIEW: The Inner World of the Psychopath

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As you read the list of key symptoms of a psychopath, you feel like you've been punched in the gut. Check, check, check the individual who has been making you crazy has all, or almost of all, of the traits. In shock, you realize that you have a psychopath in your life. You've seen the individual's glib and superficial charm, lack of empathy, lack of remorse. You knew he or she was deceitful, but now you suspect that every statement this person ever made may have been a lie. “How can he do that?” you ask. “What was she thinking?” Steve Becker, LCSW, a longtime Lovefraud author, has just come out with a book that explains what goes on in the mind of a psychopath. It's called, The Inner World of …

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Judge throws kids in juvenile detention for not talking to father

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A divorce and child custody case in Oakland County, Michigan, has gotten so bitter that Judge Lisa Gorcyca has sent three children, ages 14, 10 and 9, to juvenile detention for refusing to see their father. The saga began five years ago, when Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni filed for divorce from Omer Tsimhoni. Both parents are originally from Israel, and the father had returned Israel. The Internet is buzzing over this one, and here are some stories. But reading them, I have absolutely NO IDEA whether the problem is the mother, the father, or both. We all know how well sociopaths can talk, lie, play the victim, and run a smear campaign. Probably the only way to really know who is at fault i …

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What makes a psychopath, and why they don’t change

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America's attention in recent weeks was focused on the Hollywood-worthy escape from prison by two convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat. Matt is now dead. Sweat was shot, captured, and is now under guard at the Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York. The media have referred to both of these men a psychopaths. Looking at their crimes, I agree. Sweat was convicted of murdering Kevin Tarsia, Broome County Sheriff's Deputy, in 2002. But he didn't just shoot the sheriff. Sweat ambushed Tarsia in a town park, shot him multiple times and then ran him over with a car. Here's the story: David Sweat's brutal path to prison, on PressConnects.com. Richard Matt had a lifelong history …

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