How to recognize and recover from everyday sociopaths - narcissists

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Research suggests parenting style can turn children into narcissists

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A new study from Ohio State University suggests that parents who "overvalue" their children, treating them as more deserving than others, are not nurturing self-esteem, but they are nurturing narcissism. Narcissism is partly based on genetics, according to research. So Eddie Brummelman, one of the study's authors, says that if a child has inherited a genetic risk for narcissism, it's important not to inflate the child's sense of self-worth, because that could enable the narcissism to flourish. Too much praise can turn kids into narcissists, study suggests, on Forbes.com. Link submitted by a Lovefraud reader.   …

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Grandmother, 63, on trial for stabbing husband, dismembering him, and keeping his body parts in Tupperware

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Loretta Doyle Burroughs, 63, of Mays Landing, New Jersey, is accused of murdering her husband, Daniel Burroughs, in 2007. "This defendant killed her husband in cold blood, eviscerated his corpse and placed him in Tupperware to rot for seven years," said Seth Levy, Atlantic County chief assistant prosecutor, in his opening statement. Photos of the remains were shown to the jury last week. Donna Andersen, covering the trial for the Daily Mail, obtained exclusive photos of the remains. EXCLUSIVE: Photos of dismembered body parts positioned on a white sheet shown to horrified jurors as woman stands trial for stabbing her husband, chopping him up in pieces and then storing them in …

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Why am I a magnet for sociopaths?

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I received the following email from a woman, whom we'll call "Adriana," who had been in touch several years ago about the psychopath in her life. Her experience was so outrageous that I wrote it up as one of the True Lovefraud Stories. As you'll see from her email, after that destructive involvement, she met three more psychopaths. Her question is, "Why?" Read her story: Adriana's story After dealing with that psychopath I didn't date anybody for 3 years, the trauma was so hard on my trust I just couldn't bring myself to date anybody. Finally after 3 years of healing I dated a person from my workplace; I'm a teacher. It lasted only 4 months with multiple cheating on me with other …

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How sociopaths make us believe them

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[youtube_sc url=https://youtu.be/2LuFOX0Sy_o] The Impostor, a documentary, tells the story of a 13-year-old boy from San Antonio, Texas, who went missing and turned up three years later in Spain. At least, that's what his family believed, and authorities in multiple agencies and countries believed the family. Nicholas Barclay, blond and blue-eyed, was last seen playing basketball on June 13, 1994. In October 1997, authorities from Linares, Spain called to say that he had been found. "Nicholas Barclay," the young man from Spain, claimed that he had been abducted by a child sex ring. "Nicholas Barclay" had brown hair, brown eyes, and spoke with a European accent. The missing …

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Boston Marathon bombing survivor writes in-your-face letter to Tsarnaev

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Rebekah Gregory was standing at the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15, 2013 when one of two pressure-cooker bombs exploded. Three people died. Rebekah was severely injured, and eventually had part of her leg amputated. Rebekah testified at the first day of the trial for accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The defendant's attorney admitted that Tsarnaev did it, but plans to argue that he was influenced by his brother, who later died in a shoot out. After testifying, Rebekah posted a letter on her Facebook page. She said, in part: TODAY ”¦ I looked at you right in the face ”¦ and realized I wasn't afraid anymore. And today I realized that sitting across from you was somehow the crazy kind o …

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CNN reporter calls ISIS a ‘sociopathic death cult’

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Yesterday WNYC public radio host Brian Lehrer Show interviewed CNN's international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. They talked about the phenomenon of people from Europe and North America traveling to the Middle East to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as jihadis. Amanpour described "Jihadi John," the British man who beheaded several Western journalists, recently identified as Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born Londoner, as a "psychopath." She also called the ISIS movement a "sociopathic death cult." Listen to the interview. Story suggested by a Lovefraud reader.   …

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EFT tapping can cure the emotional pain of your involvement with the sociopath

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[youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/pAclBdj20ZU] Today begins the 7th Annual Tapping World Summit. It's a free online event, and if you are still suffering, in any way, from your encounter with the sociopath, I strongly recommend that you check it out. Tapping, also called Emotional Freedom Technique, is a form of energy psychology. I believe this is the new frontier of psychology, although it is rooted in 5,000 years of Chinese acupressure practice. The therapy looks funny using your fingers, you tap precise points on your head, hands and torso while verbally making a statement about a stressful situation or a disturbing memory. After going through the tapping sequence a few times, the …

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For Valentine’s Day: The difference between sociopathic “love” and real love

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Yes, there is love after the sociopath. I divorced my sociopathic ex-husband, James Montgomery, in 2000. A little more than a year later, I met Terry Kelly. We dated for a few years, got to know each other, and then married. Terry and I just celebrated our 10th anniversary. I can honestly say that I am as happy and in love as I was on our wedding day. What's different about love with a normal, caring person, and "love" with a sociopath? Just about everything. Real love is peaceful I don't have the stress, drama and doubt that I felt while married to the sociopath. Instead, with Terry, I feel calm and content. Real love is supportive My sociopathic ex-husband was demanding and …

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Brain Science Part 3: Psychopathic brains and punishment

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Editor's note: Third in a series of three articles appearing in other publications on what scientists are learning about the brain and behavior through MRI imaging. A new study finds that psychopaths have abnormalities in the parts of their brains related to learning from punishment. MRI studies were conducted on violent offenders 12 with psychopathy and 20 with antisocial personality disorder but not psychopathy along with 18 healthy non-offenders. Those with psychopathy showed differences in the brain regions associated with empathy, processing of pro-social emotions such as guilt and embarrassment, and moral reasoning. The research showed that the psychopathic offenders failed to l …

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Brain Science Part 1: Teenage brains vulnerable to poor judgment

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Editor's note: First in a series of three articles appearing in other publications on what scientists are learning about the brain and behavior through MRI imaging. Teenage brains are still under construction. MRI imaging has found that while the areas of the brain associated with motor control and hand/eye coordination are fully developed, the parts associated with rational thinking and evaluating future consequences are half-baked. The result: Even smart, well-behaved teenagers are motivated by emotion and pleasure, which can lead them to take dangerous risks. Teens' immature brains pose all sorts of dangers, on Philly.com. Tomorrow: Brains of homicidal juveniles appear to be …

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