Television news was ablaze this morning with the story that Manti Te'O, star linebacker for the Notre Dame football team, had been duped by an online relationship with a woman who did not exist. Some commentators are saying that Te'O was in on the hoax. I do not know whether Te'O was a participant in the hoax, or whether he was a deceived victim. I do know that both scenarios are possible. Some online predators toy with people's emotions, apparently for the fun of it. Several Lovefraud readers have been snagged by such predators, believed they were in a relationship, and had their hearts broken when their online "partners" died—only to find out that the whole thing was a ruse. This ce …
BOOK REVIEW: Kevin Dutton’s “Wisdom of Psychopaths” is a disservice to society
Kevin Dutton, Ph.D., is a fabulous writer. Unfortunately, in his new book, The Wisdom of Psychopaths—What saints, spies, and serial killers can teach us about success, he uses his prodigious skill with words to promote a fundamentally flawed thesis. What is the thesis? That psychopathy, "in small doses," is good for us. Here's what Dutton writes in the preface of the book: Psychopathy can also be good for us, at least in moderation. Like anxiety, depression, and quite a few other psychological disorders, it can at times be adaptive. Psychopaths, as we shall discover, have a variety of attributes—personal magnetism and a genius for disguise being just the starter pack—which, once you know how …
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Crazy, evil and prevention
Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, wrote in an essay about the differences between crazy and evil. Better mental health services won't stop evil, on PressOfAtlanticCity.com. …
Who intentionally runs over turtles?
This is a story close to my heart. I live at the Jersey Shore. Every June and July, female turtles creep from the bay and go in search of high ground to lay their eggs. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of them never make it. Their journey takes them across paved roadways, where many are squished. I've seen them. Research by two young men show that a certain percentage of the turtle killings are intentional. Nathan Weaver, a student at Clemson University placed a plastic turtle in the road near his campus. In the course of one hour, seven out of 267 vehicles, 2.62 percent, swerved in order to hit the turtle. Read: Clemson student's turtle project takes a dark twist, on …
Tim Blair, aka rapper Tim Dog, exposed by women who “invested” in his business schemes
Esther Pilgrim met Tim Blair on an online dating site. He was charming, attentive—then offered her a business proposition. Well, we all know how that goes. But turned out that Blair had run the same charade on multiple women from across the U.S. to the Netherlands to Australia. They worked together and turned the tables on him—with one women even going under cover. Watch the Dateline Show: Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy …
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The big problem with murderous sociopaths: They don’t look crazy
Ever since the terrible slaughter of children and teachers in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012, public officials and ordinary citizens have been looking for answers. What can be done to prevent future schoolhouse tragedies? People are calling for stricter gun control laws, or armed guards in schools. People are lambasting the entertainment industry for producing violent movies and video games, which can desensitize vulnerable teenagers to the real pain of killing. People are advocating more institutionalization of individuals who obviously suffer from mental problems. Commentator Charles Krauthammer—who is, by the way, a psychiatrist—provided a good analysis of each of these is …
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Woman left five dead husbands
A white-haired grandmother, Betty Neumar, had been charged in the death of Harold Gentry. But weeks before the trial last year, Neumar herself died of cancer. Man's desperate bid to prove brother's killer was 'Black Widow' who left trail of five dead husbands in five states, on DailyMail.co.uk. Link provided by a Lovefraud reader. …
Schizophrenia and mass killing
Paul Steinberg, a psychiatrist in private practice, explains schizophrenia and how it may have caused Adam Lanza to open fire in the Newtown, Connecticut school. An interesting point in the article is his discussion of the Goldwater Rule, an ethical standard of the American Psychiatric Association that prohibits members from discussing people they haven't examined. Consequently, it prohibits the people who may understand what happened from explaining it. Our failed approach to schizophrenia, on NYTimes.com. Link supplied by a Lovefraud reader. …
DSM-5 creates new categories of mental illness – and costs
Lovefraud has written about the American Psychiatric Association's new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in relation to the new guidelines on personality disorders. (Read Disarray in the DSM-5.) But one psychiatrist says the manual will create even bigger problems. New psychiatry manual is a giant step in the wrong direction, on PressofAtlanticCity.com. …
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Peace at Christmas
Another Christmas is here. Again. Already. Some galactic entity must have revved up the planetary clock, because Christmases seem to be coming faster and faster. Even though we didn't all evaporate on December 21, 2012 with the end of the Mayan calendar, we seem to be hurtling into the future at breakneck speed. I've been dealing with holiday stress, such as running late while making hors d'oeuvres for a family party, and trying to figure out what gifts to buy for my teenage nephews. But that's easy stress. I am no longer pining for someone to spend the holidays with—an emotional void that made me vulnerable to the sociopath. And I am no longer going to family parties and pretending t …