How to recognize and recover from everyday sociopaths - narcissists

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Why Do I Feel So Guilty? How Sociopaths Shame Us Into Submission

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If I had to pick the most powerful tool in a sociopath's arsenal, it would be shame.   I've experienced a myriad of emotions during my life with sociopathic parents:  sadness, anger, confusion, jealousy (from observing "healthy" families), fear, loneliness, compassion, forgiveness.  During the healing process, it is very normal to have waves of these emotions come and go.  But for me, the one emotion that hasn't come and gone, the one that has blanketed my entire life history, is shame. Why shame?  I didn't ask to be abused as a child.    As an adult, I certainly had the choice to sever ties with my parents, but I didn't because I thought a good daughter wouldn't do that.   If I hang in the …

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Traumatic Bonding: When You Love Your Abuser

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Last Memorial Day weekend, as I was picking out flowers for my mom and dad's graves, my dad kept coming to my mind:  What flowers would he like?........Red was always his favorite color, I'll get some red flowers......I should put a little American flag with his flowers, he would like that....... There were a lot of scary, unsettling times in my life with my parents, but one thing that stayed pretty consistent was the soft spot I had for my dad.  It sounds odd, because I was terrified of him. Letting your guard down was never an option.  The smallest thing would trigger a violent rampage.  Yet, I've always had an inexplicable fondness for my dad.  There were many times during my chil …

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The “Functional Female Sociopath”…..Good For Society?

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According to various opinions, not all sociopaths are created equal. There are the "non-functional" sociopaths (i.e., serial killers) and "functional" sociopaths (i.e., successful sociopaths).  The functional female sociopath uses her lack of empathy to annihilate those pesky male counterparts (or, frankly, anyone who gets in the way), paving the way for woman-kind. Yay them!  Right?   I mean, why can't functional female sociopaths be on the same playing field as functional male sociopaths?  Well, they can be.  And they are.  The last time I checked, evil is still evil.  You can put a dress suit and lipstick on it, or you can put starched collars and neckties on it, sociopathy is still a b …

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Faith After A Life With Sociopaths

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Editor's note: The following article refers to spiritual concepts. Please read Lovefraud's statement on Spiritual Recovery. When you've been entangled with sociopaths for a long period of time, few (if any) facets of your life are left untouched.   Becoming a person of faith has shown me how deeply my upbringing  has permeated my adult life. My sociopathic parents controlled my every move - dictating when I could bathe, eat, or sleep, what I could read, who I could be friends with (if any), what music I could listen to, what I could watch on TV.  Depending on how volatile their mood was, I'd have to ask permission to speak. In her book Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman states "The dam …

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Tell Me About Yourself!

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This request always left me at a loss for words.  It made me really uncomfortable.  Most of the time I would just state basic facts:  the city I grew up in, where I went to school, what my profession is.   I wasn't trying to be unfriendly.......I honestly had no idea how to answer this.  I only recently realized why this was so difficult for me. When you are raised by psychopaths, or in a relationship with a psychopath, the lines between their life and yours get blurred.  They swallow you up like a sinkhole.  Your desires, feelings, goals and interests no longer matter.  If the psychopath likes something, you'd better find a way to like it too.  If they think something is ridiculous, you'd …

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Beyond The Grave – Haunted By A Sociopathic Parent

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After being physically, mentally, and emotionally abused by sociopathic parents, I often wondered when the trauma would stop. Would it get better as they aged? Or would I be relentlessly tormented until they passed away? The answer:  neither.  After their passing, their legacy continued to haunt me. My father was the violent, malevolent sociopath.  Yet, my mother caused by far more pain.  You see, my mother was a master of deceit.   If you offended her (or worse, threatened to expose her), she would effortlessly spin webs of lies around you.  Incite her anger, and suddenly you are Alice in Wonderland - sucked into her rabbit hole where nothing is at it seems, wondering what just happe …

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Craigslist: Avoiding Scams and Crooks

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In 2013, a Pittsburgh man bilked 194 people out of $53,000 by advertising fake concert tickets on Craigslist. In 2012, a Las Vegas Craigslist seller was nearly robbed of his luxury RV when he was contacted by a  buyer wanting to pay in full using Paypal.  It sounded good, until she said she was in a hurry and needed the RV ASAP.  Luckily the man hesitated, narrowly missing becoming the woman's next victim. In January 2014, a Georgia man sold his Ipad on Craigslist, only to find out the cash he received was counterfeit.  During January alone, he became the 3rd victim of Craiglist scams in the city of Augusta. Craigslist, for the most part, is a convenient and inexpensive way to sell goo …

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Q & A With Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz

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This week I had the privilege of tapping into the vast knowledge of Dr. Park Dietz, one of the world's foremost authorities on criminal behavior. He has consulted and testified for the prosecution in many high-profile criminal cases such as Jeffrey Dahmer, John Hinckley, Jr., the O.J. Simpson civil suit, Andrea Yates, the Unabomber, the Menendez brothers, Jared Lee Loughner, and Susan Smith. Dr. Dietz was also brought on as a consultant after the Columbine shooting to investigate the motivation behind the attack. He received his degree in psychology at Cornell University and completed his residency in psychiatry at John Hopkins University. In 1978, Dr. Dietz became Harvard University's …

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Beware The Female Sociopath

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Twenty years ago, a newspaper unknowingly helped conceal a sociopath's secrets by painting the woman as a loving maternal figure. In an interview granted by the publication, she described her "heartbreak" over lack of adequate benefits for her mentally handicapped son. Attached to the article is a photo of the frail looking woman, packing a lunch for him as he looks on in the background. Frustrated with the state's deficient programs, she is quoted as having "cried many, many tears" because there were such limited opportunities for her son. Little did the interviewer know it was all a ruse to cover the truth: this same mother mentally, verbally and physically abused her son, gaslighted him, …

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When The Boogeyman Is Real – Seeing Sociopaths Through A Child’s Eyes

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You are home alone. In bed. In the dark. Suddenly there is a loud thud. It came from inside the house. What was that? You are trying to fall asleep, but your nerves won't let you. Laying on your back staring at the ceiling, you clutch the blanket around your neck. You are careful not to move. What if there is someone - or something - in the house? Did you lock the doors? Are you sure? You strain your ears to listen. The little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Goosebumps cover your arms. Your heart is pounding. You hold your breath. You are so frightened that tears well up in your eyes, but you don't dare cry. Audibly crying might attract the attention of......it. That fear was …

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