How to recognize and recover from everyday sociopaths - narcissists

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Shellie Zimmerman, George Zimmerman’s estranged wife, speaks out about abuse

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George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, 17, in Sanford, Florida, the night of February 26, 2012. Despite the media circus that followed, and Zimmerman's high-profile trial last summer that ended with his acquittal, I have never written about this case. Although it was a big story, I wasn't sure it was a Lovefraud story. Most of the media attention focused on the racial aspects of the case. Most of the debate was on whether or not justice was served. Neither of these issues necessarily correlates with sociopathy. There were a few hints that Zimmerman had sociopathic traits. In fact, a writer by the name of Shawn James did a good job of outlining them in his blog article, Why I …

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Lovefraud Professional Resources Guide: Patricia Jackson, B.A., CAC III

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Lovefraud presents a series of Q&A articles with members of the Professional Resources Guide. Patricia Jackson is a Psychiatrist, psychologist and therapist, who specializes in depression, women's issues, parenting, legal abuse, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, victim of injustice, isolation, and special needs of intuitives and artists. She also offers expert evaluation and court testimony on issues of abuse and psychological torture, victimization assessments, treatment recommendations and provision and substance abuse. Q. What experience have you had dealing with sociopaths or other disordered personalities—personally, professionally, or both? A. I have been personally an …

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What’s in Alec Baldwin’s wallet? Not pledge support from WNYC member

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Editor's note: The following post was written by the Lovefraud reader who posts as "Jennifer." "Alec Baldwin can always be counted on to give a good performance, whether on television or on the witness stand, and his testimony in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Tuesday was no exception." That's a quote from the New York Times article about Alec Baldwin's stalking case entitled, In Court, Baldwin Tells of a Stalker 'Out of Hitchcock.' According to the article, Mr. Baldwin alleges that he has been "harassed" and "stalked" by a woman he "painted" as "...both delusional and dangerous."  And, while it appears that the woman's behavior has certainly been extreme since their "meeting" …

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Recovery From A Sociopath: Next Steps

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Some of our greatest life lessons are learned after we think we already passed the test. I believed that ending my marriage to a sociopath would be the defining step to my recovery and healing.  I committed myself to a healthy lifestyle, and practiced the long-forgotten skill of believing in myself and trusting my instincts. So, it came as quite a surprise that there was much more work to be done if I wanted to rid my life of the residual effects of a toxic fifteen year relationship. Starting Over By the time I met the man who would turn out to be the real love of my life, I thought I had grown and healed much more than I actually had. Not eager to start a new relationship, I spent …

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Narcissists at work

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A Lovefraud reader sent me a link to a free e-book. The reader's only comment was, "ugh."  Here's the book: The Upside of Narcissism in the Workplace The book was created by Hogan Assessment Systems. On its website, this company says, "Hogan uses the powerful science of personality assessment to help you hire the right people, develop talented employees, build great leaders, and impact the bottom line." I downloaded the e-book. It's very short only nine pages. It points out that young people in general exhibit more narcissism than in the past, but in "controlled doses," narcissism may be good for an employee's career. The e-book points out the potential pitfalls of narcissism. …

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Three-part series on the criminal brain of sociopaths

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NPR radio explores the criminal brain in this three-part series of reports. Part One:  A Neuroscientist Uncovers A Dark Secret James Fallon, a  neuroscientist at the University of California-Irvine, believes that psychopathic tendencies may be passed through the DNA of family members and that upbringing can determine if the tendencies get triggered. Part Two: Inside A Psychopath's Brain: The Sentencing Debate Kent Kiehl, a professor at the University of New Mexico, reports that some psychopaths are born with certain parts of their brain not working like the brains of non-psychopaths. For example,  their emotional circuit does not engage in the same way as non-psychopaths and therefore wha …

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Lovefraud Professional Resources Guide: Barbara Monett, LCSW

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Lovefraud presents a series of Q&A articles with members of the Professional Resources Guide. Barbara Monett is a clinical social worker in California specializing in therapy for individuals facing problems of addiction and/or codependency. Q. What experience have you had dealing with sociopaths or other disordered personalities—personally, professionally, or both? A. Professionally—I am trained as a clinical social worker and have also completed the Hendricks Coaching Program for Couples and Individuals in Ojai, CA., as well as numerous other related trainings on mindfulness, codependency recovery, substance abuse recovery. I have personally been involved with Alanon, Coda, AA for over …

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LETTER TO LOVEFRAUD: I loved my first wife; I was played by my second wife

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Editor's note: The following letter was sent by the Lovefraud reader “Philip.” Names have been changed. My very long story starts in December of 2004. My first wife, Lee, was terminally ill, and I was the only one that took care of her. I also had two teens, and they were not any help at all. My mother in-law had moved from out of state in order to give me some help. She was more trouble at the time than help. None of Lee's family other than her biological mother came to help. As a matter of fact, they all pretty much kept their distance since she got sick. So, I took care of Lee, by myself, for about five years or more. I ended up having a breakdown. I was told that this was "Care giver b …

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Divorced From a Sociopath: The Imperfect Stranger

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by Quinn Pierce Have you ever looked at someone that you've known for much of your life and thought, “Who are you?” I had that moment today, standing outside my son's doctor's office listening to my ex-husband threaten to bring the police to my house to enforce his visitation rights.  I watched his face contort and strain, his eyes hardened to match his tone, and his entire body tense as if for a fight.  I looked to his right to see my younger son frozen in place, thrown into a state of post traumatic stress, and I thought: who is this maniac standing here yelling at me? A Moment of Clarity But then, I snapped back into the moment and realized I was about to get sucked into arguing wi …

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