We've discussed many of the sociopath's traits, such as his missing empathy and compassion; his tendency to remorseless interpersonal exploitation; and proclivity to audacious acts of lying, deception and sundry other violating behaviors. Now, I'm tempted to add to the mix what I call the sociopath's tendency to “irrational optimism.” By “irrational optimism,” I mean the sociopath's irrationally optimistic belief, if not conviction, that he'll either evade or, somehow, otherwise prevail over, the real, probable consequences of his actions. Consider this brief, hypothetical interaction between a sociopath and his partner, who learns with certainty that he, the sociopath, has been cheatin …
Evil exists, and it does not want to be discovered
Evil exists. If you need proof, just look at the horrific case of little Charleeni Ferreira. Charleeni, age 10, of Philadelphia, Pa., died on October 21, 2009. Her father, Domingo Ferreira, 53, and stepmother Margarita Garabito, 43, were charged with murder and endangering the welfare of a child. So how bad was the abuse? The police called it “torture.” Charleeni actually died from an infection that resulted from broken ribs that were not treated. She had a host of new and old injuries, including a fractured pelvis and a 7-inch gash on her head that had been stuffed with gauze and covered with a hair weave. For more details, read Signs of Charleeni's “torture” were hidden, in the Phila …
Regrets–we all have them
By Ox Drover “The Road Not Taken” is always out there beckoning to us. I should, I could ”¦ Why did I do that? Why didn't I do that? Regrets! Having been involved with a psychopath, and reeling from the devastation in the wake of the relationship, leads us to ask ourselves what might have happened if we had made other choices. I question myself—if I had chosen differently, would the relationship have been a success? If I had dated John or Frank instead of the psychopath, would I now be happily married in a solid relationship? If I had just done things differently, like I started to, would it have been better? If I had just gotten out of the relationship sooner, or later, would I now be b …
LETTERS TO LOVEFRAUD: Vigorous campaign to portray me as angry and hostile
Editor's note: On April 15, 2009, we posted “Bob's” story—Leaning on his family while battling his wife. Well, the battle continues. Bob is asking the Lovefraud community for suggestions. I recently received the email below from my P ex-wife and wanted to share it with your readers. I would like someone to analyze this to get some insight and commentary on this situation. It is so reminiscent of what I have read on Lovefraud.com and in books and comes really without surprise; it just surprises me of the lengths she will go to try to falsely trash me in an effort to obtain custody of our kids. The allegations are either fabricated or extremely exaggerated. She has a knack for manipulating p …
LETTERS TO LOVEFRAUD: Vigorous campaign to portray me as angry and hostileRead More
He Will Call It Love. (May contain triggers.)
I am often asked how I managed to get out of that place of darkness to live with such light and joy in my heart today. The answer is fairly simple -- I chose to. The reality is much more complex. The following piece describes where I got to in that journey. It is an excerpt from my book, The Dandelion Spirit. I originally wrote it on a forum I belonged to about a year after he was arrested. It was my 'explanation' of what happened to me in that relationship. There is a warning with this post -- it may trigger you. If it does, breathe -- and know, when a trigger explodes in your mind, it is your opportunity to embrace it, walk into it, accept it and heal it. Only you can make that choice. …
Finding meaning in the betrayal by the sociopath
When we realize that we've been involved with a sociopath, and that person has callously betrayed us, we inevitably ask, “Why? Why did this happen to me?” To help find the answer, one of the books that Lovefraud recommends is The Betrayal Bond—Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships, by Patrick J. Carnes, Ph.D. The book explains the deep psychological wounds caused by trauma, and offers a way for us to identify and overcome abusive relationships that we may have experienced. When I read the book, I was struck by what Carnes wrote on page 68: My experience with survivors of trauma is that every journey of recovery depends on the survivor coming to a point where all that person has gon …
ASK DR. LEEDOM: Why has my husband cut our daughters out of his life?
This week we received the following letter from a reader of the blog. I wanted to share both the letter and my reaction to it with you: After 30 yrs of marriage and abuse, I have finally left my passive aggressive sociopathic narcissist husband. I have managed the No Contact fairly well, of course he is the KING of the silent treatment so it doesn't seem to bother him. What I simply do not understand is this: We have two daughters, ages 22 and 24. We USED to have a close family, the girls were close to their dad. However after they have witnessed him abusing me, they have had a few 'spats' with him lately. What completely baffles me, is that when I started the No Contact …
ASK DR. LEEDOM: Why has my husband cut our daughters out of his life?Read More
All that glitters is not gold
By Ox Drover Going through my family photos I came across one of my two oldest sons. We had gone on vacation to Montana to visit a friend for the summer in 1981. They were about 10 and 11 years old. My friend took us around to all the local sights and showed us some old gold mines dug back into the solid rock. In the photo made that summer, I saw my sons, both kneeling on a huge rock about five feet from the edge of a stream of rapidly flowing water, with a gold pan in their hands. My friend had put a handful of sand from the edge of the creek into the wok-shaped pan and showed them how to swirl the sand in the bottom and let the rushing water wash away the lighter sand, and told them that …
What All Sociopaths Have In Common
As we think about sociopaths, let's remember that they can make diverse presentations, which can make it hard to know if (and when) you're dealing with one. Although sociopathy is a personality disorder, it's complicated by the fact that sociopaths have widely diverse personalities. There are smart sociopaths and dumb sociopaths; gregarious sociopaths and more withdrawn sociopaths; engaging sociopaths and paranoid sociopaths; calculating sociopaths and more impulsive sociopaths; socially skilled, and socially unskilled sociopaths. There are charismatic sociopaths and sociopaths with dull personalities. There are sociopaths who may leave you feeling remarkably comfortable, and sociopaths …
After the sociopath is gone: Good-bye lie. Welcome truth.
I wrote the following nine months after the p formerly in my life was arrested. I was asked on another thread, was there a moment you 'knew'? Knew that you would be okay. Knew it was okay to let him go. Yes and no. In those first heady days of freedom, every moment was filled with knowing I was okay. And every moment was filled with the fear I would never get through the pain to find the light of love within me. I had to make a choice. Had to decide -- what do I want more of. Lies and deciet. Truth and harmony. I wanted to share this piece with you because it speaks to the power of one word to release us from fearing life without them so that we can surrender and fall in love with life …
After the sociopath is gone: Good-bye lie. Welcome truth.Read More