How to recognize and recover from everyday sociopaths - narcissists

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The sociopathic behavior of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

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By Joanie Bentz, B.S., M.Ed., CCBP, BC Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) is a mental health problem in which caregivers make up or cause illness or injury in a person who is under their care, according to Michigan Medicine. The victims are usually children, the disabled, or the elderly. Some experts view MSBP as a type of sociopathic behavior, specifically as a subgroup of borderline personality disorder. What does this syndrome look like? Three different experiences of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Chloe is a grown woman who has childhood memories revolving around doctor visits, her mother's illnesses and her mother's concern about others  being sick. Her mother insisted on caring for …

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Question: Are there harmless sociopaths?

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Editor's note: Last week Lovefraud published an article written by a reader who posts as "Natalia20" called, "The sociopathic singer and his many women." Today, I'll address another of her questions, "Are there harmless sociopaths?" Of course, sociopaths usually have some agenda ... exploiting, want a control, etc. But are there people who have no empathy and conscience but live their lives “normally” without having any victims – just not having emotions? I give you an example: My friend Kat. She earns a lot of money but she is super stingy, and always a freeloader but I don´t think she would use someone in order to gain (but she doesn´t feel embarrassed about asking for guest lists and …

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The sociopathic singer and his many women

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Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following story about a sociopathic singer from the reader, "Natalia20." I went to a gig and he was the singer of the band. He was so handsome, sexy, it was very busy night but he noticed me in the crowd and tracked me through a mutual friend. I felt happy like a teenager - I never met a man with a bigger charm or charisma. Often I read that sociopaths have dead eyes but his eyes were the opposite! I never saw more VIVID eyes. They were sooo eager to live life fully, so excited and naughty, with lots of sparkles. He told me how he saw me from the stage and knew "there she is” ... We were dating nearly a year. He was always very spiritual, very c …

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Yes, many rioters are sociopaths

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All across America, protests against the death of George Floyd while in police custody have devolved into riots, looting, arson and vandalism. I am willing to bet that many of the rioters are sociopaths, or followers of sociopaths. Atlantic City, New Jersey, where I live, was targeted. I went for a walk on the Boardwalk last Monday morning, as I do once or twice a week. I passed multiple stores that were boarded up — one of them after windows were smashed. The Boardwalk has been desolate since March, ever since the coronavirus closed all the casinos, restaurants and stores. Things have been eerily quite, but nothing was boarded up. That all changed when rioters came to Atlantic City — sma …

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How to protect yourself from narcissists

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[youtube_sc url=" https://youtu.be/qjzDR6XCFWU"] Narcissists are, by definition, self-centered, nasty users with no empathy — although they can often hide their miserable personalities, at least for a while. Unfortunately, millions of them live among us. How can you protect yourself from narcissists? That's exactly what counselor Mandy Friedman explains in her webinar on June 25, 2020, called, Tools for navigating narcissists and other manipulative people. Mandy knows about dealing with narcissists both from personal experience, and through working with survivors in her private practice. She will teach you to: Identify narcissists and manipulators Understand how manipulators c …

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Book review: How three girls survived their psychopathic mother

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If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood, by Gregg Olsen Review by Emilie18 Disturbing and heartrending, If You Tell is a survivor’s story of absolute evil at the hands of a psychopathic mother, Michelle “Shelly” Knotek —and the freedom and justice that her three daughters, Nikki, Sami, and Tori, risked their lives to fight for. This book paints a vivid portrait of a narcissistic psychopath and goes into astonishing detail of how this woman operates and thinks, how she picks her victims, how she controls them and how she ultimately causes their demise.  It may push more than a few buttons for Lovefraud readers, but it impressed me as b …

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Parental alienation: My son’s sociopath father turned him against me

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Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following story about parental alienation from a reader whom we'll call, Jennifer20. Well I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin. People are always telling me I should write a book. Maybe one day I will, but I will start here. I was 17 and I was pregnant with my boyfriend of 3 months. My mother felt bad for me and my father was completely ashamed and embarrassed. I was young, naive, and really, really stupid. I didn’t realize the sociopath the father of my child really was until it was too late. I was about 8 months pregnant, scared, and in a very vulnerable state. I make decisions against my family’s advice and soon found myself regretting all …

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Childhood trauma inflicted through narcissistic families continues into adulthood

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by Joanie Bentz, B.S., M.Ed., LBS "These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them." —Rumi Let us say in the present moment you are a 45-year-old man or woman who experienced childhood trauma. You may have children you are raising and an array of responsibilities. Perhaps you have a university education or have been on a quest for self-improvement. On a less positive note, let us say that you are struggling emotionally. You know that there is something wrong with your spouse, but you doubt your gut instincts. You believe you are too hard on your spouse and are being overly judgmental. However, you understand that the spouse mistreats you often, but you never connected the word a …

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Signs of a sociopath: love bombing and refusing to pay

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Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following story from a reader whom we'll call, Christie20. After dating a narcissist for 7 years, I remained single after we broke up for three years. I decided it was time for me to date again. A doctor in northern California found me on my Instagram account. I am the type of person that gets a generous amount of messages from men, however I usually won't respond. For some reason, I read and responded to this man. Something about him had me intrigued. We decided to meet when he came to Orange County for a medical conference. He immediately started love bombing me. He spoke about how he was the greatest, smartest doctor in the E.R. He would …

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A story of classic sociopathic betrayal: ‘The most vile person I ever met’

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Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following story of sociopathic betrayal from a reader who posts as "Mary2." I met him a year ago. He was charming, kind, and seemed so perfect. He told me he was separated and that his wife was living in another state. We did everything together. Then, one day, she returns. I asked why? He said to get more things. She was actually going back and forth between her mother’s residence and here. I continued to believe him. He met my girls, my mom, my sister, my co-workers. All thought he was wonderful. He told me his wife was crazy. When she kept returning he said she just had Dr appointments because she had cancer. I asked to see the separation p …

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