How to recognize and recover from everyday sociopaths - narcissists

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12 ways sociopaths say, ‘It’s not my fault’ — what have you heard?

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One of the defining characteristics of a sociopath is that they never take responsibility for anything. Nothing is ever their fault. Any problem they face is always caused by someone else, or circumstances beyond their control. I'll bet that a young sociopath invented the excuse, "The dog ate my homework." Early in my relationship with my sociopathic ex-husband, James Montgomery, he explained that his innovative business venture wasn't built because "the government took his land." Of course, he never mentioned the fact that he never owned the land, and never raised the money to buy the land. He just blamed the government for his business failure. Since I launched Lovefraud, I've …

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After dating a sociopath, the advice you need for your recovery

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The most telling sign that you've been dating a sociopath is confusion. This person claimed to love you, but after the initial whirlwind romance, treated you like dirt. Your partner would be absolutely brutal to you, and the next day, maybe even the next hour, act like nothing ever happened. He or she seemed to be proud of you, and then did nothing but criticize you. You finally figured out that something was wrong — he or she was disordered — and you ended the involvement. And then you started to second-guess yourself — what if you made a mistake? There are reasons why you feel so conflicted, and I've helped hundreds of people find validation and clarity after the insanity of these rel …

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The answer: Why psychopaths do what they do

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Perhaps the biggest question asked by people who have been targeted by psychopaths is, "Why?" 1. Why did he work so hard to win me, proclaiming his love and promising a beautiful future together, and then suddenly dump me? 2. Why does she intentionally scare, upset, demean and embarrass her own children? 3. Why does he lie about stupid things, even when he'd be better off telling the truth? 4. Why doesn't she care that she's hurting me? I'm sure you have your own list of "why?" questions. We try to make sense of the psychopath's unfathomable behavior. We look for explanations that we can understand: Perhaps he was abused or felt abandoned as a child. Perhaps she has low …

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Cognitive dissonance: Vicky Cilliers can’t accept that her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute

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Emile Cilliers, a British army sergeant, was convicted last week of attempting to kill his wife, Vicky. The two were avid skydivers, and in April 2015, he tampered with her parachute before a jump. She fell 4,000 feet, but miraculously survived. Earlier in the week, Emile Cilliers damaged gas fittings in their home. If the gas had exploded, it would have killed Vicky and their two children. But even though the court found him guilty, Vicky Cilliers can't believe her husband was capable of murder. Read this story: 'I still can't believe he tried to murder me': Tearful wife of Lothario army sergeant refuses to accept his conviction for cutting her parachute, says she has NO plans …

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Sociopaths keep changing their demands, keeping you in turmoil

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When you're dealing with sociopaths, figuring out what they really want is nearly impossible. Why? Because they keep changing what they want. When my ex-husband, James Montgomery, moved into my house, I agreed to convert my basement, which I used as a small gym, into an office for him. I put away my gym equipment. I hired builders to install more electric outlets to run his array of computers, televisions and business equipment, which required enclosing the lower part of the walls. Making the improvements, and installing a small bathroom downstairs, cost me $6,000. (He promised to pay me back, but of course he never did. When Montgomery first moved into the office, he was …

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By being open to new ideas, I found a way to calm my overprotective brain

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By Eleanor Cowan As a 10-year-old kid in a large, rigid Roman Catholic family, I had it all figured out. I knew which way was up. There were no unknowns in my understanding. My future happiness was guaranteed if only I could do as required. Still, my stability teetered back and forth, depending on my ability to conform. For example, if I obeyed my mother’s first harsh morning shout to wake up and if I promptly completed my cleaning tasks before the oatmeal was ready, then I’d begun my day well. If without telling anyone about it, I quietly sacrificed a slice of toast and jam for the sake of a suffering soul in Purgatory (who gained freedom faster because of my personal sacrifice), then …

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School shootings: Understanding patterns is great, but doesn’t prevent murder

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Another school shooting — in Santa Fe, Texas. Ten dead — eight students and two teachers — and 13 wounded. This one wasn't like the Parkland, Florida shooting, where everyone knew that the perpetrator, Nikolas Cruz, had serious psychological problems. No, this time, when 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis opened fire, people were shocked. There was only one mention of a possible motive mentioned so far. One of the students killed was Shana Fisher, 16. Shana's mother, Sadie Rodriguez, said that for four months, Pagourtzis kept making advances on her, and she kept refusing. According to the Los Angeles Times, "Pagourtzis continued to get more aggressive, and she finally stood up to him and …

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A sociopath claims, ‘We are evolution’s next step’

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Do sociopaths know what they are? Many, many Lovefraud readers ask me this question. The short answer is that some of them do and some of them don't. The man who sent me the following email certainly has insight into his own personality: I would like to thank you for making your videos they have given me an insight into how you people recognize us. WE are not to blame for your short comings because you are weak minded and foolish enough to be taken advantage of. We are evolutions next step we don't allow silly emotions to cloud our judgments. In fact we use our advantage for survival because we are natures next course. I know I sound very narcissistic and apologize for that but if you …

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Book Review: ‘Miracle in the Madness:’ All real therapy is release from the past

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The Miracle in the Madness — Grateful to be the son of a murderer, by Travis Vining Review by Donna Andersen The following article refers to spiritual concepts. Please read Lovefraud's statement on Spiritual Recovery. Travis Vining is the son of a sociopathic serial killer. His father, John Bruce Vining, killed four people, and coerced Travis, as a young man, into helping him escape prosecution. How does anyone cope with that? Travis tried to forget what happened, and he did, sort of. His psyche repressed direct memory of many incidents. But the efforts of his mind had repercussions in his body. Travis had all kinds of physical problems, ranging from rashes to addiction to p …

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What do we do when sociopaths experience no consequences?

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Lovefraud received the following email from a reader who posts as "Salvation2012." Thank you for helping me decide when I needed to cut my losses during my divorce. I did cut my "losses," yet the total I received tallied up to a number similar, just not in all cash. Because I settled in his eyes, he told everyone I was just proving how I was the guilty one and didn't want to risk being exposed. To the end he will deny permanently injuring me and bleeding me of money, and cheating on me (which I only later found out about the extent). My recent concern is watching him seemingly have no consequences. I'm not a vengeful person, so this is a distressing area for me, but I just thought karma …

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