Editor's Note: This Spath story was submitted by Lovefraud reader “Christina2014” I met him while I was working as a designer. He was homeless, penniless, hitchhiking through the country. He told me that his family disowned him and that he is a writer/activist. He introduced himself with a fake name at first, but later, when he realized that I was a worthwhile victim, he gave me his real name and decided to camp out in my life for a while. I helped him get his identifications (he told me he burned them out of protest, finding out years later that he skipped parole in Illinois), drove him to GE classes and helped him even to enroll into College. During the 14 years we were together h …
Robin Williams, suicide and sociopaths
Like millions of fans around the country and the world, I gasped when I heard the news: Robin Williams was dead of an apparent suicide. How could it be? He was so funny! Every time I watch Birdcage I practically fall off the sofa laughing. And he was such an amazing talent! In Good Morning Vietnam, Williams ad-libbed all of the Adrian Cronauer's broadcast scenes. And the movie Aladdin was rejected for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay because Williams, as the Genie, ad-libbed so many lines. See some of Williams' magnificent improvisations here: Robin Williams Ad-Lib: Remembering the late, great actor with 9 of his greatest improvised moments, on IBTimes.com But it turned …
Psychopaths as Predators: Protecting Children
A child predator is likely (but not always) a psychopath and not necessarily a stranger. Here are some points to consider when it comes to protecting your children.* Be Present People who prey on children are likely to seek out roles that give them time for intimate contact. That includes coaches, club advisors, teachers, pastors, and so on. Background checks are only useful if the individual has been caught, and let's face it, many are not. A clever psychopath who preys on children is likely to evade detection through charisma, deception, and a values-driven facade. This person may be the last you'd ever expect—the type who spends time with the family even when the children aren't a …
Q&A with a psychopathy expert
Neuroscientist Kent A. Kiehl, Ph.D., has used an mobile MRI scanner to peer into the brains of about 3,000 violent offenders, including 500 psychopaths. Keihl recently came out with a new book, The Psychopath Whisperer The science of those without conscience. In an interview on Wired.com, he answers questions like: What's the difference between psychopathy and psychosis? Why do you see psychopathy as a mental disorder, not just an extreme personality type? What is different about psychopathic brains? Read the full interview: What it's like to spend 20 years listening to psychopaths for science, on Wired.com. …
Telling Your Kids the Truth About a Sociopath
Lovefraud recently received the following letter from a reader: My daughter was very recently granted custody of the two daughters that resulted from her relationship with a sociopath. An ongoing problem that I would LOVE to see you address on your website—how does one deal with the sociopath's lies and manipulation of the children? Specifically—how do you tell the kids the truth without hurting them? My daughter has to deal with a constant barrage of lies from the other parent. An example of this—telling their older child that her mother did not want to see her when the reality was that he (the sociopath father) was keeping the children from her. It's a no-win situation because either wa …
Kibby arrested for kidnapping teen who returned home after 9 months missing
A New Hampshire man was arrested Monday and charged with kidnapping 15-year-old Abigail "Abby" Hernandez more than nine months ago sometime after she left Kennett High School in Conway. Nathaniel Kibby, 34, was arrested without incident at his Gorham home, about 30 miles north of where the girl lives, and was charged with felony kidnapping, authorities said. After his arrest, authorities surrounded a shipping container on Kibby's property with crime scene tape. It is unknown at this time if Hernandez was kept in the shipping container for any of the time she was missing. Hernandez, her mother, Zenya, and sister, Sarah, surprised people when they showed up at Kibby's …
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Mary Ann Glynn: Deceit – the most destructive abuse
By Mary Ann Glynn, located in Bernardsville, New Jersey I have noticed that those who get involved with a sociopath, whether it's for 30 years or three months, the relationship has the same devastating effect. I've heard some describe even a brief encounter with a sociopath as the most destructive relationship they'd ever been in, even if they had previously been in a physically abusive relationship. What makes this true? Loss of value and power Any abusive relationship is destructive. In order to survive it, a person has to sublimate their needs and their identity, and a loss of self is experienced over time. Self-esteem is battered. Ongoing exposure to physical or verbal degradation from …
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21 psychopathic behaviors, illustrated by a sports profile
A Lovefraud reader recently sent me a link to an article on SBNation.com, a sports website. The article is an in-depth portrait of a psychopath, although that word is never used. Here's the article: The many crimes of Mel Hall He was a flamboyant player, a charismatic coach, and a sexual predator Mel Hall was a professional baseball player for 13 years. He retired and capitalized on his status as a former pro player to get jobs coaching youth basketball and baseball. Hall only coached young girls. Some of them he molested. After 20 years, in June 2009, Hall was convicted of one of those assaults. Then, at the sentencing hearing, it was revealed that Hall had either abused or had …
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Mary Ann Glynn: Mind Warrior app helps you reclaim your lost self and heal from PTSD
By Mary Ann Glynn, located in Bernardsville, New JerseyIn recent years technology has made it possible to study as never before how the brain works and what can effectively change and heal it. Neuroplasticity, the opening of new neural pathways in the brain, is the key factor. I developed a therapeutic app to help this process, called Mind Warrior â„¢. Survival mode For those caught in a relationship with a sociopath, the brain's response to the ongoing trauma puts us in “survival mode” and we can lose our grip on the ability to cope (choose positive and healthy ways of feeling). Indeed, we can be stuck in the cycle of abuse and deception, which produces feelings of confusion, u …
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3 Signs You Should Stop Hurting the Sociopath in Your Life
So you're wondering if you're with someone who has a character disorder? Maybe a narcissist? Or a sociopath? If you are, you might often be accused of hurting that poor person. Here are three things you might be blamed for, otherwise known as red flags: 1. A person with a character disorder is not responsible for his or her life. You are. And if you don't step up to the plate with a full wallet, lots of energy, and a constant smile, then you're going to hear about it. About how mean you are. Uncaring. Unloving. Unwilling. Even if you've been stepping up to the plate with all of the above for years and are simply worn out by your partner's inability to invest alongside you. Even when you're …
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