Explaining the sociopath

By Joanie Bentz, BS, M.Ed., LBS Have you ever had someone unexpectedly confront you with false narratives about your life, such as your plans, decisions, activities and experiences? Were you stunned by the outrageous lies, or maybe blindsided by how the truth was cleverly mixed in with lies that made this information very believable? Perhaps it was a family member that said these things about you, or a co-worker. Sometimes, it could be an acquaintance that hardly knows you, and it's a wonder  how this person could make such determinations  with little contact or communication. A false narrative is simply misinformation about a person or situation. Gossip about the false narrative is almost a …

8 reasons why narcissists create false narratives about their targetsRead More

Awareness of phenomenon that all of us at Lovefraud and throughout the survivor community have been talking about for years has gone mainstream — gaslighting. In fact, the Merriam Webster Dictionary named “gaslighting” as the word of the year for 2022. Gaslight was the title of a play written in 1938, which was made into a movie in 1944 starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. The story is about a con man who marries a young heiress. As he searches for jewels that he believes are hidden in her home, he tries to make his wife believe she is going crazy. He hides things and then asks her what she did with them. He causes the gaslights to dim and brighten, and when his young wife notices, tel …

Gaslighting — 5 key points you need to understandRead More

UPDATED FOR 2022: Lovefraud received an important question from a reader who wanted to know why psychopaths don't change. She asked: I've read in multiple places, written by multiple specialists that psychopaths/sociopaths cannot be rehabilitated or changed. Surely I'm not the only person to have asked this:  Why not? The short answer to this question is simple: Psychopaths don't change because they don't want to. The key to any kind of behavioral change is desire. It's hard work to change the way we relate to other people, the world or even ourselves. The reason any of us embark on a self-improvement project is because we are not happy. Our relationships are not fulfilling, we …

Why psychopaths don’t changeRead More

UPDATED FOR 2022. Editor's note: This is Part 2 of a two-part inquiry from the Lovefraud reader whom we call “Carlotta.” She asks, "Are sociopaths opportunists?" Read Part 1, “What if you see some signs of a sociopath, but not all of them?” On another note, a personal concern of mine is that I may have chosen that sociopath, not the other way around. I was walking through a department store and out of the corner of my eye I saw a man standing still facing me. I looked up and he was smiling at me. I smiled back. Then we walked in separate directions. But later we passed one another in a different area of the store. I was lost and he was again just standing there smiling at me. I smiled and …

Are sociopaths opportunists?Read More

Psychopaths and antisocials rarely worry about what might happen, even in dire situations, and are rarely concerned about the consequences of their behavior. Why? Why is it that nothing worries the psychopath? A viewer posted the following comment on one of my Lovefraud Live! videos: Donna, can you do a video on why the sociopath acts like life is great all the time, even though he has done great evil and destroyed lives. It's like nothing scares them and life is one big carnival ride. I know a sociopath who even when facing serious criminal charges acted like he didn't have a care in the world and was still laughing and cracking jokes every day. It's disturbing when an individual has …

Why nothing worries the psychopathRead More

A classic sign of psychopathy is cruelty towards animals. I’ve heard horror stories of psychopaths callously killing kittens, dogs and other animals. My psychopathic ex-husband, however, liked animals. He walked my dog every morning and brought home exotic pets. So he did not fit that stereotype. This observation is a small indication that psychopaths, antisocials and narcissists are not all the same. In fact, Dr. Theodore Millon, who was one of the great theorists of personality and personality disorders, identified 10 subtypes of psychopathy. His work does much to explain why some psychopaths plot deliberate, complex schemes and others act on impulse with no regard for consequences. It e …

10 Subtypes of psychopathyRead More

If you’ve had a sociopath in your life — as a romantic partner, family member, work colleague or acquaintance — you may have observed that the person always seems to be in overdrive. What is it with these high-energy sociopaths? They never let up. Lovefraud received the following email from a reader who had the misfortune of being romantically involved with someone she described as having the traits of a malignant narcissist. Here is her question: How do sociopaths/narcissists/psychopaths have so much energy? I would feel completely exhausted after getting engaged in any sort of conversation. He, on the other, he felt fine despite the fact that he was my only source of emotional and ver …

High-energy sociopaths — 5 reasons why they just keep pushingRead More