Recovery from a sociopath

By Eleanor Cowan During our coffee break at our desks, my co-volunteer at a local community center, a fundamentalist religious whom I'll call "Barb," asked, in a warm manner, if this was the week I’d finally accept her invitation to attend her evening sacred text group. On four previous occasions, I’d declined her invite. This time Barb pressed me for a “viable reason.” I quoted Timothy 2:12, “A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet.” Barb, an anxious older woman, replied that every such word, phrase or sentiment can be interpreted with the help of a knowledgeable theologian. Sh …

Our need to belong can lead to exploitationRead More

I am currently working on a book about senior sociopaths — how disordered people behave when they are over the age of 50. I've collected a lot of data about the experiences of Lovefraud readers with these individuals — perhaps you completed my previous survey. One of the topics I'd like to address in the book is how to deal with this type of person. So I ask you: If you have, or had, a sociopath who was 50 years old or older in your life, how did you escape, cope or move on? What techniques or strategies did you use to manage destructive behavior or get the person out of your life? I'm looking for information in the context of any type of relationship: Romantic Partner Parent …

Lovefraud Survey: How did you deal with a senior sociopath?Read More

The story of Little Red Riding Hood is a great metaphor for a relationship with a sociopath. In the end, victims of sociopaths often feel destroyed or damaged in some profound way. Some are brutalized financially, others physically, and almost all are hurt, compromised, or undone emotionally and psychologically. The experience is often described as identity eroding or soul destroying. Many victims develop chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. For some, recovery is elusive. For others, it is long and hard. Too many of us were taught, "There's good in everyone." To those of us who have been taught that there is good in everyone, these views about sociopaths seem unfathomable. …

Being taught “There’s good in everyone,” blinds us to the true nature of sociopathsRead More

By Eleanor Cowan My throat, arms, and legs felt swollen. Not for the first time, the thought occurred: “Death would be an instant relief.” I could hardly walk. Heavy with grief, a searing acidic ache in my stomach, I arrived at the weekend retreat held by a support group for those affected by the addictions of a loved one. Assigned to a tiny room the size of a storage cupboard in the small community college, I dropped the worn backpack I’d hastily stuffed with an old nightie, soap, and toothbrush. I chose a seminar among those offered on the agenda lying on the desk and stumbled to it. What was going on for me? I’d met someone. It had been five years since I’d left my sex-addict pedophi …

Healing old pain through a new disordered relationshipRead More

By Eleanor Cowan One early evening at the end of the second year in my support group for Parents of Sexually Abused Children, we were invited to participate in a new activity together. Our lead Social Worker, Aidan, also an artist and storyteller, suggested that we complete two unfinished sentences, each in our own words. The first was, “Detaching from the abuser(s) in my life feels like _____. The second was, “Once I let go, I found myself _____. I’d like to share the responses I heard that evening with Lovefraud readers. Aidan, also a former victim of physical predation both in her childhood and in her adult life, began: “Finally detaching from my abuser dissolved tiny sha …

Fill in the blank: ‘Detaching from the abuser in my life feels like _____’Read More

The illusion is vaporized. One way or another, you have discovered that your partner, family member, friend or colleague is a sociopath. Maybe you unearthed one lie too many. Or maybe the mask slipped and the person unceremoniously dumped you. However it happened, you've learned that he or she has been lying to you all along. And now you're obsessed. You want to know the truth. You want to know where the sociopath really was, who the sociopath was really with, what happened to the money. With your new awareness of his or her lying personality, you recall multiple incidents that left you scratching your head, and now look at them in an entirely different light, trying to figure out what …

After the sociopath, consumed by obsessionRead More

By Eleanor Cowan On Tuesday, a young friend from Montreal called with good news. A single mother of four children, proud of her escape from an abusive ex-husband, Kaila is back at school, works part-time to cover the groceries, and, each week it seems, successfully faces yet another challenge to advance her world. On Monday, a problem with the toilet required a plumber. Kaila called the “cheapest in town” ad circled in red ballpoint in an old phone book. In his early 50’s, the uniformed plumber waited for Kaila to return from taking her children to school that morning. As he inspected the toilet in her apartment, he began to talk about the high cost of living. Raising his eyebrows, he w …

After the sociopath, taking back power and standing up to bad behaviorRead More