Dr. Liane Leedom and I spent last weekend, May 19-21, at the 4th Biennial Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy in Montreal, Canada.
Approximately 200 people were at the conference, including the biggest names in psychopathy research: Robert Hare, Paul Babiak, Paul J. Frick, Kent Kiehl, David Kosson, Joseph Newman, Christopher J. Patrick, and many, many more. Also in attendance were graduate students and researchers from all over the world—nine different countries were represented.
It was an opportunity to learn about the latest research going on in the field. A total of 46 researchers made 15-minute oral presentations of their work. An additional 91 groups of researchers presented their work on posters.
Dr. Leedom and I were among those presenting in poster form. We summarized the findings of the survey we did last year in response to the request for public feedback on the draft of the new American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5). (See Lovefraud’s comment about sociopaths for the DSM-5.)
I designed a poster, 6 feet long and 3 feet tall, which briefly described the survey, the findings, and the conclusions that we drew. The title of the poster: When Psychopaths Say “I Love You.” Dr. Leedom also presented another poster on Familial Attachments and Parenting Behavior of Psychopathic Individuals. Our posters were displayed right next to each other, and as people came around to look at them, we explained what we learned.
The reaction to our work was very positive. The majority of research in the field is done either on college students or prisoners. The information that Lovefraud readers provided about their relationships with disordered individuals is highly unusual, and very important. Thank you to everyone who participated.
I also designed a tri-fold brochure version of the poster information. If you’d like to take a look at what we presented, you can download a pdf of either the poster or the brochure. Don’t worry, the poster pdf will scale down to fit on your computer monitor. If you’d like a printed version of the brochure, just send an email with your mailing address to donna@lovefraud.com.
I suffer from this without a doubt, but I feel like Skylar said…we don’t want to go years and years feeling this way. In the long run, I am confident I will get over it and not feel this way anymore, but apparently it’s going to take a long time.
Hi Skylar,
Ah, someone left a voice message on my phone at work that said the following: “you’ll never get me, you’ll never GET ME” Well, who do you think it is??? LOL
I feel like I don’t have to “get you” cause you’re gonna get yourself, you jerk! I saved it but didn’t say a word about it to people at work, only husband.
I find it funny! And can I just vent here for a moment???
Thursday I felt “off” but went to the gym anyway.
Friday I went to work in the morning and felt totally exhausted. I went home and slept for four hours (me, who can’t close her eyes when it’s light out), went back to work at six pm. came home, came here for a while. Then, when it was time to go to bed I said gee, I don’t feel good.
Two hours later at 1:30 in the morning when I got done being sick, went to bed. Felt fine in the morning on Sat. and even went to the local Walmart by MYSELF…did not think of spath at all.
Then, this morning, my bil also landlord rang the doorbell at 9am. No big deal, but I was in the toilet. LOL I just gotta laugh!! Went to work and worked on two brutes with hamstring problems…
I don’t get how I could be so not in touch with myself that I did not know I was sick…I haven’t been that sick in years.
Oh, well live and learn.
Oxy,
“verbal outburst disorder” is called tourettes, so you see, there can be a pathological form of normal behavior.
The reason this new diagnosis is so interesting to me is because I can see it in the spaths that I’ve known. They all have enormous envy toward everyone and they bitterly resent anyone having something they don’t. The fact that interaction with them leaves us feeling bitter as well, peaks my interest. Focusing study on these specific thought patterns could lead to a break through in understanding the pathological form of an otherwise normal behavior.
Ana, it sounds like maybe it was something you ate? You react exactly like I do when I’m sick – I fall asleep. For a person with insomnia, that’s a big clue. Hope you feel better, don’t forget the liquids to keep hydrated.
Skylar,
Thanks. Yes, for an insomniac that is a big clue…Duh!
I feel back to normal again…thanks.
I don’t know what to make of the phone message on my work voice mail. I saved it from June 8th. I feel like calling her up and saying “Lisa, are you suffering from separation anxiety” LOLOL But, I nevah would do that.
She was so jealous of me getting the massage job that I have now. I’ve been doing this for 12 years, am nationally certified (keep up with what’s new), have 900 hours of school, and I just keep learning. She on the other hand has 500 hours of school, took a class on line, now she considers herself Certified in Carpal Tunnel Massage…good lawd.
Yeah, she is full of envy. Not just of me, but anyone that has more education than her. She left nursing school with two classes to graduate. Of course she blamed the people that give loans for school. I heard her on the phone once, she told the woman who called about the school loan “you’ll never get a red cent out of me” The woman said but you’ll never be able to buy a house. SHE said “No shit, Dick Tracey” LOLOLOL You see it was THIER fault she didn’t graduate nursing school.
I think THEY take each loss, insult whatever and pay it forward to their latest victim. OUCH
Ana, she sounds like a “real piece of work” for sure! To quit school with only two courses needed to finish for nursing….there may be more to that than you know. She may have been kicked out or flunked out and she is only using the “loan” thing as an EXCUSE…and boy do we know they come up with excuses why it is NEVER THEIR FAULT…..if it was ONLY a case of money for two classes, and she wanted to finish nursing school, she could have done that. So my guess is that she lied about the loan being the problem.
I do imagine she envies you if you are not like her—a failure. Even if she pretends she doesn’t know, she does know she is a failure….and now she knows you know, and it pithes her off.
Yea, sky, I know “verbal outburst syndrome”—-I was just making a joke. The verbal outbursts though are only part of the tourettes syndrome. Oh, and BTW if you TYPE it is it a FINGER outburst syndrome, or a WRITTEN outburst syndrome? LOL
Oxy,
It’s funny you should say that about failure. When I loaned her my car for the day, I worked in an office while doing massage on the side. She said to my boss at the office “when I fail at massage, is this where I’m going to end up?” He said Ana, that girl is NOT your friend!!!!
I think what really pithes her off is…I know about her criminal backgroud. She know’s that I know she has got a criminal record of larceny dating back to the 80’s. Thanks to the detective who investigated our problem with her. He said I’m not supposed to show you this, but I’m going to. UGHHHH! Boy, was I shocked!!
Ana,
If she was CONVICTED it is public information and if you know WHERE and about WHEN she was convicted, you can get copies of that information from the county clerk there.
If it was just an arrest, it is more difficult to get the information. It can be done though. Just in case you ever need it.
Oxy,
Thank you for the information. Thanks to our current gov’na, when doing a criminal background check you can only go back five years..nice huh?
I will check it out though. She has a long history of larceny. Plus, I’m sure other people she has screwed over
are lookin’ for her. She used to “hide” her car behind a huge tree in the yard….lololol.
Hugz
Just watched the Jaycee Dugard interview…OMG
Ana, What state do you live in? Only go back 5 years? So if someone committed a crime 10 years ago and did 5 years in prison and was out you couldn’t find out about it? CRAZEEEEE!!!!
SK, I think Mild manipulative is “I’d love to come to your party but I have a hang nail” or “nah, those pants don’t maKe your butt look big” LOL
I think the “social” untruths we tell to keep from hurting others’ feelings are not “bad” per se, but if the untruth/lie is to gain an advantage over someone else, or to hide ours or others’ bad actions, then that is a horse of a different color.