A 24-year-old guy described himself in an Internet forum: He doesn’t feel emotion, is an excellent liar, becomes bored quickly, and experiences an adrenalin rush when deceiving or angering someone else. He asks, is he a sociopath?
I’d answer yes. The post is an interesting insight into how a disordered young man perceives himself and others.
Read Self-diagnosing sociopathy on the Dr. Robert forum.
skylar
LOL! thanks Donna, I always get a laugh at the egotistical rantings of sociopaths.
He does take himself seriously, though, and he is trying so hard to observe himself, but what he doesn’t realize is that he can’t observe himself objectively because he is using the lens of his own perspective. That persective being ego-centric, as all infants have an ego-centric perspective. He is making judgements about who is smarter or better by using himself as the measuring stick. How can a person measure themselves using themselves as a measuring stick? The answer will always be: “hey look, I’m perfect!”
That is the sad part of lacking empathy and being unable to feel from another person’s perspective. It’s such a limiting way to live.
I often wonder, if the spaths were presented with the logical arguement that they are missing out on something by being so narcissistic, if they would then want to change. Wanting to change is the stumbling block that most narcissists encounter. But I don’t think they would want to change because personality disorders are such wonderfully effective security blankets.
I can only imagine how hard it was for people to accept that the world was round and the sun did not revolve around them, when it first became scientific knowledge. I imagine it was similar to the way a narcissist feels: like getting pushed off a pedestal.
Redwald
I’d answer Yes too. These are classic psychopathic traits he’s describing.
But jeez, who the hell ARE these people on that forum? The next poster was even scarier:
I’d steer WELL clear of that bitch! She sounds dangerous!
Redwald
Oh, one curious thing. The “Anonnymous” [sic] guy said, quote: “I have a history of emotional abuse – especially at a young age.” I assume that what he meant was he has a history of BEING emotionally abused. It’s just odd that he put it so ambiguously.
Quite a few known psychopaths do seem to report a history of childhood abuse. I dare say even a psychopath is significantly more prone to abusing others if the same has been done to him or her in the past. I sometimes wonder how far it’s possible for a psychopath to be “neutral”: a “well-tempered psychopath” if you like. That’s to say, without a conscience (as always), but with no special urge to abuse others in any way either. If it was possible, such a person would not draw attention to themselves because they wouldn’t be doing anything particularly blameworthy.
skylar
Redwald,
apparently you have not visited the blog for sociopaths. They all talk this way all the time. It’s a type of bravado.
Of course the spaths have been emotionally abused as children. Why do you think they developed a reliance on their PD as a security blanket?
Redwald
You’re right, Skylar. I never have seen that board before. It’s quite an eye-opener.
I made that point about childhood abuse under the assumption that psychopathy is in large part a brain condition that some people are born with. If that’s true, then some people can be psychopathic but may have had a perfectly benign childhood where they were treated as well as anyone else. How would we expect such a person to develop in those circumstances?
slimone
For me what was interesting was my response to reading this young guy’s initial post. I kept thinking to myself ‘Is this someone pretending to be a s/p, like a teenage prank?’.
Then I laughed.
This is what they sound and look like if you are 1. Not entangled with them, and/or 2. On to them. They are caricatures. If they weren’t so effing damaging they would be hilariously BORING. SO alike it is mind numbing. As it is I find it difficult to feel much more than disdain and contempt for them.
I have healed enough to be good and angry.
I love, Skylar, how you likened the personality disorder to a security blanket. SO true. It completely insulates them from what is REAL. Their defense mechanisms shield them from experiencing what is authentic, and responding with variety and elasticity.
This kid sounded like he cut and pasted a blog site description of psychopathy as his post. But in fact they are like that….without genuine individuality. They FAKE being individual’s, by adopting certain social persona’s. But in essence they are in fact without significant individuation.
They have no chance, as Maslow described it, to ‘actualize’. To do that you have to have the psycho-biological resources to find your way to self-observation. That is the only way to become a true self-agent. Being personality disordered seems to be the death sentence of genuine experience, self-improvement, and fulfillment.
This kid will sound just like this 50 years from now.
hens
and a guinea pig is not a prairie dog.
skylar
Slimone,
yes, I agree with your assessment completely, but somehow it makes me feel sorry for him too. IMHO, we all have little bits of us that are not completely grown up. Parts of our personalities developed as defense mechanisms to things we were afraid of. And those things stayed like that in us too. The difference is that most of us didn’t get affected in the extreme like the spath has. We ARE still able to observe ourselves a BIT or a LOT more objectively than the spath can. How sad for them to be so limited.
skylar
huh? are you okay hens?
😐
hens
I am fine Sky.