Lovefraud invites you to complete a survey about your experience with a sociopath/psychopath/narcissist in order to help professionals diagnose this disorder properly.
Two days ago, the American Psychiatric Association released a draft of the fifth edition its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5). This book is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health and other professionals. The revision has been underway for a decade.
A work group of 11 doctors and psychologists focused on the section about personality and personality disorders. They have recommended significant changes to the description of antisocial personality disorder, which is also referred to as sociopathy and psychopathy. In fact, one of the suggestions is to change the name of the personality disorder to “antisocial/psychopathic type.”
The new description of the disorder is much closer to what most of us at Lovefraud have experienced. You can read the description here:
Antisocial/Psychopathic Type
The American Psychiatric Association has invited public comment on the draft of DSM 5, and Lovefraud is taking the doctors up on their invitation. We thought the best way to do it would be to survey our readers, asking you how well the proposed description of antisocial/psychopathic type matches your experience with one (or more) of these individuals.
Please take the survey. This is serious, so be thoughtful and accurate in your responses. It will probably take you about 15 minutes, so please start it when you are sure you have time to complete it.
The survey will be open until March 3, 2010. After that, we will tabulate and analyze the data. We will prepare a report of the findings for the American Psychiatric Association. The results will also be published on Lovefraud.
Go to the survey:
Psyche – good point about rehabilitation guidelines for victims. I also think there isn’t much point in warning people while they are IN these relationships in the early days – they are too easily suckered in. However it would be worth having a wide scale public education campaign for everyone educating them about psychopathy – hopefully this would plant the seeds in people so when they got involved with a sicko and started to see the signs they would remember the learning they had about psychopathy.
There is nothing in society for the victims – if we go to a psychologist or doctor or shrink we are at the mercy of their level of knowledge about this condition and the trauma it inflicts on people through relationship. Some agreed guidelines would be a great idea – even including a list of meds for specific symptoms that definitely work. I have heard that propalonol is really good for PTSD symptoms as it stops the cascade of stress hormones and buffets the intrusive thoughts. To have to heal by ourselves is a very long and lonely journey – I have already done it once before for another trauma and it took me YEARS. I also think compensation is in order for victims – better recognition of the abuse that occurs and the effects it has on people would need to be known about.
It makes me so angry that this pain that thousands are suffering through is not even recognised by society – hence the glib remarks from others close to us “Just get over it” – it adds insult to injury for me and disenfranchises my pain. I would like to see THOSE people educated so they are never again able to utter such stupid statements.
Thank you for the opportunity to take the survey. I like the name change because people do not believe me when I mention my ex is a sociopath. Unless you have had an experience with one, a person has no idea what I am talking about. Many times I have been told I am “silly” and no one takes me seriously. Most think you have to be criminal to be a sociopath and because I have no physical “scars” then I am over-reacting. I have been away from him for over 3 years and still can not bring myself to date or trust again. I fear it may not be the same.
I rarely post but read on a weekly basis. Thanks to everyone for their insight and positive attitude. At least I know I am not alone.
It was the third month of marriage when I discovered who he really was. Thank God I had a friend who read about sociopathy a week prior to me telling her about everything I was going through. Thank you love fraud!
I am still trying to convince my bro in law, that is friends with my soon to be ex S, that my husband is a sociopath. I hope he will see his true colors eventually and stop listening to the smear campaign.
Dear Breakingoff,
I’m so glad you “got lucky” in finding out about what you had married before you had 4 kids, a house and the “works” for him to steal from you. Contratulations, and also congratulations on finding LoveFraud. There is a tremendous amount of information here and as I think you already know, KNOWLEDGE=POWER.
Getting your BIL to “see” may not be possible, read the article on the left about “your Reality is what You See”–it sort of explains why others don’t “see”–because they are at that point in there lives incapable of seeing the REAL P–who is sooooo good at the smear campaign.
Again, Welcome and glad you are here. Hang around and read articles and go through the old archived articles too, there are some GEMS in there! God Bless.
Dear 2-good,
Glad you are here even if you don’t post but keep on reading, and you will get better—“time” is relative, and I encourage you also to read the “your reality…” article I wrote (someone pulled it up today) because it IS SO DIFFICULT to get others to see what we SEE. We are NOT crazy, and they are generally not DELIBERATERLY BLIND but they just can’t “get it” We have to learn to “validate” ourselves and believe me sometimes it is tough to do.
And yea, you are NOT alone, there are lots of smart and great folks here who can attest to that! (((hugs)))) and God bless.
Donna, Do you know what happens to lost blogs? I posted a fairly long blog yesterday,{16th feb} in response to someone asking if anyone else had personal expereince of being ripped off financially by a spath.{I guess thats all of us really!} It was about my spath daughter. It has totally disappeared, Ive searched all the threads. Love and thanks for all you do!
GemXX
OxDrover,
I have been on this thing off and on since the tail end of October and of course read many of your comments, Thank you!!
I am very fortunate and I didn’t know at the time but I had people praying for me that got a bad vibe from him. I truly thank God. This guy that I married had an ex wife who reached out to me as soon as I got separated and I learn that she was not the horrible person he claimed her to be but was a battered wife! Now that my eyes are open I am able to help others, people I work with and friends. I love this site that empowered me to help fight off these horrible fiends. I am also thankful that he kept in touch with his ex girlfriend who is with now otherwise I may have tried working on our so-called marriage and not confided in my friend that told me about this site. 🙂 And the woman he is with now I think is also a sociopath!!
Check out this excellent simple video about psychopathy – psychopaths among us … it focusses on corporate psychopaths, but gives down to earth information about psychopaths in every day life and ways to spot them for the regular public …
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/201472-Psychopaths-Among-Us-ABCReport
Dear Breakingoff,
I am glad you are doing well and didn’t get scammed for decades, beaten and tossed out like yesterday’s trash. I know ANY dealin with them is terrible and traumatic, but I am glad you have your faith, your friends, and LF. That is what it takes to recover, that and time and a lot of work.
Keep on educating yourself about psychopaths, but also learn how the use our strengths against us, and learn the RED FLAGS and RUN FAST at the first sign of a red flag. ANY sign of dishonesty or cruelty or even one lie is enough to make me run like a deer chased by dogs! I’ve been hear 2+ years, I can’t remember exactly when I did come here, but this place has been my salvation and support, that and my faith, which prior to this last round with the Psychopaths was hurt by the twisted “religion” of my upbringing. Fortunately, my stepfather was a wonderful Christian man, but he had a hard time overcoming the harranging of my egg donor, but I still have wonderful memories of his strong faith and his love for me, so even though he is gone now these 5 years, he is with me every day.
His well worn copy of the Bible is on my bed and I feel his strength when I hold it and read from it. It would be the first thing I would save if my house was on fire.
God bless you and keep on praying, learning, growing.
Myboys:
Hey, hey,hey……..take a break and LET IT GO……
You need to collect yourself…..but after a break!
Block it from your mind…..get some sleep…..and recoup.
You can do this….you have to do this!
Listen…..we focus on certain items….(health ins)….I know….I tried everything to KEEP my policy….and did for a while…paid $1900.00 monthly for it! YIKES…..
BUT……I was terrified to lose it with my cancer and strokes and other diagnosises……
This is where you will benefit greatly from disconnecting from these type of worries……accept it and move in a forward direction.
I found a county non profit that offers HUGE benefits….hospitalization/meds/dr’s/testing etc….for $530 a year!!! And the co pays end up costing me less than my policy.
This is where….you must have hope, things will work out.
THEY WILL!!!
We can’t focus on ‘defeats’……because we will lay stagnant and this does us no good.
Keep moving forward!!!!
There are agency’s that can help……refocus and go out and FIND THEM.
We must remain creative.
BUT for NOW…..you need to take a break….a couple of days….without this in your head…..and then pick it back up.
Your body is telling you to do this….your emotions need a recoup……
Break it down to a managable concept.
One thing at a time…..and tackle it….
You can do this, YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!
These are issues you CAN”T let go of.
Do it for YOU….DO it for your son!
Take the spath thoughts out of the equation and do whatever you need to do for YOU!!!!
If you ‘drop’ now…..your down.
Come on……take a break and get back up and kick some ass girl!!!
i’m sending you some EB MOJO…..
XXOO
EB