A psychopath is an individual characterized by an antisocial pattern of behavior, an inability to empathize and remorse for harming others, self-centeredness, deceit, and lack of depth of emotional reactions. Such an individual does not feel guilty about his own behavior. In addition, psychopathic individuals are incapable of establishing adequate relationships with other human subjects. Psychopathic subjects are difficult to corrective influence, but sometimes their state of “inadequacy” improves somewhat as they grow older.
From a psychological point of view
The word psychopathy itself has Greek roots and is literally translated as “mental illness.” The definition of this condition in psychology is explained as a deviation of the nervous system, which can be present from birth or acquired at an early age. The behavior of a psychopath is usually an altered manifestation of volitional qualities. Traits of a psychopath can be recognized in childhood and adolescence. Adults do not have these symptoms.
Signs of a psychopath:
- A vulnerable nature, in which a surge of emotions often develops into a wave of negativity.
- Difficult to control character, difficult to build relationships with loved ones and acquaintances.
- Does not pay attention to the feelings of others, to norms of behavior, and may be violent to achieve his own goals.
- Does not feel guilty, does not draw conclusions from punishments.
About hysterical
Women of the hysterical type with frequent mood swings have a very rich imagination. Such a person is distinguished by theatrical, feigned behavior. Girls with this pathology demonstrate their inner world to others, endow themselves with non-existent qualities, and exaggerate a lot. They mostly embellish their emotions, which they are actually unable to experience. According to psychologists, the hysterical type will often indulge in dreams that replace reality.
What behavior
What is the friend zone in girls and men - the main signs
To know how to recognize a psychopath among your friends, you can focus on a number of recognized behavioral symptoms. First of all, psychopathic people do not maintain social connections; for them there is no concept of norms of behavior. They rarely make friends and have a hard time maintaining friendly relationships. To understand with certainty what psychos look like, you need to observe their behavior. Below are signs of a psycho, which are more present in people with an unbalanced nervous system:
- short sleep time;
- do not know a sense of duty and gratitude;
- remember grievances;
- illogicality of actions and the habit of starting new things and leaving old ones unfinished;
- cannot sit in one place of work;
- often change their outlook on life, lie;
- rapid irritability;
- in minor quarrels they can seriously accuse their interlocutor of lying and recall all the shortcomings;
- character often changes, manipulates the feelings of others;
- cannot maintain long-term love relationships;
- there are addictions in the form of perverted sexual fantasies;
- love extreme types of entertainment, do not feel danger;
- jealous;
- have uneven handwriting;
- have their own unique point of view and high mental abilities.
To make sure that you are facing a psycho, it is important to know the main symptoms of behavior
How to protect yourself?
There is a risk that after breaking up with a psychopath, you may lose your reputation and financial resources. A psychopathic personality is very vindictive, and therefore can try to harm you in any way. The ultimate goal of a psychopath is to completely destroy you. For example, your chosen one may contact your boss and say that you take bribes, collaborate with the company's competitors, or steal. Therefore, you will have to be proactive. Tell your boss that you were in a relationship with a psychopathic person, you ended it, and now you are afraid of retaliation. After this, the likelihood that your manager will believe the information received about you is very minimal.
Am I a psychopath?
Psychopathic individuals do not understand the strangeness of their behavior, so there are cases when loved ones themselves point this out. How can you understand that you are a psychopath if others are pushing you towards this idea? In psychopaths, behavioral signs stand out compared to ordinary people. Therefore, first you should monitor your behavior and compare it with the symptoms.
Human character traits - what they are, their description and characteristics
Psychopaths are necessarily egoists, from a psychological point of view. These people strive to be the center of everyone's attention at any cost; such behavior is considered the norm for psychos. In addition, psychopaths are often convicted of cowardice and betrayal. They often abandon important tasks halfway, which can later lead to a real scandal.
Important! Psychologists consider psychopaths to be a cross between healthy people and people with pathology. Psychos do not have problems with mental tasks; they often shine with unique ideas and an unconventional vision of the situation. In addition, they are excellent at manipulating the behavior of others.
If a person has come to the conclusion: I am a psychopath, what should I do? First, you should contact a specialist to confirm the diagnosis. If fears are confirmed, the individual can independently or with the help of a specialist try to prevent inappropriate behavior. How to do this is described below.
4They demonstrate arrogant superiority and contempt for others.
Being boastful by nature, psychopaths tend to overestimate themselves and their abilities. They exalt themselves and believe that the whole world should cherish their ego. They consider themselves “special” and believe that they are the exception to every rule. This form of grandiosity is not just ordinary arrogance, but rather a deep-seated belief that a psychopath has about himself and determines his behavior. No crimes, deceptions or betrayals can go beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable for a psychopath. He has contempt for "mere mortals" who allow moral values or moral standards to get in the way.
Psychopaths believe that they are superior to others, and this belief allows them to break laws, overstep boundaries, and invade other people's lives. For example, a malignant narcissist may feel that his attractive appearance entitles him to have numerous lovers.
They do not accept any reservations, violating the rights of others or going over their heads to meet their goals.
Types of psychopathic personalities
Positive character traits of a person - what applies to them
Understanding what psychopathy is and how it manifests itself is sometimes not enough to recognize a psychopath in a person. The fact is that among such behavior, psychologists distinguish between sociopaths and psychopaths.
The main difference in behavior between these two types is the presence of remorse. Psychopaths do not feel guilty. Sociopaths may periodically analyze their own actions. In addition, they cannot try on other masks to achieve their interests. Most often, sociopaths openly demonstrate their thoughts and do rash actions. Psychopaths, on the contrary, often try on other people's disguises and build plans and tactics in their heads.
There are other types of personality disorders. How to identify a psychopath by the type of his fear:
- Paranoia. They suspect a bad plan in everyone, are very observant of details, are interested in other people's lives, emotions and attribute evil intentions to them.
- Schizoid. Minimal display of emotion and communication. They choose a profession with minimal contact with people.
- Hysterical. They feel the need to regularly be in the spotlight and react sharply to criticism.
- Excitable. They often show aggression, jealousy, and demands on others without reason. Prone to violence and anger.
- Psychasthenic. Unconfident individuals, fearful, dreamy, prone to self-flagellation.
- Affective. They show regular dissatisfaction with life and their mood often changes. They look for the joys of life in alcohol and drugs.
- Unstable. Weak willpower, easily succumb to the opinions of others, do not keep their promises.
Personality disorder may differ in type of fear
1Superficial feelings and lack of emotional responsiveness.
Psychopaths have reduced affective reactions and an absence of psychological reactions associated with fear. Therefore, they are more likely than others to exhibit cruel, rude, insensitive behavior, without realizing the emotional consequences or even the threat of punishment for their actions. When psychopaths are calm, they exude an eerie sense of equanimity and indifference, which is completely different from the warmth they try to fake in public.
Their charisma, lively or cheeky charm may initially attract others, but they are able to form a connection that is only emotionally one-sided and very short-lived. Their smile is fake. Normal people may radiate natural warmth, but psychopaths seem to reflect a rare glow that quickly fades when no one is looking at them. They are not able to experience fear and anxiety - feelings that are the main pillars of conscience and moral feelings. Psychopaths exhibit emotional coldness and indifference when they do not want to please or manipulate someone. Their coldness and callous indifference to the feelings of other people are often hidden under external charm and a mask of superficial sociability.
Differences between men and women
Having an idea of how to identify a psychopath, it can be difficult to figure it out because of the gender of the interlocutor. A woman and a man have a different psychological structure initially, therefore the processes of nervous system disorder can occur in different ways.
For example, male psychos often behave quite calmly in society, but behind the ostentatious confidence there may be a hidden danger. They think through their behavior and appearance in advance, so during a short conversation, deviations in behavior may not even be noticeable. Such individuals often achieve heights in business and are recognized as attractive people. Women who fall under the spell of such people can find out about the true face of the chosen one much later, in everyday life.
A psychopathic woman often demonstrates through her behavior that she is unbalanced, excitable, and easily succumbs to depressive moods. Such women often do not pay attention to the feelings of loved ones and are dry in their expression of emotions. At the same time, they often arouse interest among the opposite sex due to their ability to conduct cold calculations. The victim of such a lady will sooner or later feel the lack of love and selfish behavior that begins in adolescence.
About affective disorder
This category combines psychopaths of hyper- and hypothymic types. Women of the first type can be recognized by high activity, excessive self-confidence, high mood and optimism. It is not advisable to do any business with a hyperthymic psychopath, since such girls may lie and not keep their promises. The complete opposite of the first is a hypothymic psychopath. Women with this mental disorder are constantly despondent and depressed and look at life pessimistically. The self-esteem of girls of the hypothymic type is underestimated. In addition, they are very unsociable and unhappy with everything.
Causes
There are several main reasons that can result from this disorder:
- injury to the head during birth;
- previous infection with encephalitis;
- transmission along a genetic line;
- incorrect way of raising a child, including alcoholism in one or both parents.
If the situations that cause a nervous disorder are reduced to a minimum number, then the symptoms characteristic of psychopaths are reduced. The first symptoms appear in childhood, but with age they begin to take on a more pronounced form.
The causes of nervous disorders extend from childhood
About the excitable type
Girls with this pathology are characterized by strong emotional reactions and a predisposition to alcoholic beverages. The excitable type of psychopathy involves high irritability and a tendency to aggression. Attacks of rage come very quickly. There may be several reasons for this. Often such women are not satisfied with what is happening around them, they find fault with everything and start an argument. They are very stubborn, and therefore, when the angry mood passes, they will not suffer from remorse.
Communication with a psychopath
There are cases when a person recognizes a psycho in his interlocutor, but the circumstances are such that he has to maintain communication. How then should you behave to be safe? It should be remembered that such people are only interested in their own goals. Even if they nod affirmatively in response to the other person's thoughts, an emotional outburst may subsequently appear. It is useless to argue and discuss topics on which opinions differ. It is better to agree and, if possible, divert the conversation to a neutral topic. In other words, it is important to be able to overcome your own negative attitude and try to be non-conflict so as not to provoke your opponent.
You need to be able to distract attention. If you let an unbalanced interlocutor focus on his own appearance, look him straight in the face and maintain eye contact for a long time, it is better to periodically look away and pay attention to the conversation itself.
Finally, if your interlocutor has an aggravation, you should not try to get into a fight with a psycho. It's better to try to protect yourself and run away.
Unbalanced behavior is not always the reason why a conversation occurs with a psychopath. Knowing the symptoms, you can trace your opponent’s behavior and make sure that the person has a psychological disorder. There can be many reasons for this, most of them start from childhood. Subsequently, a specialist can confirm a diagnosis that requires preventive measures in the form of conversations, hypnosis sessions or the use of medication.
"Dark Triad"
The study found that people with high levels of self-objectification (that is, those who value themselves solely on their appearance) and narcissism spend significantly more time on social networks. Scientists also found that people prone to narcissism and psychopathy are much more likely to post selfies. Moreover, those who showed high levels of self-objectification and narcissism were the most likely to heavily edit their photos before posting them on social media. It is worth noting that all these traits are subclinical, that is, their presence in a person does not mean that he has a full-fledged mental disorder, and his mental health is at risk.
They order black coffee
This point could easily be attributed to a person who simply wants to reduce their intake of dairy and sugar. One study found that if you prefer to drink your coffee black without any additives, you will be more prone to psychopathy. The study involved thousands of volunteers, and the results showed that people who prefer bitter foods and drinks, such as black coffee, are more prone to the “Dark Triad”, that is, narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy, as well as everyday sadism. The list of bitter foods used in the study included radishes, celery and tonic water.
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