Thursday, September 25, 2014

Questioning Sociopathy

From a reader:

I'm an academic with a background in pharmacology/neuroscience, and somewhat unsurprisingly as one of your readers, a sociopath. After becoming self aware, I became increasingly fixated on understanding the concept and any sort of serious academic investigation makes it very obvious that the current understanding of the 'disorder' is completely substandard and relies both on reams of terrible a priori reasoning and ridiculous qualitative moral judgements. After spending a while reading (thanks for writing your blog, it was a huge help) and thinking about things, I began to seriously question the prevailing academic ideas around the disorder - I also began to identify some of my peers as possibly sociopathic, and after carefully approaching the topic confirmed that all of the people I had suspected were, in fact, either sociopaths, BPD sufferers, or narcissists. After interacting with various individuals and quizzing person after person (in appropriately controlled ways and avoiding identifying any sociopathic traits myself) I've begun to steadily build my own picture of things. In the long run, I'd like to seriously research into this area and try to break down the ridiculous modern consensus, but at the moment I'm far too junior to publish ideas that controversial. As a result, I've started writing my own blog in an attempt to communicate my ideas and also just to get my thoughts on paper - which is at questioningsociopathy.com. I'm sending you this email because I am rather curious as to what your opinion of my site will be, and also as something of a thank you for providing the idea to start a blog as a way to communicate my ideas.
Thanks for your time!

59 comments:

  1. It won't take much acceptance for sociopaths to self-declare and take what they can get. imagine. if self-declaring meant you'd get free beers or sex from fans. so you'd lose out on some jobs, but you'd have a stream of people to play with. why not?

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  2. Suddenly one day Mr Tilson became a sociopath. After spending years as benevolent charity-organizer, enough was enough. He´d seen what humanity was made of, and this had slowly shaped him into this new "lifeform". Desperate knockings on his door were met with giggling laughter, growing louder with each desperate knock. Mr. Tilson suddenly had found new life, each step he took somehow seemed lighter, gayer. "Fxxk those turds, let em rot in hell, see if Satan himself may ring the bell" he wrote on a napkin while he looked with interest at the menus for various lokal diners; he´s fixation with food had become stronger. Nothing like a healthy appetite, mr Tilson thought with a leering grin, which one almost could imagine belonged to a piranha or barracuda fish..

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  3. The blog is a good idea. Other then this blog and Lovefraud, I know of
    no other high quality sociopathic blogs.
    But you must make it very easy to post, and like this blog, be tolorant
    of every strata of opinion. Unless the post is extremely offensive and
    inflamitory you must print it. And also make concessions for rotten
    grammar and spelling.

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    1. Of what use is a blog if it doesn't offend anyone.

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  4. I too a look and I have a couple of comments:

    1) I'm glad to see that the conversation is expanding and that it is being taking up more seriously in academic circles. I too believe that there is a degree of "wrong thinking" about how people presently defined as "disordered" experience life and make choices (good and bad).

    2) Being a self identified "asshole"...I mean Borderline Personality, you may consider a bit less judgmental about it. Your preconceived notions are showing...

    3) in response to ANON 4:00 - there aren't many high quality blogs out there. A lot of navel gazing a self aggrandizing (which can be interesting...sometimes). However, I would add Beyond the Borderline Personality (www.downwardspiralintothevortex.com). She does a good job of digesting and critiquing BP from the inside. The site is a bit moribund at the moment as it appears she is out on what I call a "BP Bender" - overfilling life to the point to crisis...

    But as conversations and forums go - this site seems to have the most interesting conversations (and some pretty amusing ones as well...)

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    1. Teehee…I tell people I have asshole disorder :P I’m not predatory, I’d least I’d like to believe that about myself, but I did used to be very abusive towards people in my life. I’ve always been pretty introspective, and at an early age I started to try to understand why I am so abusive. Why do I want to tear people down so much? It’s a lot of work being abusive. It takes a lot of energy. It wears others down way quicker than us because, well you know us borderlines, we’re like the energizer bunny. We can keep going and going and going……but I never launch an unsolicited attack against someone, but if someone has the misfortune of crossing my path, and being in any way abusive towards me, and taking my power away, well I almost feel bad for them, and the monster they elicit. I kind of had to laugh at ME’s recent interview where she is coming to terms with being a bit delusional about destroying people she is at war with ( I don’t recall exactly how it was worded), because I have been going through this myself. I’ll think I have caused utter complete destruction and annilation of an enemy when probably all that really happened was he had a slightly bruised ego, and the next day forgot who I even was. I’m a weird paradox. I like really feminine things (clothes, hair, all of it), but I have an inner guy. I really should have been a general. I’m sitting around all day plotting and scheming how I’m going to oust those in power. Deconstruct to reconstruct. This is my latest motto. I make fun of myself all of the time though. I do “crazy” well : ): )

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    2. Hey Dr. Ginger, great to see you back. And thanks HLHaller for recommending a blog on BPD. BTW what do you see as your main symptoms of BPD?

      It's good to see more well thought out blogs on these conditions. Mostly psychiatrist say that a number of personality disorders, or sociopathy or psychopathy are 'untreatable', instead of realizing that they are untreatable by and large because no one has developed successful methods of treatment. It's a self-serving pov.

      I wonder also if the writer of questioning sociopathy is willing to comment here as an identifiable figure. Then there could be a back and forth exchange.

      Dr. Ginger I love your descriptions of your inner life. I see bits of myself, and also huge divides. That fascinates me.

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    3. "Dr. Ginger I love your descriptions of your inner life. I see bits of myself, and also huge divides. That fascinates me." Like what?



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    4. Dr. Ginger, oh it's your dark humour and how you laugh at yourself, and the fact that I can catch on to some of what you express, which is often not the case -- take for instance most other attempts I guess at humour these days here, where I wouldn't know whether people are just off their rocker or if it is just my blank awareness.

      I'm envious of you in that respect. I don't have any sense of humour about myself.

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    5. Hi Doc,

      At this point in my life, I have HUGE emotions and I can be aggressive (less so as I get older) and I get particularly triggered if I feel rejection/disloyalty/loss of influence. And I like conflict.

      Those are the big ones. I also have some object constancy limitations, empathy limitations, and I sometime "split" on people. But these are much less common than when I was younger.

      Finally, on the list of "I really don't see these as problems" would be a high need for novelty and excitement (sport bikes, surfing, etc.) as well as sometimes attention seeking behavior (positive - I like to be the center of attention; I'm not the type to "cry for help" - more likely to pick a fight in that case).

      As I get older and more mindful of what is happening with my emotions and since I've had kids, I have "calmed down" considerably. I'm not sure if it's the oxytocin or the sense of purpose or maybe something else.

      Like I've said - I'm a work in progress.

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    6. Why are the borderlines on this site more rational and sane? I mentioned lack of empathy to borderlines on wastebook, and received death threats. I think they were confusing intense emotions with empathy.

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    7. LOL Dr. G. wastebook borderline community is pure fuckin drama at times. Eventually they weed their own kind out. I've had my share. ;) and yes, I agree, lack of empathy or the misplaced empathy. But it's that crazy kaka splitting mechanism I think that does it. Mindfulness, grey type thinking can bypass it, we just have to choose to do apply the skills.
      And like HL mentioned, age and experience calms it the fuck down. Thank God. Lol. :)

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    8. In regards to empathy and bpd, I think the way the borderline mind processes it is just different. Empathy in interpersonal relationships can be compromised, but then they can have deep empathy for things on a larger scale, and even become pathologically altruistic.

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    9. Superchick, Dr. Ginger and HL, I was hoping to ask for your advice regarding BPD.

      My brother recently married a woman who was diagnosed with BPD, but is not in treatment.
      They are moving here from overseas to get away from her abusive ex boyfriend and he wishes for us to be a family again.

      I confess I am a little scared of her, but after everything she has been through I would like nothing more than to be a good sister to her.

      Is there anything you might advise me NOT to do, since I do not wish to cause her any pain?
      Any advice would be appreciated.

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    10. Hi Serendipity,

      Good on ya for approaching it bravely and with an open mind! You sound like a very supportive sister. :-)

      BPD's are regarded, by some, as being the most difficult because we have big reactions to what others perceive as small stimuli. It's tough because, at least in my experience, it's confusing to others because it can be perceived as an overreaction (which it often is, but NEVER say that when they are triggered) and/or as a way to control/manipulate the situation (which it can be, but isn't necessarily - which is part of what makes it tricky).

      The first thing I would say (and I'm curious to hear from others on this) is if they are triggered, the best thing to do is be rationally supportive until they manage to calm down enough to "hear" what others are saying. This doesn't mean that you have to buy into what they say or ask for, but directly challenging their emotional state is gonna earn you a ticket to Splitsville. Realize that it might take a day or two for them to calm down...

      Once the emotions have calmed, if you feel the need to clear the air, approach the topic as neutrally and supportively as possible. One way is to ask their help with YOUR feelings about the situation. Accept (incorrect or not) that YOU did something to make them feel bad and ask them to help you understand how not to go there again. If she is high functioning, she will likely see her part and take steps as well. Any whiff of blame or shame will likely start the whole drama over again, so choose your words carefully.

      And, NEVER, EVER, openly isolate or reject them - that is almost always going to trigger them in the worst possible way.

      Finally, if she is escaping an abusive ex (that in it self is red flag if she's really BPD - your brother may be in for a ride...being the rebound and all...) there may also be some PTSD going on, which people seem to think looks the same from the outside (I haven't quite wrapped my head around that yet...).

      Good luck!

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    11. Validate her experiences as she brings them up, it will over flow in other areas and your relationship will be more solid with her. It will bypass the splitting mechanism just like HL mentioned up above.
      People with BPD are usually among the most emotionally sensitive people. Anyone who is emotionally sensitive must have skills to regulate those intense emotions. Skills are learned not hardwired. Hopefully, she's in a dbt program or one in her close future. Her experiences must become validated or else she re- lives it over and over. She'll be the one who needs to ultimately validate herself and experiences. Chronologically she's stunted in age inside herself and might act like a child at times to someone looking in. Usually trauma was experienced at that young age thou. Validation will be your success with her. Then it frees you both to talk about other things .

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    12. Dr. G, your right. For example: I think that's why family or close ones are just baffled at times. They can show such hate and fiery vengeance to one, than such unconditional love for animals on a larger scale. I sometimes wonder if it's still part of black and white thinking though. Not sure.... The brain processes empathy different that's for sure.

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    13. HL, Dr. Ginger, Superchick,

      A great discussion here about BPD. What do you think are the most striking differences, as well as the greatest commonalities between people with BPD and sociopaths? I'm speaking of generalities here, not everyone...

      Also, it looks like BPD is significantly more treatable than other personality disorders. I read that up to 80% of people with BPD improve with treatment after one year. Why do you think that is? Are people with BPD more open to treatment, there are better levers to reach them, or is it only because more effort has been made in developing treatments for BPD than for other personality disorders, or for sociopathy for that matter?

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    14. @DoctorSciFi: To me BPD seems to be deeply related to feelings and their management (or lack thereof) on the part of the person. Sociopathy however is simply an utilitarian attitude (maybe) taken to the extreme. Thus, in the case of sociopathy, treatment wouldn't work unless the person would see the benefit of it, and even so, it would only work as long as there's a benefit. Granted, it could be long-term, such as better integration within society, having better ways of slipping under the radar, so it would make sense for a sociopath to keep doing the treatment (or making it look like it's working). But as many sociopaths (especially low-functioning) are quite unconcerned with the effects of their actions, this is not really a benefit, so there's no incentive to get treated, or make it work.

      In the case of BPD, it makes sense that people want to change (trying to think from their perspective, I wouldn't be too keen on mood-swinging for the whole of my life), so it follows that they would also want the treatment to work.

      As for similarities, other than weak sense of self and impulsivity, I can't really think of anything right now.

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    15. I also add that I think just about anyone with a mood disturbance -- including some personality disorders and mood disorders like bipolar and various forms of depression -- responds best to validation and worst to rejection. Interacting with such a person means to keep validating and validating until they return to their baseline. It can be exasperating and not always clear how to do that. But till they get back to their baseline they won't be able to look at their part, how the interaction went, their triggers and what to do about that.

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    16. The similarities and differences between BPD and sociopathy. This would be an entire book as I have been studying this my entire adult life.

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    17. Well Dr. Ginger, it looks that we have a common interest here, although I have only been thinking about it for about a year, as I was not aware of sociopathy in any real sense till then. Can you say something as to what might be the chapters of the book or some brief synopsis of some of the main points?

      Alpharius, your comment is interesting. I have questions about "Sociopathy however is simply an utilitarian attitude (maybe) taken to the extreme. Thus, in the case of sociopathy, treatment wouldn't work unless the person would see the benefit of it, and even so, it would only work as long as there's a benefit. "

      Might it not be the case that no one goes into therapy or stays in it unless they believe there is some benefit. I wonder what the role of hope is for sociopaths. Do sociopaths feel hope? My impression is that sociopaths do feel emotions, like anger or vengeance for example and also positive emotions too... About that utilitarian attitude, how does that fit in with emotional experiences of socios?

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    18. Dr Ginger: Please detail a bit more about similarities and differences, I'm really curious on your take about it (and no, I'm not being sarcastic, I'm 100% serious)

      DoctorSciFi: Of course I cannot speak for every sociopath out there, I can only offer the opininio of one (self-diagnosed) sociopath. And from my point of view, yes, I do also feel hope, pretty much the full range of emotions, however my impression is that mine are much more blunted than neurotypicals', and lasting definitely less.

      For me, my emotional experiences fit perfectly with my attitude. I feel hope when I'm enacting a plan, be it to help a friend or exact vengeance on someone. I feel anger when the plan fails. My pulse heightens when I'm seducing someone. So, each and every emotion can be traced or linked to a specific goal that I'm trying to achieve, long or short term. That's how utilitarian attitude fits in with my emotional experiences.

      Also, I'm curious. If it may not be the case that no one goes into therapy for the benefit, what would then be the case? What would a sociopath go into therapy for?

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    19. “Can you say something as to what might be the chapters of the book or some brief synopsis of some of the main points?”

      Hehe well I probably won’t really write a book about it. Just completed a book, and starting another one on neuromarketing. It’s called Confessions of a Neuromarketer, jkjk :P It seems like a lot of the behaviors in sociopathy and bpd manifest themselves similarly, but a lot of times the underlying psychology is different. There are a lot of bpd in men in the prison system who get labeled with the ASPD diagnosis. Both have chameleon behaviors, can be destructive, impulsive, aggressive, dominant, want control, and have problems following rules. I have a Ph.D., and there are expectations on my behavior, but I still find I have a hard time following the rules. My question is, who made these rules? Why do I have to adhere to them? No one can ever answer. Rules fascinate me to no end. In each little group or organization I find myself in, I quickly figure out what all of the social rules are, and say, ok, this is what I am suppose to be doing. These are the rules we are working with. It amuses me to no end watching people follow all of their little bullshit social rules. I will follow the rules until I decide to break them whether for entertainment, such as violating social norms for fun, or if there is a goal I am trying to achieve. I might follow them better than anyone else in the group with the intention of gaining power, or holding it against them. Appearing to have the moral authority can be especially useful. I can have incredible social grace, or I can be rebellious, and tell people don’t expect me to subvert my personality. I think about it a lot how someone else who was in a position of power got to make the rules that I am suppose to abide by. Since someone who is no better than me, got to tell me how I am suppose to act, whenever I’m in a group I start working to change the dynamics of the group. I start making rules that others have to follow. Someone else got to do it, so why not me? : ) If someone acts as an oppressive force towards me, I deconstruct their world, and challenge the paradigm they operate from. Psychology has taught me how to think while being detached from my emotions, so it’s not emotion based, and it has allowed me to think more efficiently. Usually afterwards people are too intimidated to try their oppression on me again.

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    20. Hi Dr. Ginger,

      I have a perspective that I would love to hear your thoughts on, if your not "typed out." ;-) (others chime in too, please...)

      First the disclaimer: I am an engineer and statistician, not a psychologist. So, if I am "not even wrong," well...waddyaexpect? *smirk*

      It seems to be that many of the PD's have at least one thing in common: they are feeding a deep need that is overpowering whatever awareness and self control the individual may have. In the case of (pure) BPD, it's love, in the case of (pure) ASPD, it's power, in the case of NPD, it's feeding the ego, and in Avoidant Personality Disorder types it's safety. In each case, the behavior is aimed at feeding a very deep need and having poor control over ones actions as they relate to those needs.

      In this model, it's not unreasonable to see that one individual may have more than one deficit they are feeding, and so, you get some of the "confusion" that we see with the present DSM structure and the rise of the "PD-NOS."

      I'm still pulling together what I can on the genetics involved to see if I can support this from a biological perspective using some meta-analysis. (one of my motto's is, "everyone needs a hobby" *giggle*). So far, I see some interesting relationships...

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    21. Here are my thoughts: The DSM is an embarrassingly simplified classification system of humans who are very complex. I can't believe with all of the advancements in neuroscience that that that thing is still around.

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    22. By the way, let's not pathologize power in and of itself. See how carried away we've gotten with all of this?

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    23. Right - maybe "control" would be a better word than "power." And, really I don't see power (or control or self determination), or love, or ego, or safety as pathological in and of themselves - quite the contrary. It's the predatory feeding of those needs that's pathological.

      Again - I'm just another asshole trying to make sense of things.

      Cheers!

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    24. Alpharius, your description of how emotional experience fits with a goal oriented utilitarian outlook was clear and not something I would have gotten otherwise. What I meant, in case it wasn't clear is that no one in my view goes into therapy unless they see some potential benefit. In many cases it is to 'feel better'. Maybe socios are less motivated by that. IDK.

      HL, I think you and Dr. Ginger are pointing at the same thing when she writes -- but their underlying psychology is different. On BPD, in many cases people experienced severe childhood trauma. I think the complex of emotions there is more than one feeling, like love or fear. I am not an expert though by any means.

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    25. Hey guys still here. Just sick as a dog. So is my daughter. :-((

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    26. The joys of having a larger family. One gets it and it just spprreads.

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  5. To the author of questioning sociopathy, I like what I've seen of what you write and think your point of view is interesting. There are some things I disagree with already though. Like "Everyone knows our society is run by manipulative liars"

    Many people do not know that our society is run by manipulative liars. That's why they can be manipulated after all. And even some who are presented repeatedly with evidence of this, tend to discount it and believe in the inherent good of people to give them the benefit of the doubt.

    And anon 3:02: "He´d seen what humanity was made of", why are sociopaths so sure they know what humanity is made of -- as if there were a unique answer that was objective rather than radically subjective. Is it that the obvious subjectivity doesn't matter -- that it only matters what he or she thinks, or is it that such a person is simply oblivious to this possibility that could raise doubts that they truly know what humanity is made of.

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  6. Starting a blog for sociopaths is fine. Perhaps one of these days there will be an illustrious prize. Something like the Nobel Peace Prize. Or, is that handled by the International Criminal Court (specially set up to handle War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, Genocides, and the like)?

    I suggest another project. Let's embark on an initiative to fund a group of prestigious universities. Something like the "Ivy League," but encompassing a wide swatch of the United States. I live not far from the University of Washington, so let's set up TED BUNDY UNIVERSITY for training serial killers. Perhaps there's room here in Puget Sound for a GARY RIDGWAY (“cheaper by the dozen”) INSTITUTE FOR PROLIFIC HIDE IN PLAIN SITE STATE COLLEGE as well.

    I have relatives in Chicago, suggesting to me AL CAPONE UNIVERSITY with a concentration on extortion, run running, and St Valentines Day massacres. Of course there will be a DEXTER MORGAN MEDICAL SCHOOL in Miami, renowned for its training in blood spatter analysis. For sentimental family reasons I suggest that La Porte, Indiana be the site of the woman only BELLE GUNNESS UNIVERSITY. I know some Florida female readers will be insulted that we are not starting a Florida university, but as a sop to them we will set up a Aileen Wuornos Hall. After all, Wuornos only killed about seven people. Gunness (whose farm was not far from the farm where my mother grew up) buried about 40 people in her basement and probably fed as many other victims to her pigs. She was also an all-sport versatile athlete, equally adept a poisoning husbands (and children) with pies she baked or smashing their heads with a meat grinder. California deserves (at least) two universities, perhaps a MANSON CULT TECH and a ZODIAC BAYVIEW UAREDEAD. Wisconsin deserves a GEIN ACADEMY OF NECROPHILIA. Henry Lee Lucas is very controversial (dubiously claiming to be responsible for hundreds of murders), so perhaps a chain of community colleges would be most appropriate for him. There's more, but I will leave the research or the lie spinning to other readers, more adept than I am. As far as the faculty, we need look no further for hundreds of candidates, do we?

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    1. ... lolwut?

      In all seriousness, I read the whole thing and I'm vaguely sensing that something's bothering you. Which part of today's post rubbed you the wrong way?

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    2. Maybe someone rubbed him the right way.

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    3. VooDooPork: In all seriousness, I was trying to be funny. There is no connection whatsoever between having a sense of humor and having ethical and empathic qualities. From the FBI web sight: "Psychopaths often exude charm and charisma, making them compelling, likeable, and believable during interviews. They can display a sense of humor and be pleasant to talk with. THEY CAN DISPLAY A SENSE OF HUMOR and be pleasant to talk to.(My capitalization).

      Speaking of "rubbing the wrong way":

      What's the difference between rape and murder?

      My mood.

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    4. @Radical Agnostic: Based on your previous posts, I thought you were joking, but wasn't sure. Then I wondered if something was, in fact bothering you. Why wouldn't a psychopath have a sense of humor? Is that actually what some people think?

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    5. Join the club. Often I am serious and people think I am joking. Often I am joking and people think I am serious. It is a good thing REPEAT FOR THE FBI PEOPLE WATCHING ME!!!! THIS IS A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!! that if I were a real murderous psychopath WHICH I AM NOT!!!!! and I handed some cops (and I have a lot of cop friends) a ransom note or an extortion note or a threat of some kind with a deadline about meeting my demands in a specified (and brief) time or the concealed WMD would wreak incalculable havoc, they would probably think I was joking and start collapsing in guffaws and hysterical laughter.

      Here is a project for my vast multitude of fans and followers (all three or four of you), we need to come up with some WORDS. A *SAFE* WORD TO LET PEOPLE KNOW I AM JUST JOKING. AND AN #UNSAFE# WORD to let people know I really mean business. Or should I label it the other way around? Quick! Quick! VooDooPork! We don't have much time. You make the decision! The fate of the world rests on you making the correct decision.

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    6. RA: I got it and I thought it was a crack up! :-)

      I also re-told the rape/murder joke - giggle.

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  7. Hmm...
    As though no one ever noticed that most highly intelligent people fall into one or another 'personality disorder' and those who use their 'intelligence' to their own advantage tend to be more sociopathic than others.
    That's not to say that everyone with accentuated 'sociopathic' traits should be considered as an intelligent individual.
    Perhaps we should go back to living in groups no larger than 200 to 300 as to be able to check and control each other's accentuated traits, then everyone can live in a balanced society that is properly xenophobic and can still trade and exchange ideas with 'strangers'?
    Or perhaps it's more interesting the way we all purport to be more clever than we think we are, while we all really dig our own graves with as much provided delay and cheer as allowed to us by our 'beloved neighbours'.
    Or perhaps cynicism should be 'properly' arrived at and not a plaything for the spoiled?

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  8. Ventator, I find your comment interesting and perceptive. I've had similar thoughts about dividing the world into post-post-post modern hunting & gathering groups. One idea I toyed with was once a year having a "switch out of your tribe" marketplace for those people who wanted to switch identity and adopt a new life style. "Hello, I would like to join a tribe where everyone fucks everyone else constantly like bonobos." "Hello, I want to join a tribe where everyone abstains from sex and lives like monks and nuns for a year."

    Perhaps of trivial interest to connoisseurs of trivial sociopathic pranks, the web was viraled with a story about a woman who had a third breast surgically implanted, with the peculiar explanation that she wanted men to quit hitting on her for sex. I've been fooled a few times in my life, especially by paths, but even for someone as senile and dumb as I am that one smelled SO wrong. I just checked and Snopes investigated and found plenty of evidence of fraud, lying, deceit, etc.

    Somehow, I think the cute idea of "re-hunter-gatherer" back to our mythical peaceful and fulfilling pre-civilization past just won't fly. I don't think we can put the toothpaste back into the tube when it's been on the bedpost for a million years or so.

    Dystopican question for all my fans and other restless, bored path readers: Do you think humanity will survive the end of this century? Although I am fond of my empathic 10 year old granddaughter (a very bright little girl), I think the odds are about 80 to 20 this is the last century of our species. Perhaps the Martian immigrants will mutter to themselves as they struggle in their domes, "Ah, good old earth. How I miss it."

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    1. Given the state of the planet's overburdened ecosystems, a growing population and water scarcity, species going extinct at the greatest rate since the dinosaurs, the emergence of non-treatable TB, staph infections, ebola and who knows what else, I think you're probably right. It will take a global revolution to halt the environmental collapse that's only now emerging on the horizon in a way that's undeniable. The elites in their bunkers might survive the first wave of death, but, given that life, including microbes, always finds a way, I don't believe they will survive for long. On the other hand, I hope kids today rise up and throw certain bastards out on the their duff (or under a truck). Perhaps, with a little pluck and a lot of luck, humanity will make it past 2064 . . . I think that was the date Issac Newton predicted the world would end. (He was obsessed with decoding certain passages from the bible, which he believed contained the date for the end-times.)

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  9. Only the Paranoid SurviveSeptember 25, 2014 at 9:12 PM

    " Do you think humanity will survive the end of this century? "
    Of course.

    " I think the odds are about 80 to 20 this is the last century of our species."
    Based on what? Humanity is too lazy to self-destruct in a World War 3 scenario and there are still too many natural resources.

    I just don't see that happening.

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    1. You may be right. I hope you are. Nuclear weapons are not trivial. Plagues (ebola the latest) are not trivial and probably not that hard for technologically sophisticated fanatics to engineer. Global warming is cooking us. I am not sure you are paranoid enough to survive, but maybe you are.

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    2. Only the Paranoid SurviveSeptember 27, 2014 at 12:21 PM

      "You may be right. I hope you are."
      No, you don't.

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  10. "God" is constructed of two primary parts. "Upper" Yaw---
    (God The Father.) And "Lower" Yaw--- (Jesus Christ.)
    The "Father" part of God has never directly interacted with mankind.
    The "Son" (Christ) part of God was the Creater God that made the
    universe and earth. He is the God of the Old Testament that humans had direct interaction with. He is the God that incarnated as Jesus Christ.
    Upper Yah--- has administrative authourity over Christ. That's why on the
    eve of His crucification, Christ prayed to His Father asking for permission
    to bypass the horrible fate awaiting Him.
    God never "died" before, but that was exactly what He had to do to atone
    for mankind's sins. "The wages of sin are DEATH." God had to die in our
    place.
    We all must undergo physical death ONCE. But we don't have to undergo
    ETERNAL death. Christ has saved us from that.
    So in answer to the question, "Will the human race go extinct?" Absolutely not. God is EXTENDING His influence through human beings.
    "Ye are God's, you children of the Most High."

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    1. Validate her experiences as she brings them up, it will over flow in other areas and your relationship will be more solid with her. It will bypass the splitting mechanism just like HL mentioned up above.
      People with BPD are usually among the most emotionally sensitive people. Anyone who is emotionally sensitive must have skills to regulate those intense emotions. Skills are learned not hardwired. Hopefully, she's in a dbt program or one in her close future. Her experiences must become validated or else she re- lives it over and over. She'll be the one who needs to ultimately validate herself and experiences. Chronologically she's stunted in age inside herself and might act like a child at times to someone looking in. Usually trauma was experienced at that young age thou. Validation will be your success with her. Then it frees you both to talk about other things .

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    2. ^ Oops that was in reference to someone else. Lol

      But in reply to you Anon I like the Lower Yaw guy more. :p

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    3. Christian anon: as gently as I can put this, you are inputting bullshit. Whether you call him "Lower Yaw" or "Jesus Christ," he probably lived and died on a cross 2,000 years ago, but that's not a slam dunk as far as empirical validity goes. If he did live, he certainly wasn't "born of a virgin." His mom Mary was cheating on her husband and somehow the story about the angel and impregnation by god hit a superstition "sweet spot" and "went viral." If it makes you feel better to think you have a "soul" that will go to an imaginary (and very boring) place called "heaven," that's your drug of choice. When ever some body tells me about their spiritual knowledge of God and Heaven, I ask them to demonstrate "higher truth" by walking through a wall. (If they're magicians like Penn and Teller) they probably can fool most of us, but I am sure you would just break your stupid nose if you tried energetically enough. If you are a Christian, why are you reading a blog by, for, and about psychopaths and sociopaths? Are you looking for witches to burn or dunk?

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    4. @Christian Anon: God dies in our place? Then how come you seem to think of him as still pretty much alive?

      And if Jesus Christ was a part of God, then sacrificing him(self) on a cross for our sins was no sacrifice at all, as he also seems pretty much alive, isn't it? Looks to me as though God hasn't really lost anything, although does seem so. Make it look like you're sacrificing something when you in fact aren't, then use it to gather your followers' unconditional love and devotion. Brilliant maneuver

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  11. Blog away. the more others can blog about this the more insightful / helpful it will be to those who can avoid a Socio and the destruction they bring. Also, be aware that we live in a very selfish society now. We have become a people of wanting everything and needing it now. that can blur lines of a socio and just people in general that is a me, me, me generation. Its important to get to the center of a persons thought process. When a socio desire it to harm, destruct and use a person to their breaking point. That's not a person who needs to be out in society walking around. Understand selfishness and the generation of entitlement does not make one a socio. Outward appearances and behaviors may make it seem they are but really are not.

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  12. Many times a "socio" is just a selfish, ignorant empath. These are far greater in number & most likely just as harmful as the genuine articles. Perhaps even worse due to fantasies that they have to "prove themselves"..?

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    1. Anon probably one million eleventy thousand, you are correct. You are probably describing me. I'm just a selfish, ignorant empath. I am just as harmful as the genuine article. I am trying to figure out a way to harm you as I type this. Boo! Someone dangerous is right behind you holding a gun at this very second!

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  13. I understand how vital it is that labels be defined and applied with great care; we all use labels of one kind or another every day. But exactly where in the spectrum of light does one color shade into another? Blurring between colors always occurs; therein lies the danger of boxing in ourselves or someone else. I certainly would not venture too far into Label-land without standing a long time before a mirror . . . .

    The conversation about BPDs interests me because I have a family member who seems to be exhibiting a cluster of traits that I'm at a loss on how to deal with. The worst one is that she blows up every five minutes if you disagree with her, criticize, etc. Even though her life is pure chaos (she's very combative and has lost most of her friends, gone to court, etc.) no one dares suggest she might want to dial it down. a bit. I'm getting worried that, given her cycles, she's going to lose everything that is precious to her. Reading what others have to say about BPD has been helpful; it could be PTSD I suppose. She was raped by her ex, beaten by cops, etc.



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  14. Maybe one isn't giving any power away. Maybe one is harnessing power for
    one-self.

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  15. one think I have read to help form my way of life is the satanic bible I don’t like the dogmas but I found it has the same philosophy I believed in its like if you change out Satanist with sociopath it can work for the most part defiantly not all but a few things like in the pdf pages 27-33 and pg 49 its funny in high school people paid me to argue with people who read the bible and challenge me on both religions since i read both book I would usually smash the Christians its was funny seeing them running away crying lol empaths are so weak

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  16. I like your style, Axl. Every day I ask myself, "What is worse than an atheist?" I am not quite sure you've nailed it, but you're definitely in the running for the bottom.

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