The Sociopath Next Door:

The Ruthless Verses the Rest of Us" by Martha Stout, Ph.D.

i just wanted to share this title. when i first made an account here i was going through some rough times with the libra ex... (no, i don't think all libras are sociopaths. i don't necessarily think it's a sign thing.) after getting some much needed advice from here, i was talking with a friend and they suggested i read this book. between the advice here and ESPECIALLY the book, it saved me from a horrible mess. not only with the libra ex, but with others and in all future dealings with ppl. :]

Posted by tauruscancerdelight
Thanks misslisa, sometimes I wonder if my ex is a sociopath or psychopath...he hurt me deeply.

I will look for that book. I love reading and learning anyways.

no worries... it is a hard thing to go thru and i'm sorry to hear that you possibly went thru it, as well. not only from self-awareness do we learn, but from awareness of others, too. :]

i wouldn't say "full of psycopaths"... i believe that there are a lot that are just here to help and to learn. there is a difference between sociopaths and psychopaths and the book describes the difference. but tomAtoes, tomaaatoes.... right? :]

Posted by tauruscancerdelight
Thanks misslisa, sometimes I wonder if my ex is a sociopath or psychopath...he hurt me deeply.

I will look for that book. I love reading and learning anyways.

Just because he hurt you deeply, as you put it, does not make him a sociopath or a psychopath. Have you looked in the mirror lately?? Make sure you read that book with an open mind...

hey Lildol! 🙂 i didn't see this 'til now. lol!

i agree! an open mind would be best... my ex was admitted and diagnosed with this! i did not know this going into the relationship! and like i've said before... i am not capable or qualified to make that judgement. 🙂

Amazing book, it's not until you read this that you figure out the people that are this way and how they fit the descriptions to a tee. Right from the smooth and popular aspect of their personalities down to their cruelness and the way they manipulate their prey! They pretend to show all the emotions and trick you into believing every word they say and yet nothing could be further from the truth.

I think that anyone that can and does harm animals, inflicting pain and killing them is most certainly a sociopath, I would recognise this trait straight off and keep well away from such a person.

Who is the Devil you know?
—One in 25 Americans is a Sociopath-no conscience, no guilt. It could be your mean boss who loves to humiliate people in meetings or your crazy ex or your sadistic high school gym teacher—

Eerie stuff

Sociopaths...people with no conscience. Most of us live by our consciences it plays a part in our everyday lives when making decisions, we feel, they don't!

Some common traits to recognize a sociopath:

Unless under the spell of a psychotic delusion, extreme rage, inescapable deprivation, drugs, or a destructive authority figure a person who is —conscience bound?? does not-in the same sense he cannot-kill, rape in cold blood, torture another person, steal someone's life savings, trick someone into a loveless relationship as sport or willfully abandon his own child.

The tools of the trade:
Charm
Spontaneity
Risk takers
Shameless
sexual seduction and acting skills

Paradoxically, the visible signs of emotion at will can become second nature to the cold blooded-the appearance of intense interest in another person's problems or enthusiasms, chest thumping patriotism, righteous indignation, blushing modesty, weepy sadness. Crocodile tears at will are a sociopathic trademark.

The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior of unscrupulous people is not directed, as one might imagine, at our fearfulness. It is perversely, an appeal to our sympathy. For people to pity them or feel sorry for them! This is how they maintain control and that is their main focus, gaining and maintaining Control!

It hasn't been clearly defined but from what I read the term Psychpath is now used to describe the person in Sweethearts' post. Scientist are debating which term and it is rapidly becoming a belief that there is a hierarchy with Pyschopaths at the top and Sociopaths, having some level of a conscious, below them. One thing that ties them both is extreme narcissism.