What's your opinion on sociopaths? | Page 8 | INFJ Forum

What's your opinion on sociopaths?

I think they do exist, I'm not sure if its the social structure or the externalities from chemical pollutions but there's way and way more disabilities like this, perhaps we're just getting better at discovering or diagnosing them.

I think its crazy that people want to be sociopaths or the status of sociopaths in pop culture.
 
Lark said:
I think they do exist, I'm not sure if its the social structure or the externalities from chemical pollutions but there's way and way more disabilities like this, perhaps we're just getting better at discovering or diagnosing them.

I think its crazy that people want to be sociopaths or the status of sociopaths in pop culture.
Click to expand...

Eh well they're kind of ignorant because once again there's a difference between amoral and sociopath.

Some people find 'evil' appealing. Doesn't make them a sociopath, it might just make them a jerk.

The difference is not what you are, but how you got that way. Some don't eat tofu. Others can't eat tofu.
 
sprinkles said:
Eh well they're kind of ignorant because once again there's a difference between amoral and sociopath.

Some people find 'evil' appealing. Doesn't make them a sociopath, it might just make them a jerk.

The difference is not what you are, but how you got that way. Some don't eat tofu. Others can't eat tofu.
Click to expand...

True but in most of the cases I know of the idea is that it would be great not to possess a conscience, I mean really? What other sorts of cognitive impairment or mental disabilities are appealing?

I do believe that a big part of the problem is the amount of characters featured as psychopaths or sociopaths who are appealing, ie Sherlock, Hannibal, Dexter, rather than being losers locked up in the system from no age and no ability to relate properly to anyone else.
 
I think they're people with mental disorders and should be treated as such.
 
One thing I've noticed about psychopaths is they always have that one lackey, like the Igor to their mad scientist, always shadowing them, whispering in their ear and then submiting in a "yes master" manner. Now those dumb fucks I have no respect for. They think the same as the psychopath, but don't have the courage to say it and be loud and proud about their delusions. Makes me think they actually know it's wrong, carry some remorse, but choose to be that way regardless. There's a reality show on MTV called House of Food that has a prime example of this, psychopath and lackey. Interesting stuff.
 
if we can have physical illnesses, why can't we have mental illnesses?

just because we might only partially understand how the mind works, it doesn't mean there aren't illnesses, diseases, disorders, etc. that impact us.

we use to believe many aliments like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and so forth were the result of witch craft, curses, or sins...we now know otherwise. How can we not believe that our mind might be the same way?
 
Are sociopaths easier to manipulate because they aren't guided by emotions, meaning they are easier to predict?
 
I work in the health profession. I was a confident and capable professional, when I happened to come into contact with the sociopath. The perfect, even exceptional, health professional, with access to power over innocent and vulnerable people. His psychological manipulation was seamless and undetectable. He destroyed me in just a few months. That was over 5 years ago and I have only just recovered my own soul.

It is very tempting to hate, to take revenge, to advocate for his destruction. I might even feel the need, as a protector, to do this. But first I must detach. Otherwise I would be drawn into the trap and my soul's destruction would be complete. Idealizing someone can get you into trouble - and so can devaluing. I don't want to fall into the trap of being either the moral persecutor, or ethical defender of sociopaths. It's an unhelpful approach to problem solving. It's more important for people to learn psychological self-defence. Although we are talking about 1% of the population here, there are a larger number of people on the fringe.
 
sweatshopsean said:
Are sociopaths easier to manipulate because they aren't guided by emotions, meaning they are easier to predict?
Click to expand...

Probably not, if they are inclined to be a manipulator themselves. If somebody truly didn't care about emotions and they caught on to your idea, they'd just flip that around against you.

Like the idea of suji in mahjong. Suji is the concept of reading an opponents wait by what they discard. But then there is the concept of suji trap where this strategy is used in reverse to make people discard into your hand. Then you can reverse-reverse suji trap by making opponents believe you will do it when you're actually not and you have a strange wait that is off suit and doesn't even follow the concept of suji at all - they'll be more likely to throw it to you.
 
lillyith said:
I think they're people with mental disorders and should be treated as such.
Click to expand...

It's true that it is a mental disorder. But I think they need to be treated quite differently. In general one should show compassion, kindess and empathy towards a person with a mental disorder; one should treat them by trying to empower and accept the mentally ill person. I don't think I need to explain how this backfires in the case of a sociopath. Their victims also have rights. Whereas the rest of the mentally ill, who are not dangerous, suffer from the stigma of being lumped in the same category.

Restrictions are necessary in some cases. And like I said before, self-defence.
 
Sociopaths are missing something. To me, mental illness is when something is not working correctly. There is no treatment for sociopaths, unlike most mental illnesses. I think calling it a mental illness is adding to the confusion of the Sherlocks and whatnot as being cool. They are not cool! (well Sherlock is but Sociopaths aren't) He's more Aspergers ;) Or possibly a narcissist.

Sociopaths are really scary and can hurt you badly: your career, get you fired, ruin your reputation, break your heart, drain your self-esteem, seduce your husband, etc. Its not just physical violence, actually from what I've seen they do way more personal damage and this is not illegal.

Bottom line: Stay away!!! Run as fast as possible. I was able to get a sociopath off my back by being really boring, by exhibiting no emotion and not talking around her. But she was still out to get me and got me fired with lies because she was very jealous of my work success.
 
Not much. No solid experience to go on. (None with confirmed sociopaths, anyway).

Anecdotal evidence suggests don't trust 'em. Better yet, at the slightest hint of a problem, walk away.
 
a sociopath will always tell me, "you and i are alike". to that i can only say "yes, we are very alike. but just as we are alike, we are different; we are just as different as we are alike - and that is something that you can never understand."
 
Sociopathy is a non-psychotic version of psychopathy. It's an illness of the mind, and one that can be treated through counseling and therapy. My opinion on sociopaths? I have a hard time answering that question, just like I would if the question had been about my opinion on developmentally challenged people, or people with mental illnesses. There's no two identical cases of any illness. Some display their symptoms one way, some in very different ways.
 
i have worked with someone for 4 years who i believe is a sociopath. i have known him to prey on other colleagues sexually, particularly women, although he professes to be gay. i have known him to lie and manipulate on so many occasions that now almost everything that comes out of his mouth sounds like a lie to me. i have observed him to mimic things that i have said that i suppose he believed sounded authentic. he is narcissistic and cannot stand for anyone to be the center of attention when he is present, even if that person has not sought attention in any way, and will actively interrupt interactions of this type with nonsense words. he talks in baby voices or other strange voices, he distorts peoples names and calls them names which sound endearing but when you think about them more deeply they are insulting. i have observed him to work under the influence of cocaine and alcohol.

when he thinks no one is paying attention, he talks down to vulnerable customers like as though they are shit.

for some reason, although he has been reported numerous times by different people for most of these behaviours, managers are charmed by him and refuse to sack him.

i have noticed that he has a very interesting way of responding to compliments he receives from people, which is to amplify them. in response to a compliment about his hair, he might remark on how much he enjoys being gorgeous. in response to a manager telling him that he received a customer compliment, he might allude to other, previous customer compliments he has received.

when i first met him, i instantly thought that there was something wrong about him, because of a cruel and spiteful remark that he made for no reason at all. but a colleague who i was friends with outside work said that she liked him and she would like us to hang out together, and so i thought i should give him a chance. one night after we had been out and she had left i went to a bar with him, just him and me. he told me that his parents paid for him to come to the city to study music, but he began to take ice, because he enjoyed it and it made him thin, and everyone told him how good he looked when he started using it. he said that he began to do sex work in order to pay for meth. he told me that he would work for couples, and if he could see that one of them was enjoying it and the other one was not but was just doing it for the sake of the partner who wanted it, he would try his best to make sure that the one who was enjoying it was having an amazing time, and he would try to exclude the one who was not enjoying it and try to make them enjoy it less. i found this confession shocking and despicable.

late one evening he sent me a text saying "i am a bad person".

one day early on when we were working together i told him that i did not like something that he had done while working with me, and he retaliated by telling another staff member lies about me, and they ganged up on me, making fun of my appearance and humiliating me in front of customers. i have avoided him since. he has gossiped about me and tried to destroy my reputation at work, and i know this because people who he gossiped to have approached me and told me what his claims were and how ridiculous they found those claims to be.

i despise him and find him to be a vile and revolting individual who is not worthy of treatment for his "disorder". he would only abuse it anyway to make himself appear more normal and blend in more. when i sometimes inadvertently catch a glimpse of the inside of his mouth i notice that his teeth are black and rotten inside from meth abuse and only a thin veneer of enamel is holding them together. when i look into his heart i see the same thing. he is fake and rotten to the core. i cant tolerate him, he makes me sick. i just cant wait to quit so that i can get away from him.
 
Last edited:
maybe it is a disorder that responds to treatment. thats good. i wish they would seek treatment and comply with treatment. but i think the best way of dealing with them is to try to avoid them completely, just so far as it is possible to avoid them without drawing their attention to me. i think it is best not to provide them with any opportunity of getting interested in me in any way. i would always be careful now to avoid giving anyone i meet opportunities to get interested in me, until i felt some level of confidence that they are not a sociopath. i dont want to have to deal with a person like this in any confrontational way ever again. it is too stressful and unproductive.
 
Yes, I think they exist. My last boss was one to a T. I don't think they can be cured. These people often have one or more cluster B personality disorder, such as NPD, something notoriously difficult to treat and cure. I think sociopaths are basically wired differently.
 
The way i understand it to be is that psychopaths are born that way but sociopaths are created by their environment

So psychopathy can be passed down in the genes

Sociopathy can be inculcated into people through a brutalising upbringing and/or culture

Concerning whether or not psychopaths/sociopaths are gay or straight they are NEITHER

A psychopath will sleep with anyone of either sex if they feel they can gain advantage by doing so

There is a spectrum of behaviours but the general consensus is that the fullblown psychopaths are NOT TREATABLE. If they are poor they end up in prison pretty quickly but if they are rich they make it onto the corporate board from where they are able to cause widespread damage to many peoples lives
 
I have experienced such people. The only thing you can do, is simply, and in all capital letters, AVOID, to the best of your ability.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back