10 Signs for Spotting a Sociopath

[music]

This is very important. We all know them, we may even have been taken in by them. Even here, or should I say especially here? In the words of article author Mike Adams

"One of the more offensive duties of being an investigative journalist is taking out the trash -- exposing liars, fraudsters, con artists and scammers for the people they truly are. Each time we investigate a sociopath, we find that they always have a little cult group following of spellbound worshippers who consider that particular sociopath to be a "guru" or "prophet."

10 signs for spotting a sociopath

#1) Sociopaths are charming. Sociopaths have high charisma and tend to attract a following just because people want to be around them. They have a "glow" about them that attracts people who typically seek guidance or direction. They often appear to be sexy or have a strong sexual attraction. Not all sexy people are sociopaths, obviously, but watch out for over-the-top sexual appetites and weird fetishes.

#2) Sociopaths are more spontaneous and intense than other people. They tend to do bizarre, sometimes erratic things that most regular people wouldn't do. They are unbound by normal social contracts. Their behavior often seems irrational or extremely risky.

#3) Sociopaths are incapable of feeling shame, guilt or remorse. Their brains simply lack the circuitry to process such emotions. This allows them to betray people, threaten people or harm people without giving it a second thought. They pursue any action that serves their own self interest even if it seriously harms others. This is why you will find many very "successful" sociopaths in high levels of government, in any nation.

#4) Sociopaths invent outrageous lies about their experiences. They wildly exaggerate things to the point of absurdity, but when they describe it to you in a storytelling format, for some reason it sounds believable at the time.

#5) Sociopaths seek to dominate others and "win" at all costs. They hate to lose any argument or fight and will viciously defend their web of lies, even to the point of logical absurdity.

#6) Sociopaths tend to be highly intelligent, but they use their brainpower to deceive others rather than empower them. Their high IQs often makes them dangerous. This is why many of the best-known serial killers who successfully evaded law enforcement were sociopaths.

#7) Sociopaths are incapable of love and are entirely self-serving. They may feign love or compassion in order to get what they want, but they don't actually FEEL love in the way that you or I do.

#8) Sociopaths speak poetically. They are master wordsmiths, able to deliver a running "stream of consciousness" monologue that is both intriguing and hypnotic. They are expert storytellers and even poets. As a great example of this in action, watch this interview of Charles Manson on YouTube.

#9) Sociopaths never apologize. They are never wrong. They never feel guilt. They can never apologize. Even if shown proof that they were wrong, they will refuse to apologize and instead go on the attack.

#10) Sociopaths are delusional and literally believe that what they say becomes truth merely because they say it! Charles Manson, the sociopathic murderer, is famous for saying, "I've never killed anyone! I don't need to kill anyone! I THINK it! I have it HERE! (Pointing to his temple.) I don't need to live in this physical realm..."

How to spot a sociopath

[lunaflare]

Thanks music.

Two questions spring to mind:
Are sociopaths born or created?
And why are there sociopaths in our world?

[music]

Good questions. While there is debate about this, I would say they are born. Testimony from a sociopath forum (sociopathworld) reveals that they themselves knew from an early age that they were different. For example, while they might think things like "Hmm, it would interesting to poke that burning stick into an eyeball and see what happens", they soon learn to hide that behaviour, even the penchant for that behaviour, because society tends to take a dim view of that sort of thing. I would encourage everyone to dip into this forum, their way of relating to each other has a consistancy that can help identify them, and their modus operandi certainly rang a bell with me when considering people I have come into contact with. It would also be wise for us to be able to identify the sociopaths in our own lives. I wouldn't advocate culling them, they are what they are, but since they are unable to feel love, or even know what it is, they certainly need controlling for the greater good of all. I would venture that if it is a natural condition, there may be a genetic disposition that would mean that certain dynastic families may be made up largely of sociopaths. Perceived struggles within the elite, in fact, may turn out to be as simple as the divide between the "normals", who have the capacity for love, and the sociopaths, who don't.

Why are they in this world? This reminds me of questions like: Why are there lethal viruses? Why are there spiders that are loaded with more venom than they need to procure food and ensure survival? There may be a reason, or there may not be a reason. If we assume that we have created this illusion, why did we create sociopaths? Perhaps to learn - perhaps to show us what happens when we live a life that is the ultimate abnegation and rejection of love? Perhaps the sociopath is the supreme example of the selfishness and seperation of duality consciousness?

edit: I should add that by "control", I mean inform and identify, and so disempower their toxic and hurtful manipulation. I don't mean lock up, sterilise, or in fact, any of the things they would do to us if we inconvenienced them (and they could get away with it).

[Maunagarjana]

I too recommend sociopathworld.com, it's very informative. I discovered it last year. There's a lot of good information on there, and commentary by actual sociopaths and people who have been involved with them before. There's also good information about psychopaths and malignant narcissists and how they differ from sociopaths. What I walked away from after spending some time reading that site is the question of "how do we keep these people (sociopaths, psychopaths and malignant narcissists) out of positions of power?"

[music]

When we look to people who are ruthless in the pursuit of power, are we not observing sociopathic tendancies at work? I think it may be too late to keep them from positions of power, but for me, love is a power far greater than cold and ruthless manipulation. I would say, as in everything, our unity is the key.

[Beren]

Posted by music (here)
When we look to people who are ruthless in the pursuit of power, are we not observing sociopathic tendancies at work? I think it may be too late to keep them from positions of power, but for me, love is a power far greater than cold and ruthless manipulation. I would say, as in everything, our unity is the key.

Great thread!

Love is the key. But as we should know -Love isn`t just roses and bees, sometimes tough Love is the required key for the greater benefit of all including the sociopath one.
First step:

becoming aware what is manipulation and then act accordingly.

[Eram]

Hang around with a poet and you will find that you begin to choose your words carefully and become aware of their power.

Hang around with an enlightened person and you will find that your heart opens up.

Hang around with a sociopath and you will find that consciousness drops like a brick.

[mosquito]

Seems very similar to a psychopath to me.

Here's an interesting article discussing the two ........

http://depressiond.com/sociopath-vs-...ity-disorders/

[music]

It is a fine balance, love/tough love. I agonise a fair bit over toughness, and yes, we need to be something other than a push-over Perhaps it's just semantics, and I don't like the word "tough" because it has connotations for me it might not for others. As a parent I appreciate that at times we must deny our children's wishes because our contract with them is to nurture them and keep them safe until they can decide for themselves whether or not to do things that are injurious to them. Hopefully, by that time we have allowed them to become themselves so fully, that the draw of self-destructive behaviour is no longer there.

Yes, Beren, thank you, awareness is the point of this thread. From sociopathworld:

Karl Marx says that religion is the opiate of the masses. That may be, but it's not the only drug in their cocktail. They have a lot of things that sociopaths don't have, one of which is the feeling of interconnectedness that comes from allowing considerations for other people to dominate their decision-making.

This is wrong on so many levels, and we begin to see the contempt within which the sociopath holds us. What we see as our beautiful essential nature, they see as analogous to opium induced torpor.

I am always charmed when someone sees through me. Obviously not everyone can or would want to share our worldview. For those that do not or cannot, it seems best for all concerned that they continue to be deceived.

No, it is best for the sociopath that they remain undetected, it is not good for society. They damage all who they come in contact with them who are unaware of what they are. Sometimes in small ways that are hardly noticed, sometimes at greater cost.

What follows is how sociopaths describe how to pick them, from the same forum:

Sociopath test: How to spot them before they target you

Everyone wants to know how to identify a sociopath, it's one of the most frequently asked questions I get. The problem is that no one has discovered a definitive means of identifying them, even in a clinical setting with trained psychologists, even with a brain scanner. For the average layperson, the advice for spotting a sociopath is as varied and unreliable as "evil eyes," social parasite/criminal, and (my favorite for being both too specific and overbroad) Martha's Stout's "pity play" litmus test. I had hoped that there would be physical manifestations of sociopathy, but the results, while suggestive of potential promising areas of follow-up (why don't sociopaths take cold medicine?), were far from scientific or conclusive. Still, from my own personal experience with sociopaths, I believe that there are some easily observable behaviors or traits that correlate relatively well with sociopathy. I came up with 12.

1. Sociopaths typically don't smalltalk about themselves as much as normal people do. They will direct the conversation back to the new acquaintance as much as they can.

2. A sociopath will reveal "personal" details about himself strategically, i.e. for the purposes of misdirection or a false sense of intimacy/trust. Revelations of actual truths are very rare and may be perceived as a small slip of the mask.

3. Sociopaths frequently hesitate before responding. It will be unclear to you whether they are bored, annoyed, lying, or all three.

4. No strong reactions to illogical hotbed political/social topics (e.g. Octomom or Catholic priest child molestation).

5. Monotone voice (I am told).

6. A tendency to take things too literally or otherwise not respond appropriately to small emotional cues.

7. Cold indifference to one or more family members.

8. Seemingly a different person when "distracted."

9. Disconnect between what the sociopath says and does, e.g. seems charitable but does not give money to homeless or vice versa.

10. Never shows signs of embarrassment. Easily wins over large crowds with confidence. "Poise" in this case = lack of nerves.

11. Does not fit stereotypes for gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, or career. Could seem foreign, bisexual, older or younger, pious, wealthy or poor, but may also just seem unplaceable.

12. Can flip flop between keeping a very low profile (the observer) to being the life of the party (the actor).
I don't think all of these would apply to all sociopaths, and certainly many of them apply to people who aren't sociopaths, however they all have the advantage of being directly observable by a layperson, at least without the aid of a brain scan or 10 page questionnaire. Also, because they're seemingly inconsequential and not directly related to the classic sociopath/antisocial traits, a sociopath would have less reason to mask them.

* ... and from the comments to that post:

13. Can often appear to be tender, loving, or passionate, yet able to switch to completely self-centered, cold and unapologetic on a dime, and vice versa.

14. Seemingly able to relate to almost anyone's issues in some capacity, from a logical standpoint, and apt to give advice if needed.

15. (Related to 14) When not being able to relate to someone's issues, will instead be highly inquisitive as opposed to empathetic, seeming to want to know more about the issue than comforting and helping the person.

16. Well versed in giving advice on social manipulations in the guise of "help" to friends, loved ones, and family, with great enthusiasm instead of hesitancy.

Eram (here): Hang around with a poet and you will find that you begin to choose your words carefully and become aware of their power.

Hang around with an enlightened person and you will find that your heart opens up.

Hang around with a sociopath and you will find that consciousness drops like a brick.

Haha, I would have to agree, well put.

[Sérénité]

Thankyou for this thread Music and also the link to the website, Im going to check that out for sure.

There is someone i know who fits every part of this descriptive. Over the years I seen his veil slip slowly but surely. He is either adored or hated by others, no in between. The ones who hate him have seen through his guise and avoid him like the plague, it is the only way to triumph over him, and people like him.

In my experience, they cant be defeated. My only solace is to ignore them, avoid them and most importantly, give them absolutely no way to control over you.
This is what they yearn for and desire the most, adoration and control.

The soul destroying part of it all is to watch those you love, who cant see past the false façade, slip slowly into decay while under their power...

[music]

Posted by mariposafe (here)
Seems very similar to a psychopath to me.

Here's an interesting article discussing the two ........

http://depressiond.com/sociopath-vs-...ity-disorders/

Thanks for the link. Yes, similar but different. Here is the sociopath take on it which I think illustrates it well:

If you subscribe to the Hare criteria for a psychopath, then you see the conning, manipulative narcissistic liar and user as a psychopath, as long as he or she is completely lacking in remorse or empathy. The sociopath, however, is capable of guilt, caring, building relationships, etc., but only within a certain context. He or she will have loyalties to a specific group but not to society at large. They care nothing for social norms and will break them with impunity if it serves their purpose. So, on the surface, they may resemble psychopaths. However, they might genuinely feel remorse over harming someone within their group or family. They will have a moral code specific to that context: they might not lie, exploit, or manipulate within the group. Thus, they exhibit psychopathic behaviors in certain contexts but not all.

Society sees psychopaths as "born", and sociopaths as "made", perhaps because of the differences detailed above, society finds conscious or unconscious direction in the manipulation of the sociopath, but as mentioned before, they themselves sense their difference early on.

[Eram]

Posted by lunaflare (here)
Thanks music.

Two questions spring to mind:
Are sociopaths born or created?
And why are there sociopaths in our world?

What makes people become sociopath?

What makes a person sociopathic is a long and hard question to answer. In truth, there probably isn't a correct answer. There are some theories, which I will outline, briefly, here. But one must remember psychoanalytic theories are difficult, if not impossible, to prove completely via scientific method. The reason for this is that, unlike many chemicals, personality is mutable and difficult to define. The way mental illnesses affect people is also quite diverse. In each individual a mental illness most likely will run a course different from that in the next individual. And personality disorders, such as antisocial personality, can range over a broad spectrum when considering its similarities and differences in different people.

The most commonly accepted predeterminant of sociopathy would be a grave degree of early parental neglect. If anything, this seems to be the most diagnostic factor in forming antisocial personality. A person, even an animal, needs some form of just post-natal bonding with another person or animal in order to form proper relationships with others as he or she ages. When this is not provided, all h-e-double-toothpicks, as they say, breaks loose. As an aside, it does not matter the race, age or sex of the individual with whom the baby must bond. In the animal kingdom, a duck may bond to a dog, a penguin to a wildebeest. As long as the elder animal is nurturant, the animal does well. In the animal world, this bonding is called imprinting. In the human world, the lack of such bonding results in something called "mental illness."

Other considered factors are problems with the cortex and, possibly, heredity. A theory I find of interest is that very low or very high intelligence may play a role. Risk-taking behavior is more a symptom than a precursor. I am unsure where upon the spectrum would fall impulsivity. Is it a cause of sociopathy? Does the psychopathic personality just gravitate to problems with impulse control? Of course, substance abuse is always mentioned. But sellf-medicating substance use or abuse is a component of all mental illnesses.

As an aside, when people refer to sociopathy, they are referring to one or possibly more of the following. These are different, but largely by degrees. Learning about sociopathy, psychopathy, asocial personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, disocial personality disorder will further your enlightenment, such as it may be in the darkness, about the others.

source

[seeker/reader]

---------------

[northstar]

I have encountered a few psychopaths over the years and here are some factors I have noticed:

- superficial charm: psychopaths "present well"
psychopaths often have an animal magnetism that makes others gravitate to them. It is a bit like the "life of the party". I suspect that is because psychopaths have supreme self confidence and they like the attention (life force) which they get in abundance when others give it to them.

- a trail of tears: psychopaths often leave a trail of chaos, havoc, misery and devastation behind them.

- words as a weapon: psychopaths are very good at weaving a web with their words, into which unsuspecting victims are trapped.
Once you are trapped in the web of a psychopath, unless you get away you will definitely be eaten. Obviously I don't mean this literally, but the psychopath will destroy your good name, your relationships, your peace of mind, your finances, your health, and pretty much anything else they can before they get out of Dodge.
When you are with a person like this notice very carefully the effect they have on your energy. I work with a woman who appears lively and superficially charming but who has done many negative and destructful things to co-workers. When I have to spend hours with her at a meeting at the end of the day I am utterly drained and feel like a husk. I told a friend about this and he said she was an energy vampire and he gave me a simple psychic protection technique to do around her. The point is that often these people are not easy to spot so it is helpful to check your inner discernment.

[GoodETxSG]

You have no idea how important this Thread is. It should be required reading.

There are so many functional sociopaths in society and you brush shoulders with them each and every day! Not to mention the ones running our corporations and countries.

Being able to SPOT one is something everyone should become adept at. It is difficult at first, they are chameleons. Once you get it down they stick out to your well trained eye.

After reading the list above you can see why they are singled out in boot camp and other fields for certain OP's Teams and Organizations.

During the times we are in now and the ongoing operations against the public we all need to hone this skill as well as be observant of our surroundings. I know, who wants to life a life of paranoia right? But if you have loved ones to protect... these are the soulless bastards we have to keep an eye out for.

Thank you again for the Thread OP!

[EsmaEverheart]

Wow! All those traits describe my ex-husband. Which I know sounds funny but it is the absolute truth. I count myself very lucky to have gotten away from him.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Thanks for this. It's very sad isn't it, that so many damaged people of this variety are walking the world (and running it).

Posted by music (here)
As a great example of this in action, watch this interview of Charles Manson on YouTube.

Haha. Well to be honest, this sentence could read: "As a great example of this in action, watch any interview with any Politician on Youtube."

[Sidney]

If you are a victim of sociopath or narcissistic abuse, join the Avalon group for info and support.
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/group.php?groupid=26

actually i believe this is an invite only group. So you need to ask for an invite from the owner of the group.

[Linda Joy Crutcher]

I will tell you what I have been given about sociopathy. They come into the realm as sociopaths and are not created. They are living in mind without the benefit of an emotional body to balance them. The only emotional reality they have is the impact upon themselves because of circumstances they can't control. They are brilliant maniuplators by reflecting exactly what others want to hear or believe. They are human consciousness without an emotional base and they are fascinating!

Sociopaths teach us much about ourselves in that we fall 'victim' to their persuasions quickly and put trust into them absolutely. The question is not, what are they doing, but; what are we doing? These people have a masterful ability to tell us exactly what we want to hear and believe, and if we look back and examine our participation in those relationships, we can easily acknowledge what it was in ourselves that needed to hear and believe what they had to dish out.

People who engage with sociopaths always get hurt because they misplace trust. In many, if not most cases, sociopaths calculate to get something; usually money or material treasures (they have no interest in hearts except to manipulate them). Because they live in mind and have no concept of how they impact people emotionally, they simply play an emotional game in order to extract what they want. Most people are looking for love and are easy prey for the cleaver mind of the sociopath; we become so-called victims because we are emotionally void.

It is imperative to observe and listen before putting trust into anyone. The only thing we can trust is that each person will be who he is and perform according to the consciousness in which we lives. When we pay attention, signs always surface as to what we're dealing with.

Sociopaths are here to show us what we're capable of while experiencing ourselves in a separated or dual state, without an emotional body. We learn compassion and love through the emotional body and because of that, are less likely to target others for material gain. However, as evidenced by history, people across the board are capable of sociopathic behavior; it's the greed factor!

Hope that helps you understand this psychology a little better.

[Sidney]

Posted by Linda Joy Crutcher (here)
I will tell you what I have been given about sociopathy. They come into the realm as sociopaths and are not created. They are living in mind without the benefit of an emotional body to balance them. The only emotional reality they have is the impact upon themselves because of circumstances they can't control. They are brilliant maniuplators by reflecting exactly what others want to hear or believe. They are human consciousness without an emotional base and they are fascinating!

Sociopaths teach us much about ourselves in that we fall 'victim' to their persuasions quickly and put trust into them absolutely. The question is not, what are they doing, but; what are we doing? These people have a masterful ability to tell us exactly what we want to hear and believe, and if we look back and examine our participation in those relationships, we can easily acknowledge what is was in ourselves that needed to hear and believe what they had to dish out.

People who engage with sociopaths always get hurt because they misplace trust. In many, if not most cases, sociopaths calculate to get something; usually money or material treasures (they have no interest in hearts except to manipulate them). Because they live in mind and have no concept of how they impact people emotionally, they simply play an emotional game in order to extract what they want. Most people are looking for love and are easy prey for the cleaver mind of the sociopath; we become so-called victims because we are emotionally void.

It is imperative to observe and listen before putting trust into anyone. The only thing we can trust is that each person will be who he is and perform according to the consciousness in which we lives. When we pay attention, signs always surface as to what we're dealing with.

Sociopaths are here to show us what we're capable of while experiencing ourselves in a separated or dual state, without an emotional body. We learn compassion and love through the emotional body and because of that, are less likely to target others for material gain. However, as evidenced by history, people across the board are capable of sociopathic behavior; it's the greed factor!

Hope that helps you understand this psychology a little better.

This is a VERY insightful post on the subject. I also wonder if they (the sociopaths themselves) have been a deliberate hybrid, created fully for their lack of emotion, and if so is that fact in itself for our learning benefit, or for the deliberate dismantling of our spirit.(or both)?