7 Signs You're Dealing With a Psychopath

Hello everyone and welcome to TopThink. Today we are going to learn 7

signs

that you are

dealing

with a

psychopath

. Now let's get started. Psychopath is a widely used, but often misunderstood, title. Many people say it as if it were an insult. You could call someone who does something out of the ordinary a

psychopath

, but they really aren't. Or maybe you look to the most famous mass murderers in history. While many of these criminals were psychopaths, the actual definition is much broader. Psychopathy can take different forms and even disguise itself as other mental disorders. There is still quite a bit of debate in the scientific community about how exactly to define a psychopath, but psychologists have agreed on a vague description.

Psychopaths struggle to feel empathy or remorse. They often form deep emotional bonds with certain people or ideas, which leads to reckless and dangerous behavior. This unique personality disorder usually comes from a person's genes. In other words, they are born with psychopathic tendencies. From a young age, their brain simply isn't wired the same way as yours. This is where most people misunderstand this disorder. Being a psychopath does not make you violent or irrational. It doesn't automatically mean you're a terrible human being. There are many people diagnosed with psychopathy who lead normal lives. They have regular jobs, go to the supermarket and play sports.

Yes, they think differently, but being a psychopath does not make you a murderer or a criminal. However, there are risk factors that increase the likelihood of violence. The most common is related to the environment where it grows. Many serial killers are predisposed to psychopathy, but it was actually their childhood trauma that triggered them. Psychopaths often share one more talent that makes finding them incredibly difficult. This is not true for all people with psychopathy, so for now, let's focus on violent and manipulative psychopaths. They tend to be incredible liars. They deceive others constantly, because they don't feel bad about it.

There is no empathy to keep them in check. The idea of ​​guilt doesn't really make sense to them. They can fool even their closest friends and family into believing that nothing is happening. You might think they're nice and harmless, until the moment everything falls apart. Maybe your best friend will betray you and leave you without a job. A decade of secrets and close camaraderie goes down the drain. And you're left wondering how you could have been so blind. To make sure people you trust don't beat you up, here are seven

signs

you're

dealing

with a psychopath. 1.

Exaggerated egotism One of the most recognizable signs of a psychopath is his constant selfishness. In his eyes, there is no one in the world who can be equal to them. They are the best at everything they do. They are 100% sure that they can never be replaced. This exaggerated self-importance comes from the selfish way psychopaths view the world around them. They think that people are always taking care of themselves. And if anyone says otherwise, they are lying. For a psychopath, he is not doing anything different than anyone else. They are simply doing it better. For example, psychopaths think that rules only exist for people who are not smart enough to break them and not get caught.

That is one of the main reasons why so many psychopaths commit violent crimes. When they want something, other people's opinions or rules cannot overcome their own. This is often how psychopaths avoid taking responsibility for their actions. If you were supposedly asking for it, they don't think it's their fault. If they go behind your back, they will blame you for trusting them. Selfishness and lack of responsibility are a dangerous combination, so don't let these two psychopathic traits go unnoticed. 2. Behavioral chaos Psychopaths are rarely in control of their own behavior. They endanger themselves and the people around them by following impulses, desires, and instincts.

If you're used to the stereotypical psychopath, this may seem a little backwards to you. The media version is diligent and calculated. They plan their crimes down to the smallest detail, making sure nothing goes wrong. Part of that is true. Psychopaths are exceptionally rational, but they have a hard time controlling their behavior. They are prone to fits of anger and may suddenly become violent. A small insult could destroy his ego, triggering his explosive temper. When angry, psychopaths stop thinking about what they are doing and just do it. Have you ever noticed that you are very careful with someone you know?

If so, ask yourself whether you are really in control of your behavior or not. 3. Insincerity Most things we say have meaning on multiple levels. Let's say you're leaving work and a coworker yells "Good job today!" On the face of it, that's an encouraging comment, but how often do you take things at face value? You look for subtext. You analyze the way someone phrases their sentence or emphasizes different syllables. You pay attention to the feelings behind the words, not just the words themselves. Most psychopaths struggle to put genuine emotion into what they say. Their feelings are empty and manufactured.

Your emotions may seem fake, because they usually are. This does not mean that psychopaths cannot feel. They are definitely capable of feeling emotions. The problem is relating those emotions to the people around them. Imagine a psychopath saying something sympathetic like, "There are plenty of fish in the sea." It seems like they're trying to cheer you up, right? In reality, a psychopath would only say something like this if he has something to gain from you. They are imitating friendliness to motivate you to give them what they want. Even if your words sound the same, the emotional connection is not there.

So where does this come from? A group of researchers discovered that people diagnosed with psychopathy also lose metaphors and abstract ideas. If there is a deeper emotional meaning behind something, it will probably go over your heads. It's not because they are stupid. In fact, many psychopaths are incredibly intelligent. They simply specialize in logic and reason. They are experts at manipulating concrete ideas, but become confused when things sink below the surface. It turns out that psychologists have seen this difference in action. In the 1990s, researchers measured the brain responses of two groups of people: one with psychopathy and one without.

Both groups were shown a list of different types of words. Some were supposed to provoke an emotional response, while others were completely neutral. Indeed, the non-psychopathic group reacted more to the emotional words than to the neutral ones. On the other hand, the group with psychopathy showed no differences in brain activity. This study concluded that psychopaths' insincerity comes from this difference in neural responses. They won't grasp, relate to, or care about that deeper meaning, because their brain just doesn't work that way. 4. Parasitic lifestyle Psychopaths have no problem making fun of the people around them. Like lice or tapeworms, psychopaths often lead a parasitic lifestyle.

They will cling to you and never let go. They will casually steal your money and use your property without feeling the slightest bit bad about it. They do it because psychopaths don't respect anyone but themselves. To them, your time and energy are much more valuable than yours. They don't mind wasting their resources as long as it saves them some trouble. If you are in a parasitic situation, don't expect a psychopath to leave voluntarily. You have to take the initiative and eliminate them from your life. Otherwise, they will bleed you dry. 5. Disgust Threshold Have you ever wondered how those famous psychopaths could endure their crimes?

Most people can't even look at pictures of them. You may be repulsed by the smell of blood. Or maybe you feel like throwing up when you see someone else getting hurt. That's how most people react... but psychopaths aren't like most people. On average, their disgust threshold is significantly higher. In other words, frightening sights and unpleasant smells do not scare them. Something horrible or heartbreaking for you may not affect a psychopath at all. Psychologists attribute this tolerance to their lack of emotional investment in others. If someone really doesn't care what happens to other people, he may not be as sensitive to the sights and sounds of suffering. 6.

Facial Attention If you think someone has psychopathic tendencies, pay attention to the way they look at you. Let's say you're crying because of something terrible they said. As you tell them how you feel, watch their eyes. Are they looking directly at yours? Or are they more interested in looking at your mouth? A 2015 study found that psychopaths focus on different areas of emotional faces. When someone is being vulnerable, most people automatically make eye contact. But someone with psychopathy would spend more time looking at their mouth. Because? Your mouth gives as much or more information, but it lacks the same personal intimacy.

Psychopaths will subtly tune out by recognizing your expressions without the emotional bond of actual eye contact. 7. Lack of distress Further research into facial attention revealed another interesting weakness of most psychopaths. They're decent at detecting everything from happiness to anger, but there's one emotion that psychopaths rarely notice: distress. According to a 2018 study, psychopaths can't tell when someone is really upset or just pretending. They are much less likely to notice if someone is experiencing emotional rather than physical distress. Because they cannot process expressions of distress, psychopaths rarely do anything to help. But even if they could tell the difference, the researchers found another explanation.

The same study showed that psychopaths don't really care if someone is truly distressed. In most cases, the psychopath would not help them in any way. So if someone you know ignores you when you're angry, they either don't know it or they just don't care. Thanks for watching TopThink and be sure to subscribe because there's more great content on the way.