What Is A Sociopath?

What Is A Sociopath? Possible definition for “sociopath”: a person, as a psychotic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral or social conscience.

This definition is widely known for the term sociopath, but is that really true? A sociopath is someone who lacks guilt and moral sense, but can we really say they’re psychotic? Sociopaths’ are often compared to psychopaths and madmen, and are known for being murderers, but not all turn out this way. Many grow up to be teachers and doctors, and live a long life without blood on their hands. But over the years, sociopaths have gained a bad reputation. It’s true that many sociopaths have murdered due to lack of moral and emotion, so because of this, the rumor spread that all sociopaths are killers. This, however, is not true.

This is a quote from a person who believes himself to be a sociopath. In other words, he has never been diagnosed, but still thinks he is a sociopath.

’Sociopath’ is a misleading word: it implies disorder, something wrong and unnatural with the person, and this couldn't be further from the truth. We, the people you refer to as sociopaths, have nothing wrong with us. We are necessary for the survival of the human race. Though we are found frequently in prisons, we are found with even greater frequency in your government, your corporations, and your military. Who else but someone devoid of conscience could order thousands of soldiers to die, regardless of how noble the cause? Who could fire hundreds of workers to save a company from bankruptcy, and then go to sleep at night? Who could so elegantly tell the lies that must be told, to protect the very people to whom the lies are being told? It takes one of us to make those calls, the calls the rest of humanity cannot make.

Many sociopaths’ have different views of themselves. Some, like the person above, believe there is nothing wrong with being a sociopath, and tend to look down on the rest of humanity. Others, after finding out they are a sociopath, feel they have to follow the stereotype that’s been laid out for them since childhood.

Imagine – if you can – living your life normally as a child, thinking you are exactly like everyone else, and then, as you grow up, realize you lack the very thing that make humans part of what they are.

Some sociopaths do not even know they are sociopaths. They have, after all, lived their whole lives without emotion, and how would someone who’s never experienced that know they are different?

Sociopaths have very high intelligence and charisma. They have a way of redirecting attention from themselves if they think they are being threatened in any way. For all sociopaths, however, this may not be true. Some have very low intelligence and tend to stay away from work of any kind. They watch as their families yell at them for doing nothing with their lives, and they pretend to care. They act ashamed and might even cry, all to keep their own family from guessing what they are. Sociopaths may seem to get angry, but this is no more than a common temper tantrum.

Many sociopaths do not plan ahead and are very self-centered. They can’t form meaningful relationships or control their impulses.

Sociopaths lie all the time. Since they do not see other human beings as thinking and feeling, they don’t see anything wrong with this behavior. They only see themselves, so whatever it takes – murder, cheating, lying – they do without any regret. They are also very antisocial. They do not learn from experience, and lack any sense of responsibility. Even after they are punished, they don’t change their behavior.

Sociopaths like to feel in control. They like to be the boss of what they consider lesser human beings. They mentally “torture” anyone they can to feel a sense of victory or achievement. They cause trouble, and like to watch as everything crumbles to the ground around them.

It is important to stay away from any relationships with sociopaths. If they don’t beat or kill you, you may find one day that he or she has no real feeling for you whatsoever. Many marriages are out of convenience.

John List, one of the many sociopaths born in the 1900’s, was arrested on June 1st, 1989, almost 18 years after the murder of his mom, his wife, and his three children. He first shot his wife, Helen, in the back of the head, and then his mother, Alma, once in the left eye while his children were at school. When his daughter, Patricia, and youngest son, Frederick, got home, they too were shot in the back of the head. John Jr., the eldest son, had been playing a soccer game, and John List had then made himself a lunch, and went to watch him play. When he brought his son home, he shot him in the back of the head, then, thinking he was having a seizure after twitching, shot him again. He’d shot his son at least ten times.

John List had dragged his dead family on sleeping bags, in the ballroom of their Victorian home after each kill. However, he was forced to leave his mothers' body in the attic of her apartment, after claiming she was too heavy to move.

The bodies were not discovered for a month: the product of John Lists' reclusiveness. He’d also sent notes to his children’s school and part-time jobs saying that they would be out of town for a few weeks visiting family in North Carolina. And, after taking money from his and his mothers’ bank accounts, fled in his Chevrolet Impala.

In 2008, at age 82, John List died in prison of complications from pneumonia.

This is just one of the many cases of murder caused by sociopaths over the years.

Some sociopaths have been working with scientists to try and find a cure for the “disease,” and with technology these days, the prospect doesn’t seem too far away. However, until then – when we know who is and isn’t a sociopath – the question still remains:

If we are to stay away from sociopaths, how do we know who to stay away from?

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