28 Comments
Feb 15, 2022Liked by Athena Walker

Another great article. I wish NT people would try to understand different experiences instead of just painting the other as evil monsters.

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Feb 16, 2022Liked by Athena Walker

Sounds like this author likes to just jumble all Cluster B personality disorders into one big mess of an “emotional” psychopath. Oxymoron, or just moronic?

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Feb 15, 2022Liked by Athena Walker

There was this person telling me that psychopaths don't feel anything at all.

It baffles me that how comfortably people pull all kinds of ---- out of their mouths about topics they're not even remotely familiar with.

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Feb 19, 2022·edited Feb 19, 2022Liked by Athena Walker

Hello, sorry in advance that this is a long post here.

First off, I’m almost mad I didn’t discover you sooner. I’m a counselor who specializes in substance use disorders and am very aware of the large amount of misinformation about mental health on the internet and in the DSM which essentially exists for the sake of capitalism and means testing (who does and doesn’t “deserve” or qualify for treatment). It is true that a degree in the field is just an "entrance ticket" and that if you want to be a good clinician you must seek out research and study on your own. People with substance use disorders rarely have one as a primary issue but treatment for these individuals is still largely only available for the substance use part of their issues which is also often treated like a moral failing or character flaw, despite the evidence. Treatment for a “dual-diagnosis” is difficult for many for a large variety of reasons that I won’t go into here. I am not even allowed to diagnose anyone with anything other than “substance use disorder” due to regulations.

I want to express how thankful I am for the work you are doing. You have clarified a lot for me and I’m excited to read everything you have written here. I found you because I have a specific client right now that is an interesting case and I was trying to understand this person better. I have long suspected that this person would at least meet the criteria for ASPD but has some other tendencies that make me more curious. I wanted to get your thoughts on this if you are willing, just for curiosity’s sake and knowing that armchair diagnoses are just that. I present to you a case study that asks, do you think that serious trauma can change a psychopath's brain?

Say you, as a psychopath, were in a serious accident that caused significant bodily harm, you barely survived, and you now have flashbacks of the event, nightmares, anxiety, and depression. You were once fearless (emotionally) but now experience fear and maybe even paranoia and are frustrated by the fact that you feel things you hadn't before. Things you previously didn’t feel guilty about you now have remorse for, going as far as having nightmares about things you previously did but previously felt no remorse for. You are now more hesitant to take risks for fear of the consequences - it’s as if you now experience emotional fear instead of just the fight-or-flight threat response. You begin to feel self-hatred and may even consider suicide because you feel that you cannot function as you once did and your existence is therefore pointless because it no longer benefits you. Do you think that serious trauma can change a psychopath? Or maybe, can a person just become a Low Functioning Psychopath? Or maybe, could it be that the person was never a psychopath, had some other disorder such as ASPD, and that the trauma has worsened it? I realize you are not a mental health professional but I am curious as to what your thoughts are on this.

It’s hard because I did not know this person before their trauma. This person is always discussing how they used to be but I’m not sure if it’s the rosy glasses of nostalgia and that they truly had no emotional fear or remorse or guilt before the incident and that they didn’t have substance use issues or mental health issues before the incident, or if the trauma caused such a significant brain change that this person now experiences things they didn’t before. This person participated in some serious criminal behavior before as a means to an end and did grow up in an environment that could have contributed significantly to their behaviors - from the way the individual describes their father, it could just be genetic rather than environmental or it could be a combination of both. Either way, this person clearly now has PTSD & and an SUD but also has some “psychopathic traits” such as impulsivity, amorality, doing things as a means to an end with no consideration of the impact they have on others, no consideration of how they appear to others, little desire for attention or admiration, thrill seeking for entertainment purposes, and a lack of true attachments other than those that serve a purpose; however, they do seem to have a clear history of aggression when needed for a clear gain. It also appears that certain types of situations provoke rage and a desire for vengeance but, from their reports, this may not have always been the case. In fact, this rage "confuses" this person and the rage seems to stem only from a sense of injustice, creating a desire for them to take it upon themselves to enact justice. I’m just curious if you think it’s possible that a psychopath’s brain could change significantly due to serious trauma or if the person was not likely a psychopath in the first place and instead had another disorder.

I have “legit” ADHD and sometimes struggle to condense my many thoughts so if you made it through all of this, I appreciate it. As a non-neurotypical I am often assigned with the "difficult" cases that others don't like dealing with because "difficult" people like this are fascinating to me and I'm not easily afraid. I appreciate any thoughts on this!

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Feb 15, 2022Liked by Athena Walker

Great read! Are you still going to write a longer post on some of the tips Dutton Identified regarding psychopathic ways of looking at things? (What he called the manifesto) That would be very very interesting and any other tips you have which you think us emotional bastards could benefit from ! Ha cheers

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I couldn't take most of what the other person said with any kind of value after the mention of Jacques Derrida. I deplore people whose worldview is focused on their victimhood and not how they can overcome it.

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Feb 16, 2022·edited Feb 16, 2022Liked by Athena Walker

I have a question. Is the book 'My Sister Rosa' by Justine Larbalestier a correct description of a criminally inclined psychopath? Or is it full of misinformation and speculation too? It would be very insightful if you, a diagnosed psychopath, read the book and did a review. I do recommend you to check it out.

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The Derrida reference is very telling

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