Athena, can a person not be a psychopath but still possess psychopathic traits? I have heard (from a psychiatrist) that one might not have, for instance, BPD but have BPD traits. Would it be possible for a person to be unable to bond/feel love, have remorse but still feel jealousy?
No wonder psychopaths gets such a bad rep then given that lots of people (at some level) probably believes or accept as truth things they see on tv. I already knew the pictures from Hollywood are unrealistic, but wasn't sure weather or not the "liking to cause pain thing" was actually true or not.. Thanks for clearing that up :-)
Hi great explanations! Thank you. Just a few questions: Can a psychopath cry? If so what would cause that response? And: (just watching this tv serie now (The Soceity) One of the characters (Campbell) is exposed as a psychopath.
He cried one time when his girlfriend confessed having tried to kill him. Not sure if it was because he was offended, fascinated or just trying to manipulate etc.. He also liked to hurt his girlfriend or watching her having pain etc..
He killed a dog, and cut off his birds feet for fun, and so on.. I just wonder does this have any root in reality? Is a psychopath likely to enjoy seeing someone in pain, or inflict pain? Like get off by it or get a thrill? Likewise from cutting the birds legs off.. Is this character more likely to be a sosciopath?
Thank you for this piece, and also for the links to the other ones. The 2017 one has a ton in it; stuff that drives me nuts (us autistics can be driven nuts!) but I am fascinated to learn that most people with psychopathy are not locked up. Perhaps "passing"? Then, I wonder how accurate the estimates on prevalence of psychopathy are; has there ever been a truly random sampling of a human population for this brain variant?
I didn't know anything about any of these issues, whether w.r.t. psychopathy or autism -- before about 2016. I began to read and learn how the psychiatry profession is truly messing up the lives of so many... that when I was ostensibly N.T., my strong interests were great things, but the second I was diagnosed they were... overly restricted interests. Disordered.
Athena -- re. your comment that (paraphrasing) you're not sure how 'low self esteem' could have evolved; I have been wondering if it is connected to improving survival chances for less-(strong) individuals of social species. Using that word "strong" very loosely. If individuals keep trying to rise to the top of some hierarchy and failing, each new failure could have some risk to long-term survival. So if the individual stops trying to win conflicts of various sorts, they might be making the best of a non-optimal situation.
Some people assume that all these emotions have clear, perceivable causes for individuals; from an evolutionary perspective, I don't think that has to be the case. The experience of "love" can get mating to happen. More offspring might survive if they are "loved" and cared for well too. "Love" isn't the only emotion or mental process that could cause this to happen, but it's the one lots of mammals seem to have! I think "low self-esteem" is similar, possibly depression too in certain circumstances. That doesn't mean we have to treasure it, it's aversive...
I have many many non-complimentary thoughts about the mental processes of some of these psychiatrists and their mammal dominance-related brain circuits manifesting in their "science" too. Lots of other similar neurotypical behaviors are not fully understood by them imo; it might be easier for people with differences to see certain things in each other. Maybe that's part of why these different neurotypes exist in our very social species?
Athena, can a person not be a psychopath but still possess psychopathic traits? I have heard (from a psychiatrist) that one might not have, for instance, BPD but have BPD traits. Would it be possible for a person to be unable to bond/feel love, have remorse but still feel jealousy?
No wonder psychopaths gets such a bad rep then given that lots of people (at some level) probably believes or accept as truth things they see on tv. I already knew the pictures from Hollywood are unrealistic, but wasn't sure weather or not the "liking to cause pain thing" was actually true or not.. Thanks for clearing that up :-)
Would you say then that it is easier that a psychopath grows up to be antisocial?
Do you think it needs more effort to raise psychopaths to be well adjusted members of society that for a NT?
Great post as usual.
Yes that was a long read. I felt like I was back in collage, lol.
Hi great explanations! Thank you. Just a few questions: Can a psychopath cry? If so what would cause that response? And: (just watching this tv serie now (The Soceity) One of the characters (Campbell) is exposed as a psychopath.
He cried one time when his girlfriend confessed having tried to kill him. Not sure if it was because he was offended, fascinated or just trying to manipulate etc.. He also liked to hurt his girlfriend or watching her having pain etc..
He killed a dog, and cut off his birds feet for fun, and so on.. I just wonder does this have any root in reality? Is a psychopath likely to enjoy seeing someone in pain, or inflict pain? Like get off by it or get a thrill? Likewise from cutting the birds legs off.. Is this character more likely to be a sosciopath?
Thank you for this piece, and also for the links to the other ones. The 2017 one has a ton in it; stuff that drives me nuts (us autistics can be driven nuts!) but I am fascinated to learn that most people with psychopathy are not locked up. Perhaps "passing"? Then, I wonder how accurate the estimates on prevalence of psychopathy are; has there ever been a truly random sampling of a human population for this brain variant?
I didn't know anything about any of these issues, whether w.r.t. psychopathy or autism -- before about 2016. I began to read and learn how the psychiatry profession is truly messing up the lives of so many... that when I was ostensibly N.T., my strong interests were great things, but the second I was diagnosed they were... overly restricted interests. Disordered.
Athena -- re. your comment that (paraphrasing) you're not sure how 'low self esteem' could have evolved; I have been wondering if it is connected to improving survival chances for less-(strong) individuals of social species. Using that word "strong" very loosely. If individuals keep trying to rise to the top of some hierarchy and failing, each new failure could have some risk to long-term survival. So if the individual stops trying to win conflicts of various sorts, they might be making the best of a non-optimal situation.
Some people assume that all these emotions have clear, perceivable causes for individuals; from an evolutionary perspective, I don't think that has to be the case. The experience of "love" can get mating to happen. More offspring might survive if they are "loved" and cared for well too. "Love" isn't the only emotion or mental process that could cause this to happen, but it's the one lots of mammals seem to have! I think "low self-esteem" is similar, possibly depression too in certain circumstances. That doesn't mean we have to treasure it, it's aversive...
I have many many non-complimentary thoughts about the mental processes of some of these psychiatrists and their mammal dominance-related brain circuits manifesting in their "science" too. Lots of other similar neurotypical behaviors are not fully understood by them imo; it might be easier for people with differences to see certain things in each other. Maybe that's part of why these different neurotypes exist in our very social species?
Very well written! Even someone with zero understanding could get this.