Sociopaths are more likely to abuse their partners, spouses, and children. Since they may engage in criminal behavior, they are also more likely to spend time in prison, and their aggressive behavior can put them at risk of harm.
Don't let them inside. Do not show your true emotions to a sociopath; keep a “poker face.” Any and all emotions will be used against you. If you must engage, turn the conversation back on them. Ask, “Are you feeling well?” Try to get away as soon as possible.
While sociopath path traits can include persuasiveness or charm, most people with the disorder will struggle with irresponsibility. They're less likely to take advantage of employment opportunities, less likely to pay bills on time, and are at high risk of incarceration due to impulsive behaviors.
If you ever confront a sociopath about their abnormal behaviour, you will be met with rage, abuse, deflection, emotional blackmail, moral indignity or even blame on yourself for their behaviour. They may even build up fictitious past childhood abuse or lack of parents' love to justify their behaviour.
Some believe that it is fun to torture others, or that it makes the sociopath in some way "superior." Sociopaths are often highly-functioning people, yet many lie so pathologically that they do not even know when their deception took over.
They don't really get scared or worried. You may be able to scare them by surprising them, jumping out at them. But that would be the basic flight/fight response we all have.
They have low self-esteem
This is one of the sociopath's weakness. This is often masked with a high sense of self-importance but it can be used against them. If you can make them feel insecure or inferior, they will likely back down.
It's likely shaped by inherited genes as well as life situations and experiences. The exact cause of antisocial personality disorder isn't known, but: Genes may make you vulnerable to developing antisocial personality disorder — and life situations, especially neglect and abuse, may trigger its development.
Unmasking personality disorders is tricky
If, for whatever reason, you find yourself in a relationship with a sociopath, keep these tips in mind: Avoid disagreeing with them publicly. This may lead to humiliation, and any word or action that causes them to feel shamed cuts very deep and can trigger severe reactions.
No remorse or guilt. Little emotional reaction. Cruelty without feeling bad about it.
Recovery from a relationship with a sociopath is not easy but the good news is that the vast majority of us get there in the end. Sociopathic abuse is often covert abuse. Most of us are unaware that we've been deceived until it is too late.
However, people who are sociopaths use excessive charm to manipulate others into believing they are good guys," Beverly Hills sex and relationship psychotherapist Dr. Fran Walfish tells Bustle. "They use their slippery ... charm to weave a false sense of safety and trap their victims into trusting them."
In four thoroughly matched cases, they found that acquired sociopathy in one man resulted from damage to the right vmPFC, while in one woman it was caused by damage to the left vmPFC; the reverse match was not attended by changes in personality (Tranel et al., 2005).
Sociopathy can be both a learned condition and one you're born with, says Dr. Coulter. “These behaviors aren't episodic in nature. They're a chronic condition, part of a chronic way in which a person interacts with the world,” he says.
A true sociopath is rare. Only 6% of the male and 2% of the female population meet the diagnostic criteria. According to the research, this personality disorder is at least three times more common in men than women, but it is still quite unusual to encounter a true sociopath.
High-functioning sociopath traits include: Superior intelligence – high-functioning sociopaths are often very smart and have very high IQs. Impeccable social skills – they are charming, and although they don't enjoy being around people, they may come across as friendly and outgoing.
These deficits are likely to be related to dysfunctions in a wide brain network involved in empathy, including the vmPFC/OFC and amygdala. And because a lack of sharing of vicarious negative arousal in these individuals, this may result in not showing empathic concern for others.
But in fact, this construct of sociopathy is a spectrum, and there are many high functioning individuals, often men, but not always, who are sociopaths.
In many cases, researchers find that people with antisocial personality disorder get worse, not better.
Sociopaths lack a conscience
They even understand that actions have consequences. The problem is, they do not care. They do not feel remorse or guilt. They have no inner compass to guide them, and so they do exactly what they want at any given moment.
If you block them, they might fair enough realise “Okay, Game Over, we're not having fun any more.” It can be dangerous in that sense that to them you become useless, and that devalues you, but you might want that, as long as you can truly attempt to separate.
“Sociopaths can be predators, so you may naturally feel uncomfortable being alone with them,” writes Eddy. “You may suddenly get the feeling that you want to get out of a situation.