Have any of you met a true 'psychopath'

[Hearnoevilspeaknoevil]

Just wondering.
I watched Des last week and found it chilling. The utter ordinariness of Dennis Nielsen and the normalising his awful crimes.
I was thinking how terms like psycho are so overused and often used to describe overly angry or irrational behaviour.
I believe it's more about a very controlling person who operates outside any 'normal' behaviour boundaries.
I've only met one person who I would say is a psycho. Some with narcissistic traits, plenty of angry people but that cold dead reasoning and complete lack of empathy or even humanity, is much rarer.
Interested to see what others think. Or have experienced.

Yes in a secure mental health unit. Caused her partners death by doing something to him that caused him to go into heart failure. All she ever spoke about was how it had affected her and her family and how hard it was for them. No mention of her partners family at all. Scary.

My ex is a psychopath and spent 20 years in prison "wrongly convicted" of murdering a girlfriend. Only a psycho can not only murder with no feelings of guilt and make himself the victim. He is superficially charming and lies so easily and convincingly, I think he even believes them himself. Anyone who challenges the persona is destroyed.

I believe I’ve known one. He was the director of a company, very superficially charming and well liked by most people. However, I was witness to an outburst when he was politely questioned by a young female manager and it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He’d dismiss people at will without caring about consequences, and declare he could run the company best on his own. I’ve also met a few ex friends of his who have all reported the complete lack of empathy. Like others have said, it’s as if a mask slips.

@Spied

Don't do this anymore please.

From your experience and mine why, we deserve far more.

@deflationexasperation

These people aren't ill, they're just made differently from the rest of us, and it truly is like dealing with an alien, who looks and talks like a human, but hasn't really learned properly about the finer points of human emotion

^^

V good description I have not known anything like it - I ve never come across anyone like it - I hope I never see him again but its how to protect my dc.

Just wanted to point out that 'cluster B' also include BPD/EUPD which is pretty far from psychopathy, in fact people with that dx feel things incredibly acutely and can have a great deal of empathy.

I know there a many people on mn who have this dx and would hate for them to think others perceive them as something they're not. BPD/EUPD is the most stigmatised mh dx there is, let's not perpetuate negative beliefs by lumping them in with malignant narcissistic/psychopathic types.

I also work in mh, have met lots of vulnerable narcissistic types who are pretty ten a penny. I don't experience them as scary, they're a bit like little boys really. Very transparent.

Only 2 clients who have really got under my skin and unsettled me, both young women and one only 18 years old.

The 18 year old came back to the service a few years later and had visibly softened by then, seemed a lot more 'human'.

The other one, well I'm just waiting for the day I see her name in the paper. She was a total liar and fantasist, possibly Munchausens type thing going on. I certainly got Beverly Allitt vibes from her.

The term used is Anti Social Personality Disorder, rather than Cluster B.

For those complaining about the validity of people posting I would counter this with the view that there is too little knowledge of the subject. I grew up believing most people were "good" and that we had to be empathic. The "bad" people were obvious so could be avoided. This belief lead me into a destructive relationship with an disordered individual who displayed all the characteristics of NPD, sociopath or psychopath. I can't diagnose him exactly but he certainly fits into one of these ASD.

We need to educate as R Hare would believe the stats are closer to 4%. Not surprising really given we know genetics and poor childhood experience are the main factors.

Here is a list of key symptoms, at the same time warning that many non-psychopaths have some of these traits and that it is the total group of symptoms (the syndrome) which guides the diagnosis:

Glib and superficial
Egocentric and grandiose
Lack of remorse or guilt
Lack of empathy
Deceitful and manipulative
Shallow emotions
Impulsive
Poor behavior controls
Need for excitement
Lack of responsibility
Early behavior controls
Adult antisocial behavior

Given they have the ability to charm and lie it is only AFTER they have caused damage that people can reflect. It is why instinct is so important. I know I over ruled my instincts because I lacked knowledge. If someone reads this and feels a person in their life is "off" they should be listening to their instinct.

ASPD is different to psychopathy though. Similar but not the same.

I think it is the more adapted, successful if you like, psychopaths who have spent time studying and mimicking neurotypicals, who seem reasonably functional. It was said upthread that the mask slips in some situations, and I have seen this in certain institutional settings.
Perhaps the dead eyes element is only observable in less adapted psychopaths, or less functional sociopaths.

Given they have the ability to charm and lie it is only AFTER they have caused damage that people can reflect. It is why instinct is so important. I know I over ruled my instincts because I lacked knowledge. If someone reads this and feels a person in their life is "off" they should be listening to their instinct.

Indeed.

The term used is Anti Social Personality Disorder, rather than Cluster B

Cluster B disorders are a category, including ASPD, and psychopathy.

Cluster B disorders are a category, including ASPD, and psychopathy

Psychopathy isn't a personality disorder it is a legal rather than a medical diagnosis (although I worked in a personality disorder unit that did diagnose psychopathy, it is an observation of a collection of behaviours rather than a commentary of how they can be treated).

The cluster b personality disorders are Anti-Social PD, Emotionally Unstable PD (or borderline pd if you prefer), Histrionic PD and Narcissistic PD.

JHaniver

I believe I’ve known one. He was the director of a company, very superficially charming and well liked by most people. However, I was witness to an outburst when he was politely questioned by a young female manager and it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He’d dismiss people at will without caring about consequences, and declare he could run the company best on his own. I’ve also met a few ex friends of his who have all reported the complete lack of empathy. Like others have said, it’s as if a mask slips.

Oh god I think we have the same ex boss.

@Techway

This belief lead me into a destructive relationship with an disordered individual who displayed all the characteristics of NPD, sociopath or psychopath. I can't diagnose him exactly but he certainly fits into one of these ASD

Are you suggesting that personality disorders are part in autistic spectrum (which is what ASD usually refers to?). They are absolutely not part of it however I’m wondering if it’s a typo and you didn’t actually mean to suggest they were?

@Susannahmoody

He has also commented that arson is more popular than you would imagine.

^^

Bit off topic, but why IS arson so popular?

Maybe because it's so destructive, my friend was a mental health nurse who worked in a secure unit, she always said being cruel to animals and being obsessed with fire were really worrying behaviour.

Yes. My xh. Definitely.

I worked in a psychiatric hospital many years ago. Some of the wards were 'secure' and a few of the patients were indeed psychopathic. They are very charming and manipulative and 'play people' to get what they want.

Since then I've met my fair share of bullies and difficult characters, but psychopaths - I'm not so sure.

I do wonder about Tony Blair? He displays some of the traits of a psychopath, I think.
Used to think it of George Osborne too, but I don't think he can be as he lacks charisma and charm.

@SheepandCow, yes, certainly a strong possibility, especially the grandiose sense of his own worth and failure to accept responsibility for own actions.

I think many in politics have traits that can appear this way. They have to be ruthless they have to make decisions knowing people will suffer. We the voters know that hence why many vote for someone they know is utter ruthless (Boris Johnson)

We only have to look at how the Iraq war aged Tony Blair to know it weighed very heavily on his conscience he aged about 10 years in a year I think he was on the brink of a breakdown at times. That’s not excusing the decisions he and the government made at the time

It's think maybe it's a bit of a myth that all psychopaths are suave and charming.

I remember a poster on a previous thread saying she worked in a residential home for adolescents, some of whom had psychopathic traits and a lot of them were overweight with poor social skills.

@Scautish, yes, should be ASPD

@Techway thank you for clarifying

Yes, I taught one, age 9-10. He was a horrible, horrible child - tormented the whole class and me and my TA. We were his 6th school. Never come across anyone so manipulative before or since. Scared the life out of me, I used to have nightmares about him. I imagine he will become a serial sex offender if not a murderer - can imagine him never getting caught as well

I remember reading ages ago about a difference between sociopaths and psychopaths. (Haven't read the full thread so apologies if this has already been mentioned).The way I read it, it's the psychopaths who have charm and charisma and who are often highly successful with senior careers like CEOs, surgeons, and politicians. Whereas sociopaths are more obvious and more lacking in social skills. Is this correct?