The Mind of a Psychopath

A Psychopath is more common then you think. Do you know one? See a list of the characteristics.

The study of the psychopath reveals an individual who is incapable of feeling guilt, remorse or empathy for their actions. They are generally cunning, manipulative and know the difference between right and wrong but dismiss it as applying to them.

They are incapable of normal emotions such as love, generally react without considering the consequences of their actions and show extreme egocentric and narcissistic behavior.

A psychopath will use people for excitement, entertainment, to build their self-esteem and they invariably value people in terms of their material value (e.g. money, property, comfort, etc.) They can involve and get other people into trouble quickly and they seem to have no regret for their actions. To date there is no checklist of behavior and symptoms that will tell you with certainty whether or not a person is a psychopath. But there are warning signs.

Psychopath Warning Signs

• Superficial charm and average intelligence. • Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking. • Absence of nervousness or neurotic manifestations. • Unreliability. • Untruthfulness and insincerity. • Lack of remorse or shame. • Antisocial behavior without apparent compunction. • Poor judgment and failure to learn from experience. • Pathological egocentricity and incapacity to love. • General poverty in major affective reactions. • Specific loss of insight. • Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations. • Fantastic and uninviting behavior with drink, and sometimes without. • Suicide threats rarely carried out. • Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated. • Failure to follow any life plan.

A psychopath is usually a subtle manipulator. They do this by playing to the emotions of others. They typically have high verbal intelligence, but they lack what is commonly referred to as "emotional intelligence". There is always a shallow quality to the emotional aspect of their stories. In particular they have difficulty describing how they felt, why they felt that way, or how others may feel and why.

A psychopath is always self-involved, even when it seems like they are caring for and helping others. The definition of their "friends" are people who support the psychopath and protect them from the consequence of their own antisocial behavior. Shallow friendships, low emotional intelligence, using people, antisocial attitudes and failure to learn from the repeated consequences of their choices and actions help identify the psychopath.

Because of their inability to gauge when their actions are being perceived as dishonest, deceitful or dangerous, they also fail to accept that there are consequences for their actions. They always maintain a belief that they can outwit those who pursue them and that they will never be caught. Once caught, they believe they will find a way back out.

Are you involved with a psychopath? You may not know because they can be very charming and friendly until you get close and disappoint them. Don’t assume anyone is a psychopath based on their behavior alone. It is the pattern of their life and many other factors. Please don’t go around assuming or calling someone a psychopath just because they may have some of the warning signs. Get a professional opinion from a qualified mental health professional if you think you are involved with a psychopath.