Let me begin with some advice from the site Aftermath: Surviving Psychopathy and quote;
“There are several reasons for this advice. If it is only you versus a psychopathic individual, it makes it easier for that person to redefine your reality. Someone with many psychopathic features will present a version of reality that is convenient for him/her in the moment but is not consistent with the facts. An isolated person is easier to brainwash and to manipulate. Having other people around who know about this person’s behavior makes it harder for the person to do that. Other people who are not taken in can also provide an important reality check to help you keep your bearings and to give you feedback about how well you are coping. But groupthink can also support a psychopath, so it is also advisable to look for outside opinions when you are in what may be a cult or other coercive affinity group.
Another reason is that people often lose their support systems when they are involved with people with psychopathic traits. One trick of such a predator is to isolate you from friends and family. We all need close relationships with people who are trustworthy. If you are in a relationship with someone you cannot trust, your needs for love, dependency, and attention are either not being met or are supposed to be met by only one person—the psychopath. You will be happier if there are a variety of people to support you. Moreover, a healthy support system will help you get away from a psychopathic individual and recover emotionally from the trauma you have suffered. A good support system can include family members and friends, as well as counselors and therapists.”
Further reading,
Comments on Martha Stout’s Thirteen Rules for Dealing with Sociopaths in Everyday Life Here
* A word of caution! Not all counselors and therapists are familiar with the disorder and some may even be psychopaths themselves. You do best in reading up on the disorder yourself.
A recent study of interest concerning empathy,
Brain response to empathy-eliciting scenarios involving pain in incarcerated individuals with psychopathy. (Decety J, Skelly LR, Kiehl KA. June 2013) Here
Some write-ups concerning the study;
Psychopaths are not neurally equipped to have concern for others (April 24, 2013) Here
and Psychopaths Are Not Neurally Equipped to Have Concern for Others (Apr. 24, 2013) Science Daily Here
How media can turn it around, the following headline a perfect exampel, Psychopaths Can Feel Empathy, Too, Study Finds (July 27, 2013)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/25/psychopaths-empathy-_n_3652792.html
where you can read the following, and I quote;
“But surprisingly, when the psychopaths were instructed to try to empathize while watching the videos, their brains showed the same level of activity in these brain areas as normal individuals. They seem to have a switch they can turn on and off that turns their empathy on and off depending on the situation, Keysers told LiveScience.”
Key words here, when “instructed to” – meet the manipulative psychopath!
Regardless of the fact that they are not neurally equipped to have concern for others they are not ‘insane’ enough to not know what they are doing and they enjoy causing harm to others, see post below,
Psychopaths know right from wrong but don’t care. By; Cima M, Tonnaer F, Hauser MD. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2010 Here
and
Bullies may enjoy seeing others in pain: Brain scans show disruption in natural empathetic response. University of Chicago (November 7, 2008) Here (The word “may” should be taken lightly as they do enjoy it, the smirk on their face says it all) and it is all about “winning”, see earlier post, Must “win”, no matter the cost Here
The psychopath is in other words, a very disordered and dangerous individual who leaves a path of destruction wherever he/she is.
psychopathy101 