According to Martha Stout's (PHD and consultant to Harvard Medical School) book"The Sociopath Next Door," "4 percent of the population consists of Sociopaths." People that have absolutely no empathy for others and can do the most horrendous things to and against other people without the least emotional censure. That's one out of every 25 people. For those of us that are struggling against a Sociopath, or the aftereffects of contact with one, it's much more than a statistic. It's a traumatic part of our lives that will have a significant and prolonged emotional impact on us and, perhaps worse, on our children.
Martha stout explains "the majority of the patients she has treated is due to thier contact with Sociopaths." That's a good indicator of what kind of damage a Sociopath can do to our society. It would be beneficial for everyone to read her book and know what signs to look for. She will highlight what indicators to look for in determining who is a Sociopath and what to do if you are forced to work with one. She gives several good examples of Sociopaths and how they interact with people and see the world. From my own experiences, they are evil and should be avoided at all cost. Unfortunately, some of us can not avoid Sociopaths because we have the common link of a child that forces us to interact with them.
For the benefit of others struggling against a Sociopath, I'll post my own progress fighting for my child's future and the beneficial techniques I learn. If I can help just one person in their struggle, I will feel my time spent has been worthwhile.
Jeffrey
1 comment:
I think there are a lot more sociopaths out there than we would like to think. Of course it is a matter of degree. They range in both the depth of the affect of their malignant behavior, and the breadth of the individuals they harm.
I have seen sociopathic behavior stir up arguments amongst board members, friends, even young lovers who we would think immune to the machinations of these evil creatures.
The key is that they thrive on the creation of doubt and confusion. Because their dealings are never seen in the whole, it takes significant detective work to uncover. Often the persons involved will not realize the way they have been manipulated to their own demise. Once seen though, there is the epiphany that the things they do, the words they say are subtly designed to pit us against eachother without regard to the pain and suffering caused. It is such a difficult thing to believe that you will find yourself looking for alternative explanations and doubting your conclusions. But once accepted, they are so incredibly transparent it is amazing that they can be successful at all. And that then becomes the dilemna. Even though you can see them for what they are, others, intelligent adults, will time and time again be fooled, and if you try to out the sociopath, you will probably lose - finding instead that all of the persons you were trying to warn or protect are now against you...
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