HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED ANY SOCIOPATHS??

My sister's dogs on either side of me, while WILLOW looks on, wanting SOMEONE to continue to play!! They were tucked in beside me, because they were exhausted from already playing together!!

And you can see the book on my lap - "THE SOCIOPATH NEXT DOOR" by MARTHA STOUT, PhD. I'm intrigued by psychology and the inner workings of the mind. It has always fascinated me that although we all have a brain and emotions and a soul and intuition, each of us uses/experiences each part differently - and for some, VERY differently.

SOCIOPATH - just the sound of it can send shivers up your spine as a Jeffrey Dahmer or a Ted Bundy comes to mind - serial killers, who are/were Sociopaths. Sociopaths do not experience GUILT or REMORSE, so in the most extreme cases, they can kill an animal or another human without any guilt or remorse. I almost said without any EMOTION, but there might be excitement or joy or satisfaction when they kill, which is emotion, right? Sounds deadly doesn't it? (no pun intended)

In the American society we have MANY Sociopaths (1 in 25) who may not be KILLERS, but who are destructive to others. Think of the successful business people, CEO'S-EXECUTIVES-ADVISORS-MONEY MANAGERS-LEADERS who climb the corporate ladder, discarding people and stepping on toes, and ruining lives during their climb. They feel not one bit of guilt for the impact on these tortured, ruined, disabled human lives they've destroyed in their climb. SOCIOPATH. What matters is their own rise to the top. POWER.

Think of people who are married or in committed relationships, who can with NO GUILT, have multiple relationships (affairs) at the same time - CHEATERS. They profess their love and have the answers to all of your questions, keep you entangled in their sticky web.......  They can lie and carry on a double life without any remorse or guilt about their actions. MANIPULATIVE. SOCIOPATHS.

Or what about the people who appear helpless or "in need" and prey upon your goodwill to take care of them and feel no guilt in letting you do so? I had a 2-year relationship with a man like that. We lived together, he drove one of my two cars, carried one of my credit cards, didn't have a job, didn't want a job, didn't try to get a job.........  didn't mow the yard or do any work around the house........ YES, I'm the dummy who allowed that behavior to continue, but I felt sorry for him...... He needed my patience..... I "understood" his problems (one of which was alcoholism) and I wanted to HELP him get on his feet. He felt NO GUILT that I paid for EVERYTHING. He almost had me convinced to buy a bigger house! He took advantage of my generous nature and manipulated me into feeling sorry for him. He overextended his welcome for way longer than I should have allowed. SOCIOPATH. I ask myself now, HOW did THAT happen? 

I realize that SOCIOPATHS are good at what they do - manipulation, pulling on heart strings, climbing to the top. I'm quite curious about what it was about the SOCIOPATH personality that attracted me - - - more than once! PLEASE tell me that I'm over that!!

I recommend the book. It's informative. It's an eye-opener. It's interesting. It's real. It's frightening. 

JOAN