Page 27 - June July 2017

Inside the Mind of a Sociopath
much harder to be exploited, manipulated or lied to. In romance, there’s the typical abusive partner about
whom much has been written. Another type of
In day-to-day life, we can begin to recognize the sociopathic lover is unavailable, exciting rebel. They are
sociopaths among us by being alert to excessive iconoclastic, charismatic and fascinating. They make a
coldness, ambition, aggressiveness or charm; by relationship with them into a tantalizing challenge. They
questioning the motivations of those in positions of might even tell you out-right that they’re no good and
power and by looking for inconsistencies in people’s will only hurt you, but they do this knowing full well
C words and actions. Someone who is too good to be that it will only make you try harder to be with them.
true is often later revealed to be a sociopath, as is the
A overly ruthless and relentless individual. This type of person enjoys playing with you the way
P a cat relishes torturing a mouse. They are sadistic, and
I In romance, sociopaths often start out as generous they know exactly how it will end: with them triumphant
and you devastated. They are excited by your admiration
and charismatic. They’ll sweep you off your feet by
T showering you with attention and making you feel and desire, as it feeds their sense of grandiosity. How
A special and privileged. For an emotionally needy you end up is of no concern to them, and they will dump

L person with low self-esteem, this type of courtship is you unceremoniously when you are no longer useful or
a dream come true, but it soon turns into a nightmare amusing.
as the actual intentions of the sociopath are revealed.
P

U A sociopath is incapable of taking responsibility for their bad behavior. They will never change. Any woman
who is attracted to an antisocial man and believes that her love will transform him is setting herself up for disas-
N ter. These aren’t “lost boys” who need a good woman to heal them, as the movies and TV so falsely and danger-

I ously portray; they are full-grown, ruthless predators
S Whether our next-door neighbor or local politician; our boss or blind date, there are indeed sociopaths among
H us. Being able to identify them will spare us a lot of grief. Whether we encounter a milder form of the disorder

M or an outright monster, having a realistic, questioning attitude toward the people in our lives will stand us in
E good stead.

N
T

Photo Courtesy of google.com

Marcia Sirota MD [http://marciasirota.com/] is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist practicing in Toronto Canada.
Her areas of interest include overcoming compulsive eating and other addictions, unblocking creativity and
healing PTSD.

She is the founder of the Ruthless Compassion Institute, which is dedicated to promoting the philosophy of
Ruthless Compassion.

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