feel great about their actions. A sociopath has little self regard for
themselves and pays little attention to their own personal safety when
picking fights. Quite often they will be outsized and get hurt. Some
sociopaths are non-violent and stay out of prison by doing small crimes
like swindling and insurance fraud. It is possible that a sociopath will
come from a normal home but their are more that do not. A sociopath has
the opposite morals of society and by doing things like beating up people
that are stronger than them they feel like they did something positive. A
psychopath is very reactive and will blow their cool because of little things
and no doubt assault the person they are reacting to. There is a possibility
that saratonin a chemical that is linked to behavior has something to do
with the disorder but is not the major cause. The type 2 male sociopath
drinks heavily no matter what, has a history of frequent fights and arrests,
they are impulsive risk takers, curious, excitable, quick tempered,
optimistic and independent. Characteristic List · be glib or superficial ·
have a grandiose self image · be deceitful or manipulative · lack of
remorse · lack of empathy · be impulsive · be irresponsible · be easily
angered or frustrated · have serious problems as a child or teenager ·
shows callous unconcern from other’s feelings · disregard social norms or
the rights of other people · be unable to maintain enduring relationships ·
be incapable of experiencing guilt · blame others or rationalize antisocial
behavior · be constantly irritable The antisocial tends to have short lasting
relationships if they are capable of having a relationship. The psychopath
is incapable of having long lasting, close, warm and responsible
relationships with people. The adult will habitually lie and cannot hold a
job for long. The sociopath can seem charming in superficial social
interactions but repeatedly hurt, anger, exploit, cheat, rob, harass or injure
them. The actions a psychopath no matter what laws they break, whoever
they hurt, whatever trouble they have to deal with they do not feel bad.
When a sociopath is punished they have no feeling of regret because no
matter how cruel or selfish the behavior is they feel it is justified. People
like us give the sociopath little sympathy because they hurt people so bad
but their illness is recognized as somewhat of an explanation of why they
do it. The idea of the disorder is no excuse for their behavior that results
from it. The sociopath is very intelligent and knows how to manipulate
people into thinking they are normal and that is when they work their
magic. Beneath the mask of sanity a sociopath is full of tension, hostility,
irritability, rage, emptiness and sadness at the core of the sociopathic
personality. When they hurt a person a sociopath might think he had it
coming or I’m watching out for number 1. Those sociopaths with children
neglect them and do not keep them safe. As a spouse the sociopath can
be glib, superficial, manipulative, dishonest, abusive and unfaithful. The
sociopath tends to borrow, squander and not repay the money they owe.
Many sociopaths never settle down for any period of time, they will travel
without aim looking for jobs or whatever they need and get it by doing
anything. A sociopath may look tough and resilient but is very fragile and
can erupt very easily. The diagnoses of a sociopath or psychopath is very
difficult and has to meet several criteria in order to get that diagnoses.
Diagnoses as explained in Caring for the Mind is based on “ a pervasive
pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, occurring
since the age of fifteen, as indicated by at least three of the following, 1.
failure to conform to the social norms for lawful behavior, as indicated by
repeatedly performing illegal acts that are grounds for arrest 2.
deceitfulness, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning
others for personal profit or pleasure 3. impulsivity failure to plan ahead 4.
irritability and aggressive , as indicated by repeated physical fights or
assaults 5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others 6. consistent
irresponsibility as indicated by failure to keep a job or honor financial
obligations 7. lack of remorse, as indicated by indifference or
rationalizations for having hurt , mistreated or stolen from others · must be
older than 18 to be diagnosed with it · must be evidence of a conduct
disorder before the age of 15 · antisocial behavior doesn’t occur only
during the course of schizophrenia or manic episodes of bipolar illness
Anti-Social Personality Disorder is found in as much as 75% of the prison
population. Alcohol is a contributing cause or consequence of being
antisocial. People that are both antisocial and alcoholic are prone to
violent behavior. Not every antisocial becomes a criminal. An antisocial
person’s disorder peaks between the ages of 24 and 44 and drops off
sharply after that. After the age of 30 the sociopath fights less and
performs less crime but the illness can persist into the ages of between 60
and 70 but after 30 are less likely to be in trouble with the law. In a
sociopaths in their thirties will continue to have problems such as unstable
relationships, substance abuse, impulsiveness, poor temper control and
failure to honor financial obligations. In our population 3% men have
Anti-Social Personality Disorder and 1% women in the overall population
have it. The ratio of men to women is 4 to 1. Identical twins are several
times more likely to have a personality disorder compared to fraternal
twins. A genetic link strongest in anti-social disorder has a pattern of
irresponsible behavior 5 times more common amongst close relatives of
anti-social men than in the general population. Some people with a genetic
link to alcoholism have a genetic link to anti-social personality disorder
too. Male relatives of people with Somatization Disor! der have a higher
incidence of anti-social personality disorder ( somatization - begins in the
teens to twenties and consists of chronic physical problems and
complaints). Sociopaths with a history of substance abuse and criminal
behavior fit Manchausen Syndrome ( Manchausen is the extreme type of
factitious disorder which symptoms are lying ,falsification and pathological
lying). Sociopaths also have a tendency to have a non -psychiatric
condition that is called malingering which is the production of grossly
exaggerated symptoms for a specific illness or problem for the purpose of
winning legal action or things like committing insurance fraud or basically
anything they have to lie to get. The sociopath is a bundle of problems
that could come from any part of life and they are very hard to handle. If
a person is diagnosed with Anti-Social Personality Disorder is very hard
to treat and there is no cure for their behavior. Because the disorder
remits in the thirties, it tends to be less obvious. Those that are forced into
psychotherapy cannot tolerate the intimacy of the required therapy.The
therapist has to focus on enhancing strength, channel the sensation of
seeking actions on people into more positive socially responsible
behaviors and to teach practical ways in dealing with every day
frustration. Medications are not recommended in the treatment of
sociopath but drugs can diminish the violent episodes. People with
Anti-Social Personality Disorder also have Attention Deficit\
Hyperactivity Disorder and stimulants are used to treat that such as
Ritalin. There are no long term results to study of this approach of using
stimulants but they should not be prescribed unless the person is
specifically diagnosed with AD\HD and has not responded to other
medication. The use of drugs cannot be abused and should be closely
monitored. Those that are co! nvicted of crimes are usually incarcerated.
Some sociopaths may be able to instead of a jail term choose a residential
facility that has counseling but there is a high drop out rate in those
facilities. Another alternative to jail for the adolescents with delinquent
behavior and are in trouble with the law are wilderness programs that are
designed to be like Outward Bound.The camps much like that in the T.V.
show Neon Rider provide difficult and dangerous challenges that would
keep their minds busy. The success of the wilderness camps is not quite
clear. There is a disorder called Borderline that is often misdiagnosed as
Anti-Social Personality Disorder which is quite similar to it. Borderline
Disorder is a little bit more aggressive than Antisocial. Characteristics of
Borderline Disorder · Violating the rights of others and age appropriate
societal norms or rules with at least three of the following in the past 6
months and one in the last 12 Aggression to People and Animals 1. often
bullying, threatening, or intimidating others 2. often iniating fights 3. use of
a weapon that can cause serious physical harm to others (bat ,brick ,
broken bottle, gun, knife ) 4. physical cruelty to people and animals 5.
stealing in a confrontation with victim ( mugging, purse snatching,
extortion, armed robbery ) 6. forcing someone into sexual activity 7.
Destruction of Property - deliberate fire setting with intention to cause
serious damage 8. deliberate destruction of other’s property in other
ways 9. Deceitfulness or Theft-breaking into someone’s house, car,
building 10. frequent lying to get goods, favors and avoid obligations 11.
stealing items of non - trivial value without confronting the victim -forgery,
shoplifting 12. Serious Violation of the Rules- often staying out all night
dispite parental rules that begin before the age of 13 13. running away
from home at least twice (once not returning for a lengthy period) 14.
frequent truancy from school · significant impairment in functioning socially
at school or work · in individuals 18 or older but symptoms don’t meet
criteria for Anti - Social Disorder The diagnoses of a sociopath is
extremely difficult because they have so many mental problems to
contend with the complete diagnoses might not occur. The possibility of
being diagnosed with something similar to being a sociopath is quite great
and this point should be stressed with relationship between Borderline
and Anti-Social Disorder. The inability to diagnose and treat properly
leads me to believe that there is not a clear solution as to how the general
population should react and treat these severely troubled people. This is a
disorder that blinds the emotions and actions the sociopath which in no
way is their fault for having it. Although the disorder is not the given
sociopath’s fault there is no real place for a sociopath in our society.
Because sociopaths hurt us, I believe that once diagnosed with the
disorder that all sociopaths should be sent to some kind of controlled
colony that would run like a normal city or town except all it’s residents
would be sociopaths. I come to this solution as almost a way to remove
them from society and treat the people in a way to. By having sociopaths
colonized together with all the parts of a normal society it would be good
for them because the only people the could hurt or manipulate would be
their fellow sociopath. The sociopath would be constantly bored with
average person and sometimes causing them to hurt the average person
when if! they were caused to interact with fellow sociopaths it would
keep them interested because it is not as easy to manipulate or con. The
possibility of violence in my colony is great but the sociopaths would not
mind because it is in their personality and it would serve us better if they
killed or hurt each other rather than us. In closing the sociopath is so hard
to deal with we should make strides to control their behavior in public.
BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS Wing , John Kenneth, Reasoning About
Madness, Oxford Press, Oxford ,1978 Milt, Harry ,Basic Handbook on
Mental Ilness,Scribner, New York , 1974 Hales, Dianne,Caring for the
Mind, Bantam Books , New York , 1995 ARTICLES Salama M.D.,
Aziz A.,The Antisocial Personality,The Psychiatric Journal of the
University of Ottawa , Ottawa , 1988 Malaney M. D. , Kathleen R.,
Patients with Antisocial Personality Disorder, Post Graduate
Medicine,1992 Unknown, unknown , Psychopathic Patients Pose
Dilemma For Physicians and Society, CMAJ ,1995 Hare
Ph.D.,Robert,Predators, Psycology Today , Feb. 1994 Hill,
Heather,Monsters In Our Midst,Homemaker’s Magazine, Oct. 1995
VIDEO The World of Abnormal Psychology Personality Disorder
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