Psychopath - we use this term very often - we define as psychopaths, for example, many heroes of various horror films. In reality, however, we see psychopaths not only on the cinema screen, but also in our environment - it can be both our co-worker and even … our partner. So read who a psychopath is and find out how a psychopath functions in a relationship.

Psychopathis a word of Greek origin - it comes from a combination of two Greek terms: "psyche", understood as "soul", and "pathos", translated as suffering. Initially, psychopathies were defined as broad types of pathologies related to the functioning of the human mind, but later the meaning of the term was significantly narrowed down. Currently, the name "psychopathy" is used primarily to denote specific, abnormal personality traits occurring in people. How can you tell if someone is a psychopath?

Psychopath: Who is he?

As the characteristic features of a psychopath are described quite clearly, it is much more difficult to clearly define what this problem really is. It is quite obvious to link psychopathy with psychiatry, but no doctor of this speci alty makes such a diagnosis. The reason for this is that in psychiatric literature one can actually come across the words "psychopathic" or "psychopath", although in the functioning of psychiatric classifications - that is, in the ICD-10 and DSM-V - there is no individual that would be referred to as psychopathy.

According to Jon Ronson, author of Are You a Psychopath ?, there is no difference between a psychopath in a homicide sentence and a psychopath in the president's office. The latter was simply more fortunate: he was born into a well-to-do family that gave him an education, so he did not take the path of crime.

In the above-mentioned classification systems one can find other entities that - more or less - are related to psychopathy. We are talking about personality disorders of the antisocial and dissocial type. Psychopathy has many features in common with them, and moreover, these terms are often used interchangeably, although incorrectly.A similar situation applies to linking psychopathy with sociopathy, they are also separate entities, which are relatively often considered to be the same problem.

So how is psychopathy diagnosed - is it a "case diagnosis", depending solely on the subjective opinion of a psychologist, psychiatrist or other person dealing with mental he alth? Definitely no, there are specialized psychological tests available that make it possible to suspect that a given person is a psychopath. There are several such tests, some of the most popular are the R. Hare Scale of Psychopathic Tendencies, the Psychopathic Personality Inventory, and the Comprehensive Psychopathic Personality Assessment Scale.

Tests with tests and life with life - before specialized tests are carried out in anyone suspected of psychopathy, something must even prompt them to perform them. So what are the characteristics of psychopaths?

Psychopath: How do you recognize him?

At the very beginning, one aspect must be emphasized: recognizing a psychopath is not easy. The reason for this is that psychopaths can perfectly mask themselves, and what's more - psychopaths are often extremely charming people who can even… attract others.

Psychopath has a typical negative connotation - as an example, one of the most famous psychopaths in culture and art, i.e. Hannibal Lecter, can be given here. From this perspective, psychopathy can be associated primarily with cold-blooded approach to violence and human harm, or not experiencing remorse. However, these are definitely not the only characteristics of psychopaths.

A psychopath is characterized by:

  • completely ignoring (and basically not understanding) the feelings and needs of other people;
  • disregard of authorities and generally accepted principles and norms;
  • a drastically marked tendency to lie;
  • an exceptional level of ability to manipulate other people - psychopaths are able to do anything to gain some benefit for themselves;
  • significant reduction (or even complete absence) of the feeling of anxiety and fear;
  • not feeling responsible in all life situations;
  • belief in their uniqueness and the related fact that psychopaths show an exceptional degree of tendency to blame other people (if they themselves are so perfect, all failures are not their fault, and other people are responsible for them) ;
  • low frustration tolerance, easy anger and aggressive behavior;
  • excellent ability to justify their behavior - no matter how vile behavior a psychopath undertakes, this person will always be able to explain himself and rationalize his behavior.

Causes of Psychopathy

In fact, despite the many and varied studies conducted on this subject, it has not yet been possible to find out what causes psychopathy. Various types of aspects are considered to be potential causes of this problem - both the role of genes inherited by us and disorders of the nervous system (e.g. those acquired during life, caused for example by the experience of a head injury) are taken into account.

A variety of serious events that people face particularly in the early stages of their lives are also considered a possible cause of psychopathy. In this approach, it could lead to someone becoming a psychopath, e.g. experiencing sexual harassment in childhood.

An interesting theory about the causes of psychopathy is one that links its occurrence with purely evolutionary phenomena. Well, psychopaths are often compared to parasites - after all, one of the elements of psychopathy is the exploitation (even to the limit of possible) of other people, as long as the needs and goals of the psychopath are met. In this case, psychopathy would be an evolutionary mechanism that would simply increase - at the expense of others, of course - the survival chance of the individual experiencing it. This theory, among other hypotheses about the causes of psychopathy, however, is the subject of the greatest criticism.

Psychopath in a relationship: why do we late realize that your partner is a psychopath?

The truth is that we can run into a psychopath anywhere - even in our own home. Although psychopaths have a significantly impoverished feeling of emotions, this does not mean that they do not enter into emotional relationships at all. A relationship for a psychopath can be … beneficial - after all, he can use his partner.

Looking at the above-described features of a psychopath, it would seem that it is easy to see such a person - after all, the tendency to brutality or violence should be noticed quite easily. In fact, it's completely different - psychopaths are great actors. Usually, they manage to mask for a long time, what's more, they can even be extremely charming and even charm their partner. However, the psychopath does not do it out of good will - if he gives something of himself, then not selflessly, but only to gain some benefit for himself.

A man being with a psychopathfor a long time, he may not be aware of who his partner really is. But what to do when we finally realize that we live under the same roof with a psychopath? It would be best to break out of that relationship. Relationships involving psychopathy are usually toxic - unfortunately, they are usually the hardest to get out of. However, there is only one advice - creating a well-functioning relationship with a psychopath is extremely difficult and sometimes even impossible, so it would be best to end the relationship. Such a recommendation results from the possibilities of helping people struggling with psychopathy.

Worth knowing

Treatment of psychopathy

Broadly speaking, psychopathy could be included in the group of personality disorders. Other problems in this group of mental disorders have specific treatment methods - but what about psychopathy? Well, in general, there is a position that psychopaths are very difficult to cure. There are no medications for psychopathy - although it is possible to alleviate, for example, a tendency to aggressive behavior by administering to patients, for example, antipsychotic drugs, it affects only one of the many groups of problems that psychopaths experience.

Psychopaths try to use other influences much more often than pharmacotherapy - we are talking about psychotherapy here. Various psychotherapeutic methods are used in the treatment of psychopathy, there are either systemic or cognitive-behavioral therapy and many other types of psychotherapy. Ultimately, however, the effectiveness of psychotherapy in psychopaths is unfortunately assessed as low. In general, the prognosis of people struggling with psychopathy is described as bad - the situation is not made easier by the fact that the causes of psychopathy are not fully known. The second problem that limits the effectiveness of treatment for psychopaths is that they themselves … generally see no need for any kind of therapy.

About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

Category:

Psychiatry