Have you ever had an appointment with a psychopath? This question will be difficult to answer precisely because psychopaths are experts at disguise, and it can take a long time—months or even years—to learn the full extent of an individual’s pathology.
Psychopaths can be male or female, although research shows that more men than women are psychopaths. Check out some of the initial signs of a psychopath so you can get a sense of what they look like and how they act, and you can spot them as early as possible in the dating process. Keep in mind that there is no romantic love relationship with a psychopath.
While most people believe that a psychopath cannot form an attachment with anyone, this is not entirely true. Some psychopaths have an attachment to at least one person, and this person is often a mother or grandparent who is loving and kind.
Related: 5 Early Signs You’re In A Dead-End Relationship That’ll Only End In Heartbreak
However, when it comes to romantic relationships, there is little to no hope of establishing a decent relationship with a psychopath.
If someone shows only two or three psychopathic traits or signs, there is room for mental health treatment and perhaps a romantic relationship in the future.
- Superficial charm
Yes, many people are charming, but a psychopath is lovely in a way that adds nothing. He’s a storyteller and tells stories that always put him in a good light, and the stories never seem entirely believable.
The most important point of the psychopath’s charm is that it often seems too smooth to be entirely real.
- A great sense of self-worth
There is a lot of overlap between narcissism and psychopathy. Every psychopath is a narcissist, but not every narcissist is a psychopath.
While narcissists focus on establishing themselves as superior in every situation, psychopaths concentrate on controlling and exploiting others to meet their needs. In general, a psychopath is much more dangerous than a narcissist, because a psychopath does not form true attachments and does not feel remorse, even for the most heinous and harmful behaviors.
- Pathological lying
The frequency and depth of lies with a psychopath are astonishing. A psychopath can make up a lie out of nothing, so quickly that you almost automatically believe him. The psychopath makes up lies in extreme detail, and you feel he must tell the truth because he goes out of his way to defend his lies.
If you challenge a psychopath with a lie, be careful: he will not be happy and will find a way – direct or subtle – to punish you.
Related: As I Rewatched ‘Sex And The City’, I Couldn’t Help But Wonder — Didn’t Carrie Deserve Better?
- Not feeling remorse or guilt
Not feeling guilt or remorse for doing something hurtful is part of the psychopathy package. The psychopath does what he wants, regardless of the effect on others.
It is important to note that not all psychopaths are the same, meaning that there is a range of psychopathic traits. Many people have some psychopathic traits, such as one or two of the characteristics listed here.
These individuals have disordered personalities to the point that they become attached to people and have expectations that are out of sync with the rest of the world. Interacting with them is frustrating and confusing, and it is extremely difficult to establish a romantic relationship with them.
At the end of the psychopathic spectrum, the psychopath has no conscience at all. These individuals will engage in the most vicious behavior imaginable and will not think twice about it.
- No empathy
Lack of empathy is another problem you’ll see clearly and early on with a psychopath, regardless of where they fall on the spectrum. For example, if you tell a psychopath a story that upsets you or seriously hurts your feelings, the psychopath will not have much of an emotional reaction. He may try to say or do something that sounds sympathetic, but it comes off as superficial and wrong.
Psychopaths often study the emotional reactions of characters on television or men and women in everyday life, trying to master how to convey emotions because psychopaths do not naturally feel the range and depth of emotions.
The odds are not great that you will encounter a severe psychopath in your dating life, but they live and socialize in some of the same areas you do. Knowing the signs of mental illness can help you spot these red flags quickly so that you never reach the point where you develop a true emotional attachment to the psychopath.
