In life everyone will come across people, and most of the time they will not even know that, that person has a dangerous disorder. Sociopaths are not as rare as one might expect, it is said that about four percent of the general population are sociopaths (Psychologia.co). Sociopaths also known as having Antisocial Personality Disorder are defined as mainly having a lack of empathy towards others (Malancharuvil). They usually also suffer from abnormal moral conduct and the inability to conform with social normality’s. Some other important classifying characteristics are excessive lying and manipulation, a lack of remorse for other living beings, aggressive and impulsive behavior, and the violation of the rights of others (meantlahealth.gov). Sociopaths often go undetected because they are liked so much among their peers because of their ridiculous charm. No one is born with Antisocial Personality Disorder, but it is developed from a bad childhood history usually before the age of 15. If left untreated the behavior could progress and could possibly become dangerous. Due to the lack of empathy, Sociopaths lose touch with their humanity making them less and less human.
It all starts with the most swayable brain, a child’s brain. Sociopathic tendencies start to develop at young ages because of the child’s experiences. The most common triggers of the disorder are traumatic experiences early on in life, like abuse or sexual abuse (depressiond.org). It can also be just as simple as a child watching a parent who is a sociopath and imitating those actions or it can be just the opposite, the lack of love and affections from their parents. It can even be detected at young ages when children display aggressive behaviors and then show no remorse for their actions. This is because children with this disorder learn to feel no emotion, so they do not know how to empathize for others. While in a child it has the same symptoms and actions as an adult sociopath it easier to identify starting with the fact that children with this disorder have learning problems. In school, it is not that they struggle to pay attention, they just do not care to learn (depressiond.org). They also struggle with language problems and they are destructive in nature. However, if caught and treated through therapy at an early age the problem can be repressed and just followed up over the years to make sure it does not re-manifest and to bring positive change.
According to the DSM IV which is the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders the symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder are: excessive lying, conning or manipulation, inability to abide by social norms, aggressive behavior, complete lack of empathy, little to no feelings, impulsive behavior, no concern for safety, inconsistent behavior and irresponsibility, and promiscuous behavior (psi.uba.ar). To be diagnosed with the disorder one only needs to display any combination of at least three symptoms. Since a sociopath does not conform to the rules, the perpetrator often does not worry about consequences thus making it easy to influence people of the same state. Some other common traits not listed in the DSM IV are intelligence, charming, and attaining success in unmoral ways (depressiond.org). They also can never learn from their mistakes. All of these symptoms are traits that people have that make them more humane. Guilt is a common attribute that make everyone human, if that is not felt there should be genuine worry in the humanity of the individual.
One of the reasons that sociopaths go undetected is because of their charm they make many friends and build relationships. The defining difference between a sociopath and just a really charming person is that it is hard for a sociopath to maintain relationships. They constantly have a revolving door of friends because they make their friend feel unsatisfied. Sociopaths tend to be master manipulators and will take control of the situation which makes others feel inferior. It also scares them to not have control, so they do not hesitate to use everything in their power to gain control of the relationship especially with significant others (depressiond.org). Relationships with sociopaths are their way or the highway so they also do not last long because of stress on the other person. These are signs of someone who is not in touch with their inner human being.
Many times, people get confused between sociopaths and psychopaths. They are very similar but there is a difference. Psychopathy is not recognized as a disorder, but the confusion comes from the fact that the a both lumped under the Antisocial Personality Disorder label (depressiond.org). People that are considered psychopaths suffer from severe paranoia, they believe that everyone is out to get them. They also believe any and all aggressive behavior toward them are unjust. The most surprising but scariest difference is psychopaths are organized and can have a normal life. They know how to maintain normal relationships and will normally have a successful career (depressiond.org). The organization trait is important when identifying a psychopath, because sociopaths act on impulse whereas psychopaths will plan for a long time. When psychopaths plan to commit crimes the usually plan for years. Psychopaths lack remorse and empathy as well but they are better at covering it up. Psychopaths appear more human than they are.
Sociopaths are about four percent of the population, but they are on the rise because of incompetent parenting. This is considered a subculture of sociopaths called the Common Sociopath. It is the main and largest of subcultures of sociopaths. They are not shamed by things that would shame the normal person. They do not know how to plan for the future because they grew up in environments where the future was unpredictable, and they could only rely on pleasure and pain happening in the moment. They are often compared to the actions of feral children, instant gratification and no long-term goals (depressiond.org). They are the result of weak parental bonding, control and bad parenting. Their unmotivated spirit should be a cautionary sign of moving farther from their human spirit.
The less empathy a person has the closer they get to sociopathy, but the more sociopaths love themselves the more narcissistic they become. It is common for sociopaths to suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but the combination can be dangerous. These are the type of sociopaths that do not want any kind of help. Most sociopaths do not show remorse for what they have done, but narcissistic sociopaths will manipulate and do whatever they can to get what they want even if that means harming those who are closest to them, including family members, and they feel not even the slightest bit of remorse. These types of sociopaths are highly intelligent and the most charming. They are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goal and will not let anything get in their way. It becomes especially dangerous when they start to believe they are better than everyone, so they think they can do whatever they want and if someone disagrees with them, they do not care either way; that person just becomes an inconvenience (depressiond.org). This is the furthest you can get from your humanity before crossing over to the psychopath classification.
Sociopaths on the rise and people need to know how to identify them. This important because sociopaths either need to get help so the cycle can stop or in worst case scenarios people stuck in situations can get out. In most cases sociopaths know they are or have tendencies but will not get help until forced too. Also, it is good to know the signs for children because it is easier to them to therapy and to regress it. Mental disorders and mental health are something that has not been talked about for too long and society is starting to accept that, but people are still not talking about those that are most dangerous. It is the people that can hide in plain sight, but it only takes time for one to see their true colors, and sometimes they are stuck in those situations. When empathy is lost, that is when people lose their humanity, this is something Sociopaths struggle with, which put their human identity into question.