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Hey everybody!
Today we're gonna talk about sociopaths
and what causes someone to have no conscience.
But, before we jump into this *very* interesting topic, are you new to my channel?
Welcome!
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So make sure you are subscribed and have those notifications on,
so that you don't miss out.
Now, as always, let's begin by briefly defining what a sociopath is.
Now, diagnostically speaking, a sociopath is someone with anti-social personality disorder.
I honestly think that we just call people sociopaths
or pyschopaths because it sounds more *ominous* than anti-social personality disorder.
But, people will argue that different terms are used for different reasons.
But, today, just know that they're interchangeable.
Now, it is diagnosed if someone has a pervasive pattern
of disregard and violation of the rights of others,
occuring since the age of 15 as indicated by 3 or more of the following:
Number one: Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors,
as indicated by repeatedly doing things that warrant arrest.
Number two: Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated *lying*
or use of aliases or conning others for personal profit or pleasure.
Number three: Impulsivity, or failure to plan ahead at all.
Number four: Irritability and aggressiveness.
As indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults.
Number five: Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others.
So you can see how the impulsivity and aggressiveness
and this reckless disregard can make for a very dangerous situation.
Number six: Consistent irresponsibility.
As indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior
or honor financial obligations.
Number seven: Lack of remorse.
As indicated by being indifferent to
or rationalizing having hurt or mistreated or even stolen from another person.
So often, even if they actually harm someone and they've called them on it,
they don't really have any remorse
and they'll even try to, like, talk you out of being upset with them.
They must also be at least 18 years of age, as is for any personality disorder
because they wanna ensure that behavior isn't just a part of our brain or adolescence
and there must also have been evidence of conduct disorder with onset
before the age of 15.
So, if you wanna learn more about conduct disorder
or anti-social personality disorder in more detail,
you can check out my videos on both and I'll link those in the description.
Now people with anti-social personality disorder lack a conscience.
And instead of wanting their life to be filled with love, success, and adventure,
they focus on winning the game of life.
This so-called game can vary from person to person.
But just remember, these people get bored really really easily
and don't like anything sentimental or associated with attachment.
And, instead, they prefer to feel like they can control those around them.
Research shows us, they like to know that they can make people *jump* when they want them to.
This could involve gas-lighting others so they question their own sanity
and go along with what they want them to do.
Or possibly working to get a job where they have power over others.
They see people as things to be used for their benefit
and can even mimic emotion and behavior in order to get what they want.
The most common jobs of sociopaths are:
teachers, psychologists or therapists, ew, right?
priests or pastors, divorce lawyers, doctors,
actors or influencers, HR directors, and high school coaches.
And if a sociopath is unable to get a job like that,
a job in which they have control over a small or a large group of people,
they'll become involved in, like, their Homeowner's Association or the PTA.
Or worse, they'll decide to get married and become a parent so they,
at least, have control over *that* small group of people.
Pretty bad, right?
And I know even going through all the information makes you think
that these people are going to be extremely dangerous and terrible.
But, you know, we always go back to, "Well, at least there aren't too many of them."
Well, the truth about it is...
that most sociopaths aren't actually behind bars because of committing crimes.
They're better than that.
They're more manipulative than that.
And the truth is there are far more of them than you think.
The rough statistic is 4% of the population.
Or, 1 in 25.
So, chances are, you've known someone like this.
Much of the data that we're able to gather on sociopaths is done in prison.
Because they're literally held captive and have to show up for their assesments,
therefore, the stats still show that it's mostly men who are sociopaths.
However, more recent findings demonstrate that are just as many women with anti-social personality disorder
as men, but women tend to be a bit more catty when it comes to committing crimes,
and they'll rope in other counterparts or a male counterpart to do it with them,
and if caught, they'll cry and blame it all on the other person,
saying they were forced and they've been abused,
doing whatever they have to to get out of it.
Therefore, more female sociopaths are out in the world, roaming about,
not locked away in prison.
Now, everyone who hears about sociopaths wants to know
if they are aware of their diagnosis, and do they care that they're sociopaths?
Are they disappointed, or upset?
And I assume this is because, you know, we would at least like them to be aware that they're bad,
and be affected by that fact.
That would give us a little bit of solace, right?
Like, just knowing at least they know that they're a bad person.
But the truth is since they have no conscience,
which I know is really hard to, like, hold onto and understand,
But because they have no conscience, even if they do know
that they have anti social personality disorder or that they're a sociopath,
it doesn't affect how they feel about themselves.
I mean, if we think about it, they don't have real relationships with those around them,
so they probably don't even have a real relationship with themselves.
I honestly don't know if they're really that capable.
So knowing that they have a mental illness wouldn't really matter to them at all.
And I know this is really hard to even comprehend,
and that's truly why they get away with hurting people so often,
because it just doesn't make sense to us.
You know, “us” being the individuals with a conscience.
We'll think, you know, “Why would someone ever do anything that mean?
“They just couldn't, that just doesn't make sense, I must've heard it wrong,
“or I must not have the full explanation or all the information.”
And since we can't make sense of their actions, we often assume that we're the ones that are wrong,
or that we misheard, or had misinformation.
But we do, in fact, have all the information needed.
They just act in ways that we simply cannot comprehend.
Next, most people want to know if they are all serial killers or extremely violent.
And the truth is, they're not.
Just like any other person, they have their own personalities.
Some sociopaths see people as things to be had, so that they don't have to work at all.
Therefore, they will search for a husband or a wife that will afford them the lifestyle they want,
without them having to do anything.
And others just want to control other people,
and will run successful businesses so that they can make their employees jump when they say so.
Only a small percentage of sociopaths are actually violent criminals.
Which should be demonstrated by the fact that only 20% of those in prison are actual sociopaths.
But it's important to know that sociopaths are all dangerous emotionally.
They will gaslight those in their lives, and do things to intentionally hurt people.
So overall, it's best to keep your distance, you know, for your own safety.
It's also important to know that sociopaths are not “psycho”,
meaning they don't hear voices or see things that we don't see.
What that describes, is something completely different, and that is psychosis.
And while some people will still harm others when having an episode of psychosis,
that is not the same as anti social personality disorder.
And I have a video all about psychosis,
I'll link that in the description as well so you can check that out to learn more.
Now, into the most interesting part of this video.
What causes someone to be a sociopath?
Now, we are still learning more about it, but research thus far shows us
that it's something that they may be born with.
Dr. Kent Kiehl published a book in 2014 of his findings from doing research on male inmates.
And I know, yes it's just males, and yes these are only people in prisons,
now, he was able to compare their brains using structural MRI data of inmates
who'd scored high on Hare's psychopathy checklist,
meaning that they were already psychopaths.
That's what that checklist tells us.
And he compared those brains with those who did not score high on that checklist, so they're not a sociopath.
What they found was astounding.
Sociopaths showed reduced grey matter in the orbital frontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus,
insula, temporal lobe, and the anterior and the posterior cingulate.
Meaning that the entire paralimbic circuitry was impaired.
Now, I know, that's a lot of psycho babble,
but this system constitutes a group of interconnecting brain structures
that are involved in the functions of emotional processing, goal setting, and motivation and self control.
So if they're impaired, those functions are not doing what they need to do.
Crazy, huh?
And I know that's a lot to take in,
it just blew my mind even learning this,
that there's a whole portion of their brain that just isn't functioning properly,
and that's why the act in the way that they do and have no conscience.
But the final point or question that I want to address, and arguably one of the most important,
is, how do you know someone's a sociopath?
Many of us have had our lives torn apart by someone who fits the criteria for anti social personality disorder.
Therefore, we want to know how to avoid letting another person like that into our lives.
Now, it makes sense.
People usually assume that sociopaths will instill fear in us.
By scaring us or bullying us in some way.
But the truth is that they don't do that at all.
Sociopaths instead utilize pity to weave their way into our lives.
In the book, "The Sociopath Next Door", by Martha Stout, she states,
and I just wanted to read you this quote because it's so good,
“The best clue is, of all things, the pity play.
“The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior in scrupulous people
“is not directed as one might imagine, at our fearfulness.
“It's, perversely, an appeal to our sympathy."
And she goes on to share, "sociopaths have no regard whatsoever for the social contract,
“but they do know how to use it to their advantage.
“And all in all, I'm sure that if the devil existed, he'd want use to feel very, very sorry for him."
So, if someone in your life always turns issues around on you, trying to make you feel sorry for them,
when if you really took some time to think about it, you shouldn't,
you feeling sorry for them just doesn't make sense,
like a good example of this would be like someone not picking you up from the airport,
and when you call them to be like "Dude, where you at?" they're like
"How dare you ask me to do something?
“Such a pain in my ass, you knew I was busy."
And they make you feel bad for them leaving you at the airport.
This just doesn't add up.
So let that be a warning sign that you have possibly come in contact with one of the 4% of sociopaths out there,
and you should probably discontinue that relationship.
And I know this video was a little bit darker than usual,
but I really do think it's important that we're all aware of this.
The stats are staggering, chances of us having come in contact with someone like this, it's inevitable.
All of us probably know someone who is a sociopath, and we need to protect ourselves.
We need to, most importantly, know what to look out for.
And while I was preparing for the most recent series with Shane,
I had all this research and reading, and not all of it fit into that series,
and so I just wanted to share more of what I've learned.
This video has been brought to you by the Kinions on patreon.
If you would like to support the creation of these mental health videos,
click the link in the description and check it out.
I hope you found that as interesting as I did, and something that I think might be kinda fun,
leave in the comments down below any characters on TV or in movies
that you believe are sociopaths, and tell us why.
I'll see you down there in those comments, and I'll also see you next time.
Bye!