"How to Spot a Sociopath"

I hope that you never have to use the information, but here's how to spot a sociopath.

Dr. Annabelle Charbit will guide us through the steps.

A sociopath is a user. He sees people as instruments who will help him attain his own ends.  He has no sense of responsibility for his actions and no feelings for the feelings of other people.

If sociopaths need to lie and cheat, they will, habitually. They do not care about how their behavior affects anyone else.

Sociopaths, Charbit says, act impulsively. They do not plan ahead. They do not foresee consequences.

If they happen to see what might happen, they do not care.

She writes: “Sociopathic individuals rarely plan ahead. They undertake actions on the basis of momentary whims, often devious ones. Every act seems isolated in its own amoral universe. Thus, they cannot keep promises or repair the damage they've caused to others. When they lie, cheat or steal, the act exists solely for them; they believe it should have no repercussions or real world effects. They often appear to have ‘forgotten’ they did something shortly after it happened. Their need for excitement encourages them to get involved in one night stands, shady deals and ill-advised engagements.

“Sociopaths have no sense of commitment to their spouses, any children they may have together or the future.”

Some of a sociopath’s qualities can be very appealing.

They can be charming and witty, very attentive, and sexually magnetic. They can be very quick to proclaim true love or to asking for a lifetime commitment.

All of these can easily be interpreted as signs of deep affection.

Coupled with these qualities, Charbit continues, is an intense egotism, a Jekyll and Hyde personality, overly intense eye contact, and a will to blame others for everything.

Sociopaths never admit that they are at fault. They tend to blame everyone else. If that fails they appeal to your pity and compassion. They will want you to understand how difficult their life has been.