Sociopathy: What Is This Antisocial Personality Disorder Like?

There are many occasions in which people define sociopaths as those individuals who apparently do not have a conscience and present an antisocial personality. So much so that in a large part of the cases, a person who is seen as hateful by a large majority is established as a sociopath. Although we commonly use the word sociopathy, the reality is that many do not know what its true meaning is.

What is a sociopath?

From a clinical and psychological perspective, sociopathic people They are those that exhibit characteristics of antisocial personality disorder. Therefore, people who have a sociopathic attitude usually have a general disregard for both the rights and feelings that others have. In this way, both a sociopath and a psychopath are considered two types of manifestation of antisocial personality disorder. Despite being two similar pathologies, the reality is that there is a big difference between a sociopath and a psychopath.

Difference between a psychopath and a sociopath

Most psychologists assume that in psychopaths and sociopaths There are many common traits. So much so that both sociopaths and psychopaths have a poor conception of morality. That is, they do not know how to differentiate between good and evil. On the other hand, they also share the inability to understand the feelings that exist in others. Although both manifest themselves in an antisocial personality or behavior, there are also differences between these two pathologies.

• Awareness

A key difference between a ssociopath and psychopath It is mainly the level of consciousness that these two people have. In the case of a psychopath, the inner voice that tells you if something is right or wrong is null. On the other hand, in the case of sociopaths, it does exist despite the fact that it is presented in a very weakened form.

• Emotional link

In the case of their emotional ties, the main difference between one type of antisocial and another is that the sociopath if you can have a relationship with another person. On the other hand, the psychopath, despite not being able to interact on an emotional level, can love others her way.

• Behavior

A sociopath You will have many difficulties fitting in with others. So much so that people who suffer from this type of antisocial disorder often cannot maintain a ‘normal’ work or family life due to their impulsivity and constant attacks of anger. On the opposite side, psychopaths can falsify their attitudes very well and can even manage to establish relationships with others in a very superficial way. In this way, psychopaths can appear charming to others while in reality they are plotting any criminal activity.

These are the main differences that may exist between a sociopathic or psychopathic antisocial personality disorder

Causes of a sociopathic antisocial disorder

When we form our personality in our childhood, it is the moment in which any antisocial behavior In this way, personality is a combination of both the interaction of the tendencies that we inherit and those environmental factors that affect us. Although the causes of antisocial personality disorder are not known, the reality is that it can mainly be due to the following:

• Genetics

Genes can make people vulnerable to developing a antisocial disorder such as sociopathy or psychopathy.

• Changes in brain structure

Another of the main causes why a conduct disorder They may be some changes in brain functions that occur during growth.

Is he a violent sociopath?

In most cases, sociopaths are popularly considered violent people. Despite this belief that there is around a antisocial person , the reality is that violence does not have to be one of the defining characteristics of a sociopath. In fact, in the vast majority of cases, both a sociopath and a psychopath are more likely to manipulate others with their charm before engaging in violent behavior.

Characteristics of a sociopath

Although it is difficult to detect if someone suffers from an antisocial disorder such as sociopathy or psychopathy there are a series of signs that can indicate that a person has antisocial behavior derived from this affectation.

1. Lack of empathy

In a sociopath One of the characteristics that stands out the most is its difficulty in having or developing empathy towards others. In this way, this antisocial disorder makes people unable to feel a certain remorse for the bad or good actions they may perform.

2. Difficult relationships

One of the features of this antisocial personality disorder It is precisely the constant difficulties that these people may have in forming certain emotional bonds. So much so that relationships with sociopaths tend to be both unstable and chaotic. On many occasions, a sociopath, apart from showing his antisocialism, also tends to use others to achieve his goals through deception.

3. Manipulation

One of the characteristics of a sociopath What they can cause the most damage to their closest circle is the manipulation that they constantly exert on others. So much so that in most cases, they will try to seduce people to achieve their own benefits. Although most famous sociopaths in movies are presented to us with great social and charismatic skills, in reality these people may not have any of these skills.

4. Deception

Many times the sociopaths They tend to be dishonest and deceitful. So much so that they often feel very comfortable lying to get their way. Furthermore, if deception allows them to obtain a clear benefit, it is very likely that they will lie even embellishing a truth.

5. Callousness

This antisocial behavior It is clearly marked by the lack of sensitivity that is presented. On many occasions these people can display certain violent and aggressive behaviors towards others. This can be seen when sociopaths show a callous disregard for other people’s feelings.

6. Hostility

The sociopaths They tend to interpret the behavior of others as hostile. For this reason, they can be hostile even to their closest circle. In most cases, some of their relationships may be motivated by the search for personal revenge.

7. Irresponsibility

There is a clear trend of this antisocial personality for referring financial and social obligations to those closest to them. So much so that the majority of people with this antisocial disorder can ignore many of their responsibilities.

8. Impulsiveness

Impulsivity is one of the main characteristics of an antisocial personality disorder In this way, decision-making always occurs impulsively on the part of people with sociopathy.

9. Risky behaviors

Irresponsibility, impulsivity and the need for instant gratification cause sociopathic people to end up engaging in risky behaviors such as alcoholism, drug addiction or unprotected sex.

If you think that someone close to you or that you yourself present many of the symptoms that we have described in this antisocial personality it is vital to go to a professional psychologist to treat each of these aspects.

How to treat a sociopath?

When a sociopath is part of our life, it is normal that we end up harmed because of this relationship. In many cases, links with a person who suffers from a antisocial disorder This style can take a toll on mental health. If this happens, it is vital to consult a psychologist. Although attention from a specialist is necessary, there are also a series of guidelines that you can follow to maintain a positive relationship with a sociopath.

• Recognize your lack of empathy

It may be difficult to deal with sociopathic person precisely because of the lack of empathy that everyone suffers from. This is a vital step in trying to live with an antisocial personality of this style.

• Make him understand how it affects his behavior

One of the most difficult parts of a sociopath cannot have emotional relationships is basically that his antisocial behavior does not allow him to see that he hurts others with his attitudes. Therefore, it may be a good step to try to make him see how his behavior affects his closest bond.

• Express the limits

For one antisocial person Understand what is good and what is not, you must highlight the limits that cannot be crossed. This way, you will be able to rationalize some of your behaviors.

• Look for the consequences

A good way to stop sociopaths is precisely by showing the consequences that their harmful behaviors can have. So much so that this antisocial personality You must see that every time you do harm to others it has bad consequences for them.

Maintain a relationship with a person with a antisocial personality disorder It can be a big effort for anyone. Despite this, it is vital to understand that a sociopath expresses this type of attitude not for a personal reason towards people, but rather due to his own natural nature.

The Joker and sociopathy

In the latest version of the Joker, where this time he acts as the main character of the cinematographic story, an attempt is made to provide a justification for the antisocial personality of this. But is someone like that really just a social creation?

Many will say that the Joker represents a madman with no possible treatment, a dangerous psychopath or a very disturbed mind, which he obviously is, but he could be many of those things and none at the same time. In this last representation of the Joker We are presented with a personal story full of misery, problems and situations in which he is treated at subhuman levels. However, in other versions of the character we have seen other aspects that we could mention. It is not about doing a rigorous analysis, because it is pure fiction, and as such it is not real and stable, but depends on each scriptwriter, but it is about giving an image of the pathologies that it could suffer and its reality.

• Sociopathy or antisocial personality disorder

First of all we can say that Joker has a mental disorder. antisocial personality or sociopathy , characterized by not respecting social norms and laws. It implies zero empathy towards the people around you, without being aware, because you do not feel it that way, when you hurt or take advantage of others. It is not, as many people do, about parking in two spaces or stealing batteries from Ikea, but about something deeper. In this case, a normal person would know that he is doing harm, for example by killing the neighbor’s dog because it bothers him that it barks, and for him his benefit justifies that evil. In the case of the film we took it further and turned him into a murderer.

• Psychopathy

We can see in the psychopath Here, continuing with the above, we refer to the lack of empathy and recognition of emotions. This represents 2% of the world’s population, but that does not make them potential murderers, but rather people who often live very sad lives.

There is no joy, no sadness, no fear… and it is difficult to manage when you see that others feel things that are impossible for you.

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Finally, we could say that the character has an obsessive-compulsive disorder that leads, for example, to his obsession with Batman or to having to perform certain magical rituals, such as always having to use the same colors or, in different versions of the character, disguising his friends. subordinates. In this case it would be an unusual version of the disorder perhaps the most common being those we saw in films like Knock-knock, which tried to show with humor what is ultimately a painful reality for many.

But finally, as I say, one could be a sociopath and not seek to destroy society, but perhaps repudiate it in silence, a psychopath and in only 0.001% of cases become a serial killer, and obviously even have OCD, which many times would only go through a strange mania without affecting daily life.

Joker is a character, a creation of a comic and as such he has to fulfill a role, then he is added pathologies that they can contribute to making it the way we want it to be, but the reality is that it is almost impossible to see something like this in the real world.

People with serious mental illnesses suffer greatly in silence, in solitude and without help or empathy from a society that acts towards them as if they had something contagious.