I have a friend who assumes that everyone is crazy to one degree or another. I emailed him a link to this article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/b...-spot-one.html

I'm not sure whether I can spot a psychopath or not, but after having been in a relationship with a sociopath woman for about 1 and a half years, I hope to have learned something about them (so as to not repeat the same mistakes again).

edit: I must add, unlike psychotics and people who suffer some type of mentall illness, psychopaths and sociopaths don't suffer from their condition. They use it to take advantage of other people and make them suffer instead.

well about half of the chair's of broad of directors and ceo's of fortune 500
tend to show some form of sociopathic behavior and some form of psychopathy ....

mind you we are NOT talking about " Jason Voorhees " here

If psychology were simple we wouldn't need psychiatrists and psychologists and psychotherapists.

It is difficult to diagnose psychological issues even for professionals, for the layman ... nearly impossible.

As for what is normal ... that's the first question they ask in psychology courses, and it's hard to define. In general, as long as it doesn't interfere with functional day-to-day activities, it doesn't bother the patient, and the patient doesn't pose a threat to themselves or others, then it is not considered a disorder. Religious and political beliefs are exempt from psychological disorder status, no matter how unusual with the above exceptions.

I'm sure you know people who may act strangely or may be quiet and reserved. Contrary to popular belief, these are NOT clear signs of any serious psychological disorder. The dangerous ones are indeed manipulative and impulsive, like the article says, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisoc...ality_disorder
However, some of them make it up to higher ranks like businessmen and political leaders ... that's when things get interesting on a massive scale.

I don't think you should focus on spotting psychopaths, but rather focus on dealing with people in such a way as to prevent them from manipulating you. I'm not saying don't trust people by default, but at least keep a certain distance between yourself and people you don't really know or are unsure of. Try to derive the motives behind people's actions (words matter very little) and see what their goals are. I personally don't trust people who are overly friendly, because I can't see the motive behind it ... yet. I trust most the people that are neutral, that you meet just by chance, who don't go out of their way to be your friend but rather just go about their usual business. The amount of strain / pressure on a relationship with someone should be close to zero. If it's high from the start, I see it as a warning that they may be manipulative.

Then show him this video -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfvTwv5o1Qs <-

But seriously. Yeah he is partitially correct. In his subjective opinion we are crazy but same applies viceversa. Why? Because we don't have yet objective opinion on what is truly "normal"?
Or watch this episode.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_the_Beholder
They think we are ugly while we think they are ugly. Who wins? None or both.

but using peoples feelings( and wants ) against them is so much FUN....
and watching the aftermath of it just fall apart -- "priceless"

If you do know any people with possible psychological issues, recommend they see a psychologist or psychiatrist. Many common disorders like phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder can be treated and cured with just psychotherapy, i.e. discussing your problems, thoughts, etc. and solving them together. It's a lot better than living your whole life with such a disorder. Unfortunately, people with anti-social personality tend to not respond well to therapy and usually end up in prison instead where they won't get any helpful therapy.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/searc...opaths&x=0&y=0

There was an article in a recent issue in which an admitted sociopath tried to argue that sociopaths can be good people. The letters column in the next issue was a hoot!

My own observation is that sociopaths and psychopaths can be nice people, when niceness helps them get what they want. Otherwise, otherwise.

The truly-wretched thing about mental illnesses – the thing which enables them to devastate the lives of their victims and of the people who surround them - is that ... "you are inside, trying to reckon the situation through the eyes of the illness," and you simply can't do that. But, because the illness interferes with its own treatment(!), you can't necessarily see that. And yet, you might imagine that you do.

It takes a tremendous leap of courage for someone to admit: "I can't help myself ... help me."

(From time spent volunteering on a suicide-prevention hotline ... which, by the way, is an excellent starting-point for finding access to mental health assistance, even if you aren't suicidal, and even if you're not the one with the illness. The "first responders" on the other end of that phone have some training on how to help you assess your own situation, and they have immediate access to other resources who can help you. Sometimes, you in fact cannot help yourself, and also, sometimes you cannot help the person whom you want to help without assistance. Start The Healing – Make The Call...)

Plus there are certain conditions for which one of the characteristics is an inability to see that one's own behavior contributes to one's problems, let alone admit that one might need help.

So politicians, employers and sometimes girls

After being in a relationship with a psychopath for more than 2 years(she was very nice to me though) and being friends with some of the extreme cases, I now tend to spot them early on and on the risk of being labeled as judgmental, just keep a distance from them now. I realized that I was draining most of my energy with them unnecessarily. I'm not saying that they are not nice people, they may be the best of the people but I just can't deal with them anymore.

Most of them showed signs of a troubled childhood/teenage and this later on developed into a habit of acknowledging everything around them in a totally wrong way, being utterly stubborn, no sense of humor, etc etc. And I'm not talking about sociopaths.

And, I've observed this pattern in a few members of LQ also(don't judge me again).

Regards.

Can You Spot Psychopaths??
This place is infested with them.

In all seriousness, Mental Illness is an insidious killer and a destroyer of lives, because by its intrinsic nature it interferes with its own treatment.

All of us are "inside our own brains, looking out," and we cannot properly consider the impact of those brains malfunctioning, because of course it takes our (malfunctioning) brains with which to do it. Or, someone else's.

We're accustomed to the idea that from time to time "the rest of our bodies" might, say, "catch the flu" or what-have-you. But the part of our amazing bodies that is by far the most complex is, "the brain," which is nevertheless a biological thing too.

Get professional help. Try very patiently to explain to whomever-it-is, or to yourself, that "that horrible black hole" or "those uncontrollable violent emotions" or whatever-it-is might have exactly the same sort of fundamental underpinnings as a head-cold ... with dramatically different impact due to the part of the body that is malfunctioning. In other words, "your (their) perception of the true situation is distorted by a disease process," which is probably treatable. (Amazingly enough, sometimes it just takes a change of diet. Yes, the human brain can be allergic!)

Even though you might have confidence in your ability to "see your own way clear" of most things – the fundamental nature of mental disease changes the nature of the game and thus interferes with its own treatment. In this case, your own assessment of your own condition is: "dangerously false."

The treatment, while not a thing to be trivialized, is the easy part compared to getting the person to treatment.

Treat this seriously, as a treatable disease that is "not your fault." Get professional help. Now. Time is of the essence, and you cannot do this on your own!! If you don't know where to start, call the local suicide-prevention hotline. Explain to them that you're not suicidal (if you're not ...), and ask them what to do. If you don't think that you have the money, say that also. Doors will open. Healing will begin.

(P.S. One of the reasons why I'm harping on this – besides my SP-hotline training – is that I know that many people here are relatively young, maybe in that very-dangerous hormone-ruled time of ages 15-22, during which the most significant physical changes occur and mental illness is prevalent.)

Unfortunately New York City's public transportation system is just teeming with hordes of unstable people!!