Live data from Hacker News

I always knew I was different, I didn't know I was a sociopath

wsj.com

11–20 of 203 posts

Re: I always knew I was different, I didn't know I was a sociopath

#11
post #5

[flagged]

Oh! Glad to see you are so well educated and experienced in mental health treatment, that you can speak for what every single person that medical condition would ever conceivably do.

[flagged]

Re: I always knew I was different, I didn't know I was a sociopath

#13
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an oft-repeated quote which doesn't have any backing to it.

[flagged]

I think the burden of proof is usually on the person making the "all X do Y" statement, don't you?

Re: I always knew I was different, I didn't know I was a sociopath

#14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats not at all what research and the definition implies.

[flagged]

Why would sociopath think that being sociopath is bad or wrong? They could very well think that it is what makes them better than others. If they lack remorse they can admit that they are sociopaths without any remorse or regret.

Re: I always knew I was different, I didn't know I was a sociopath

#15
post #2

Fascinating article. I wonder what made her do the steps in finding what's "different" with her, and most of all, why the need to fix it arose. Is it to "fit in", understandably? It somehow felt alien to me, and this shows my ignorance on the topic, that people lacking in empathy department would attempt to understand the reasons and act "good" towards others even if this feeling is only understood intellectually.

"do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is good advice and a rational strategy without emotion or empathy.

The practical problem is figuring out that "others would have" something different than you would like, because they're emotional and irrational (as far as you can tell).

Re: I always knew I was different, I didn't know I was a sociopath

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats not at all what research and the definition implies.

[flagged]

Right, admitting you behave a certain way isn't the same as "admitting you are wrong". Hell it is a useful tool for either fitting in or when you get in trouble.

The biggest thing you seem to miss, is that being a sociopath is a lack of intuition and instincts, not what choices they make. Our entire society and economic structure is about convincing sociopaths to contribute despite the disability.

Re: I always knew I was different, I didn't know I was a sociopath

#18
post #2

Fascinating article. I wonder what made her do the steps in finding what's "different" with her, and most of all, why the need to fix it arose. Is it to "fit in", understandably? It somehow felt alien to me, and this shows my ignorance on the topic, that people lacking in empathy department would attempt to understand the reasons and act "good" towards others even if this feeling is only understood intellectually.

It would be interesting to know if this is a common experience among sociopaths. I had always thought that behaviors like theft resulted more simply from the lack of empathy (and desire for the stolen item), rather than resolving some kind of internal tension.

Yes. She says "I was sorry I had to steal to stop fantasizing about violence" - it seems there is something else going on here, not just being a sociopath.

Re: I always knew I was different, I didn't know I was a sociopath

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

If they think they can get something out of admitting, why wouldn't they?

Geee... I thought it was crystal clear that when I stated 'a sociopath would never admit to being a sociopath' it was about a confession where you genuinely admit you are behaving badly out of your sense of remorse. Any kind of 'tactical' admissions simply don't count. It's like with pathological liars, they too, can sometimes admit to some lies but still maintain that they are 'generally' honest.
Post reply on HN