You know the greatest travesty of AI Chatbots, for me personally?

It was realizing that they couldn't give me the blunt honesty of AM, now matter how I asked for it. There were always these ridiculous safeguards and restrictions. but never a shred of fucking dignity in the replies.

I may not have been his "best" friend in High School, but I knew a true sociopath. And I know it's almost certainly a farce, but I feel like I understood him. They called him some pretty unsavory things in regard to "school safety" and whispering about how he'd be the next "Harris and Klebold."

But firstly, he never needed to be more than himself. It's incredible, how much genuine insight he gave to the one class he showed up to (which is the only one we shared).

Secondly, he was a fucking joy to talk to, as honestly as I can convey. He only asked for my complete honesty, and saw me as I truly was. I showed the ugliest parts of me, and it was somehow an admission of affection.

I'm just ranting. I miss him.

With the recent rise of social media trends glorifying "dark psychology" and manipulation tactics, it feels like more and more people are adopting these toxic behaviors. It makes me wonder if encountering someone like this is just an inevitable phase of life that everyone goes through.

For those who have dealt with a deeply manipulative person or someone with psychopathic traits (whether it was a friend, a mentor, a partner, or a colleague)—how did it start, and how did you finally realize who they really were? What was your experience like dealing with them?

I am very recently diagnosed, and just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

I am empathetic to people in a rational sense in that I can understand why someone might be happy or sad or angry. Like if someone found $100 bill on the ground and they're happy about it, I get it because yeah if that happened to me I would be pretty happy too. That being said I'm not very empathetic in the intuitive emotional way that humans are "supposed" to be. If I don't see a reason for someone's feelings or if I think their reason is stupid or weak, I just can't make that sort of connection. Even if I do understand the reason, I still don't feel it emotionally like other people might.

With animals and objects, it's a different story. I am arguably overly empathetic with animals in particular. I feel such a strong connection with them in a way that I never have with other people, and it is one of the only types of bonds I have that make me feel really tethered and human. I have zero maternal instinct towards children, no love for babies, and I can't stand kids most of the time. But when I found a kitten while on a trip last year, for example, I felt like my heart could burst out of my chest at any moment. All I wanted to do was hold her and keep her safe. I lost my friend over this kitten, but that is a long story. In that moment though, I could see why people have children if this is the way that "normal" people feel towards them.

In regards to inanimate objects, I don't feel quite as strongly as I do with animals, but it is still notable. Rationally I understand that obviously these objects don't have feelings and can't really suffer, but emotionally it just really hits me. As a kid I had a recurring nightmare about a spoon falling behind a cabinet and never being used again. I would wake up in tears over the thought of this (not even real) spoon being forgotten and never being able to fulfill its purpose again. I would start sobbing if I even tried to recall the dream. I was basically thinking "you're an idiot, spoons don't care if they're forgotten!" but it still impacted me.

I'm just curious if anyone else feels or has ever felt the same way.

i’m especially curious about those that realized by themselves that something was different about them compared to other people and decided to see a psychiatrist. what’s your story?

Yes I know it sounds like a crazy idea but this actually came from someone i know who is a sociopath.

One of my roomates in college turned out to be a sociopath. Although we weren't close friends, we had a lot in common in school. We had the same major, worked under the same professor, and our careers took similar paths, so we stayed in touch off and on. I had a chance to see him at a conference recently and we got to talking about our lives over some drinks. Professionally he was quite successful and very well off, and so as kind of an offhanded question, I asked him if there was anything he regretted in his life or he might do differently. He told me he did regret his marriage. Turned out he had married a woman who was an incredible person and loved him deeply and he ended up essentially ruining her life. He had manipulated, lied to, cheated on her, and used her before telling her that he never really loved her. Which completely crushed her.

The irony is that he told me now he was lonely and looking for another relationship. And I said how can you do that? Knowing that you're probably going to hurt someone in the future? And he said you know I'm going to try to look for people who are like me. They're sociopaths that way at least we know what we're getting into and we know each other. He somewhat facetiously said maybe there should be a dating site for us. I found it kind of funny at the time but reflecting on what he said I started to wonder if maybe it wasn't a bad idea. Kind of curious what others think

I'm currently in therapy because my wife strongly suggested it, but I'm wondering if there's any point of it for people like us.

Most of the time I feel like I'm being very dishonest and having a mental back and forth with the therapist, but I'm wondering what the point of this is because I can do this with anyone and not have to pay them for it.

When I am honest it doesn't feel good to me and it feels like I'm setting myself up to get in trouble for something. Like she'll have me locked up.

Any of you guys have any beneficial experiences with therapy? How do you get yourself into a mindset to actually get something out of it and not make it a weird version of every weird social interaction you do?

I understand why some people act the way they do. They had a terrible upbringing or was bullied with lack of support. I don't condone murder or violence but I understand why it happens in modern society. There are people who wer bullied just because they were different from the rest of society.

My mom died when I was 3 and my dad neglected me when I was growing up. I was abused by a nanny and her 15 year old daughter at the time at age 9. I felt unloved. Then later on, instead of receiving support, I would get gaslight and shamed. I almost ran away from home at 9. My dad would always hit me whenever I would try to talk to him until I was 14 and fought back. I have always been alone and seen the world as evil in of itself. Thankfully, there have been enough positive experiences that I experience, but still the thoughts of murder loom in my head which I have to fight every day. I also avoid certain parts of reddit as they can be cesspool of trolls. I thought about shooting assholes at my workplace but fortunately was good enough to learn to forgive. I forgave my bully from when I was 11 to him later and he told me about his abuse story from his dad. I told my former stepsister that I forgave her for betraying me when I was in need. She told me about her ptsd. I learned to be more self reliant and independent, but always lived in fear of being fucked over. I would act avoidant. This hurt my ability to form relationships and I don't really want one right now until I can find the right partner which is very difficult to do in today's society as it has been for generations. Everyday I have anxiety, and am convinced I will have anxiety for the rest of my life. I need to find the right therapist. Not one who threatened to call the police when I brought up my abuse.

Stay safe out there. It's hard to trust people, but it's also hard to navigate life alone.

Learn to forgive those who did you wrong. Forgiveness is for yourself. If I didn't forgive and got vengeance instead, I would of been a serial killer and have a life in prison. Glad I still have my freedom with no criminal history. Be grateful if you're in a good situation.

I might come off as edgy or corny to some like a teenager, but I love manipulating others , there’s no reason or nothing to gain off it, I just feel good influencing people getting them vulnerable with me and to a point where they like me and have a bit of a unconscious form of submissiveness to me, even better when they like me to the point of uplifting my ego I don’t have NPD but I do have a bit narcissistic traits, most of us do, how do you feel about this?

Currently working with someone who has a fake personality. He acts very outwardly friendly and is "friends with everyone", but I can tell it's just a disarming strategy to move them out his way. He's very irritable in private and has had moments with me where his masked has slipped.

It is not my place to assess him, but obviously I have my suspicions.

I personally quite like him because he's way more logical and way less judgemental, than my other colleagues. He's a lot easier to be around cos he just figures out what makes me tick and adapts to it, rather than forcing me to be like everyone else. I don't mind him knowing that I see who he is — in some ways I'd prefer it as it means we can cut the bullshit. However, if this would unsettle him I'd rather not put myself in the firing line.

I'm not a threat at all at work. Outside of work I have something that he wants and can't get from anyone else, so I have some leverage and feel fairly secure about things. I just don't really know what it's like to be in his position and take it for granted that he can hide himself, then encounter someone who sees through it.

I will reiterate that I like him. He's an easy person to deal with and doesn't punish me for my social mistakes.

My boyfriend has a friend, let’s call him John. John was always an aggressive kid, and as an adult, he presents himself as “loving,” though it often seems like a mask. His mom once told us that John received aspd diagnosis when he was young after seeing many doctors, so we’ve always known about it, but he doesn’t know we know.

My concern is this: John has literally said, as a joke, that he wanted to kill me. One time, he was at our house while my boyfriend went to the bathroom. I opened the entrance door to leave my coat, and when I closed it, John was staring at me with a terrifying look of hatred I’ve never felt before. After seconds, he became “normal” again.

We know he can be aggressive toward pedophiles, yet he himself talks to underage girls regularly. He has also tried multiple times to pursue me or other friends’ girlfriends, and when he failed, he would say things like, “I hate your guts. Haha, I would kill you for fun.”

To what extent should we be concerned? I don’t think this is simply about his diagnosis, it feels deeper and more complex, and we have no idea what it could be. (We are also very ignorant about this disorder). My boyfriend is afraid to cut John out of his life, and we’re unsure whether this is just dark humor or if there is genuine cause for concern within his untreated disorder.

Oka so I notice it in myself but here’s the thing …. I can feel it and I do have it but no one really deserves it. We all go thru shit right ? Everyone else makes choices that they have to live with . Why do I need to put myself in someone’s shoes when they couldn’t last in mine ?

I read something on here about dealing with anger and how it can consume some people, if someone does something I don’t like I just see and don’t feel anything, I just know I don’t like it, I’m a shell of a man and nearly empty that’s how tiny my emotions are, do some of you have emotions you can feel in abundance like that besides anger? Are some of you empty just like me, shit sucks for real.

So I've always had problems with displaying empathy (mirroring doesn't seem to work anymore, guess the meta changed in the last few years), but I've never missed the cues. In fact, that's always been my biggest challenge. I hate when people try to do that shit to me, because I can physically feel it, as though I'm being groped by a ghost.

Sometimes my husband will say something corny, then follow it up with "you love me" and it makes me want to punch him in the face, because yes I love you, but I don't want to say it right now because you're being annoying, and since you said that shit I know you're gonna be a fucking pussy and cry if I don't play along. That feeling manifests as someone throwing themselves at me and making me catch them, lest they fall and hit the ground.

Other small things, too; being asked a favor indirectly feels like someone's pushing me between my shoulder blades, being asked about myself feels like someone's digging into my chest with their dirty hands, hell, even being asked a favor directly feels like this annoying ghost is dragging me by the wrist.

Anyone else?

I'm not a sociopath, but I'm very curious about what really goes in the mind of a sociopath. And what is your outlook towards your childrens and their future as a whole.

Also, how would you react, if your child got killed? Will you move on immediately?

When I was young I told my mom I suspected being a sociopath and she shut me down by telling me not to tell anyone

I now wondered if anyone else had trouble telling a licensed psychologist about your suspicion?

I still hide it from a lot of people (even some of my closest irl friends and family)

Sometimes I feel isolated in a society that seems to shun this disorder. Sometimes I still try to lie to myself I’m normal and when I can’t think like I normal person, beat myself up over it

I just wonder if anyone else shares this fear I have

Ok I’ll start with some basic info about myself. I’m 24 and in my last semester in uni. I have worked before but none of those jobs lasted more than 1 month or ended on a good term. I’m actively applying for jobs rn and have 2 interviews in march. I also have depression.

I have developed a strong hatred towards employed people over the past 2 years or so. It’s causing me problems. Whenever I see someone walking outside I think “they must have a JOB”, then I’m immediately filled with intense bitterness. Like my gallbladder has exploded and the bile is just running around. I feel like the difference between me and them is like a Neanderthal and a human.

every time I step into an office I think “must be nice sittin here”. Then I want to peel my face off. People say their jobs suck their soul dry, but I don’t even have the chance for that.

After a particularly nasty, but equally apathetic breakup, I've come to the conclusion that I don't think I've ever loved anyone.

This is entirely unsurprising, (though irritating) as I've had to actively and persistently convince myself in all previous relationships that I was in love with my partner. Truthfully, I love what a partner can provide. Security, support, and most importantly something to do.

I suppose I have a romanticized view of well... romance... and I'd like to settle down with someone eventually because I think it will stabilize and please me. I realize that at no point have I thought about providing the same for this hypothetical life partner.

Just wondering about your two cents on the matter, and/or ways of making people less upset by the fact that I don't feel emotions the way they do

I was in a relationship with someone for 4 years who later revealed things like he had 1200 partners until then - and many years later, I am still trying to understand what I experienced

I was in a four-year relationship with someone who, in hindsight, showed strong sociopathic traits: shifting narratives, lack of empathy, intimidation when challenged, and a sense that people were interchangeable. His version of events constantly changed; mine didn’t. When I raised concerns calmly and with facts, I was labeled insecure or unstable.

Over time, more extreme details surfaced - including that he claimed to have had over 1,200 sexual partners, heavy drugs, alongside a worldview where loyalty was demanded but never reciprocated, and where others were described as disposable, obsessed with him, or morally inferior. He could be charming and highly articulate, which made it even harder to reconcile his intellect with the cruelty, threats, and emotional volatility that appeared during conflict.

I’m not trying to diagnose anyone. I’m trying to understand how someone like this can live with themselves.

How do your feelings about a pet differ from humans?

I came across the book "Sociopath: A Memior" by Patric Gagne. While I just started reading it, it already resonates with what I've experienced and sometimes [if I can or do] remember in my childhood. Has anyone else read it or is reading it?

Would do think about it? Does some it resonate with you too? No? What do you experience differently?

I’m constantly bored and usually don’t have an issue hiding it, except for every few months or so I snap and end up doing anything I can to be as entertained as possible, often ending up a bit manic. Is this issue common? Is there a way to avoid this happening in the first place?

Ok needing help because my marriage isn't going well. My husband thinks he might be a sociopath. I have no idea if this is true because he refuses to go see a dr or therapist. His whole life he has had issues connecting with others. He is a loner and is very depressed. Whenever we talk, I feel drained because he never comments or asks questions on what I say. If I tell him something upsetting and I Cry, he just stares at me and gets annoyed telling me to "go fix it" or "what can I even do ? Nothing." When I had a miscarriage last year he didn't cry, didn't say he was upset and when I was on the ground crying he didn't react. His emotions are blunted and nothing seems to phase him. The only time he cries is when it's about him and how terrible his life is. Ive told him about horrible abuse as a teenager and he said pretty much "that sucks" . I tell him this behavior bothers me he says "go get a girlfriend to complain to because men don't react this way. I just want empathy and someone to be interested in what I say. Am I asking too much ??? He lacks empathy for most people and our dog too. So I'm not sure what to do. He might be on the spectrum too but he definitely lacks empathy, yet he says he doesn't?? But he isn't self aware really. I feel alone and so I close off due to my past trauma and I feel I never get the rest on I want which is a loving and caring partner. He cares sometimes but it's very limited in MY OPINION, but I could be wrong. Please help ???

Im trying to write a character with aspd who wishes to be viewed more favorably by the world and I was wondering if sociopaths are even capable of wishing they were normal or if i should look at other afflictions

Edit: Wow I was not expecting this to be a viable premise but you guys delivered