10 Surefire Signs You’re Dealing With a Psychopath
Psychopaths don't show themselves in real life the way they do in the movies. They don't massacre people in droves or openly reveal themselves as dark personalities. Many of them live their lives among us, always remaining in the background and completely inconspicuous. Nevertheless, it should be avoided that they are provoked, disappointed, annoyed or exposed. They are a part of the so-called dark triad, who need an incentive to let their dark side win. Offenses are such an occasion, but also dismissal, for example, or abandonment by a partner can awaken the abysmal part of their personality. If a person shows the following 10 signs, you are almost certainly dealing with a specimen of the psychopath species.
1. Every relationship with them begins like in a fairy tale
The relationship initiation of psychopaths resembles that of narcissists. They woo their chosen one by every trick in the book. They flatter you with compliments, adore expensive gifts and do everything to present themselves as a potential jackpot. Future partners are literally swept off their feet and can hardly believe their luck. This initial enthusiasm naturally flattens out after a successful conquest. The following cool coexistence can go well for a long time. However, not much remains of the initial magic.
2. One partner is never enough
Psychopaths more often than not show a clear tendency towards promiscuous behavior. A relationship, affair or flirtation is rarely enough to satisfy their ego and fill the void where feelings should actually be at home. But since these are completely foreign to psychopaths, they quench their thirst with changeable love relationships, which they usually don't even treat discreetly. What other people feel, think or want doesn't matter in the dark world of psychopaths.
3. Responsibility is for others to assume
This is another trait they share with narcissists. They are never to blame and skillfully evade any responsibility. If something goes wrong in their professional or private life, they are quick to find someone who can take the blame. In the process, they don't shy away from even the most outlandish excuses and tall tales, just to save their own skin and not have to face any unpleasantness. In their perception, their world consists of idiots who can't get anything done.
4. Lying comes easily for them
If you meet a person who can effortlessly lie to others, keep away. Only a few people really have this dubious gift, and they all belong to the dark triad of psychopaths, narcissists and Machiavellians. Most people at least blush or lower their eyes guiltily when they have to resort to lying. Not so for the psychopaths. In their universe, everything they declare to be true becomes the truth.
5. They get bored quickly
When talking to a real psychopath, you shouldn't be surprised if he starts scanning the room for more interesting conversation partners, studying the menu from front to back, or even pulling out his smartphone and scrolling uninhibitedly in your presence. The attention span of the average psychopath is equivalent to that of a kindergartener. They need variety and are rarely completely in the here and now.
6. Laws, rules and guidelines do not apply to them
You should generally be skeptical of people who regard a red traffic light merely as a decorative splash of color and a stop sign merely as a suggestion of kindness. The same applies to rules of conduct at work, house rules and, of course, the unwritten laws of common decency. Psychopaths, after all, fancy themselves above the law, and above everyone. What is obligatory and binding for other people does not interest them in the least.
7. Feelings don't exist for them
What certainly distinguishes psychopaths most clearly is their absolute callousness. They feel neither sorrow nor shame, have no guilty conscience, and empathy is completely alien to them. Regrettably, they assume that all other people or animals do not feel pain either. This explains why they are capable of particular brutality and cruelty under certain conditions. For them, other living beings are objects and nothing more.
8. They leave no stone unturned when it comes to getting your attention
The psychopath needs constant outside affirmation. Their partners or co-workers must always pay homage to them and consider them the center of the universe. Sharing the limelight with others does not cross their minds. Rather, they make sure that potential competition is eliminated. They then make use of particularly nasty elbowing tactics, skillfully spread rumors and brilliantly manage to lay the blame on those they want to get rid of.
9. You are constantly being made to feel guilty
Psychopaths are cunning puppet masters who know exactly what buttons to push with their fellow human beings. Tell a psychopath your secrets and you give them a weapon they can turn on you at any time. These characters manage to switch the blame and make us feel guilty all the time with a snap of their fingers. This is how they keep us down emotionally and prevent us from moving forward. Everything they say or do hits unerringly right in the heart.
10. They constantly complain to you and demand sympathy
This sign can help you recognize a potential psychopath at the very first meeting. In general, you should be wary of people who reveal their innermost feelings to strangers too easily. Psychopaths constantly feel at a disadvantage. According to them, they work under incompetent bosses with lazy colleagues and are the only ones who have a clue. Family and friends have abandoned them, which is why there is no contact anymore.
Today's Conclusion: It's beautiful until it gets ugly
Relationships with psychopaths, including friendships or work relationships, can function flawlessly for years. Only a slight resistance or rejection will cause them to eventually show their true colors. Then, however, it gets ugly and you, as the person who they target, should expect the worst. Stalking and telephonic harassment are the least that an offended psychopath is capable of. That's it for today.