Psychopathy is more common than you may think.
When you hear the term, you may be imagining some kind of criminal mastermind – but the reality of psychopathy is far more mundane.
In this article, we’ll take a look at emotional psychopathy, discuss how you can recognize an emotional psychopath, and give you some tips to help you avoid forming relationships – or even romantic partnerships – with an emotional psychopath. Let’s get started.
What Is An Emotional Psychopath?
Most emotional psychopaths are just normal, everyday people. The only difference is that they’re nearly incapable of understanding the emotions of others, and they are often willing to lie, manipulate others, and take other such actions for personal gain – or just for fun.
Emotional psychopathy refers to an abnormality where an individual is basically unable to understand how others feel. They do not have any real concerns about other people’s feelings, needs, or desires. The main purpose of an emotional psychopath is to get what they want, regardless of what happens to others.
Because of this, emotional psychopaths are often very charming, friendly, and charismatic. They’ll put up a front to get what they want – a new romantic partner for example – and change rapidly once they get it.
Recognizing An Emotional Psychopath
So, how can you recognize an emotional psychopath? What are the signs that you may know an emotional psychopath – or even be in a relationship with one? Here are a few ways you may be able to recognize emotional psychopathy in others.
- Inability to admit fault or see your perspective – This is very common in relationships. If a person refuses to ever admit fault or see your perspective during an argument, discussion, or disagreement, this is a big red flag.An emotionally-normal person may not like admitting fault – but they are usually willing to see your perspective on an issue if you are in the right.
An emotional psychopath, on the other hand, won’t do this. They may even blame you for overreacting, and try to make it feel like the issue is your fault.
- Gaslighting – Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse where you’re purposefully misled, in an attempt to control you and damage your sense of reality. You may be lied to, your partner may deny ever saying something, a friend may build you up – only to tear you down – and so on. They may even say that you’re crazy or unreliable if you try to bring up these issues.
- Always blames others for problems – Inability to accept any kind of blame is a common sign of emotional psychopathy. These individuals will blame others for all of their problems – they didn’t screw up at work, their boss is just a jerk. They aren’t at fault for a divorce – their partner is “crazy,” and so on. There is no sense of personal responsibility.
- Tears you or others down – Emotional psychopaths will often toy with your emotions, saying hurtful things to you and others, only to come back around and pretend they didn’t mean it – or phrase hurtful things carefully, in a way that makes you doubt whether or not they meant to hurt you.
- Isolates you from others – An emotional psychopath will often want to isolate their victim from others. By doing so, they can gain more control – and by limiting your contact with others, it’s harder for you to get advice about their behavior, or understand if it’s abnormal.
All of these signs could indicate that you know an emotional psychopath – and that you should be careful about developing a deep friendship, relationship, or even emotional partnership with this person.
Avoiding Emotional Psychopaths – Our Best Tips And Advice
Now that you’ve learned a bit about how to recognize emotional psychopaths, you may be wondering how you can avoid them. Here are a few helpful tips that are sure to help.
- Never ignore red flags – As we mentioned, emotional psychopaths can be very charming – and this often means that we’re willing to ignore red flags when we’re first entering into a relationship or partnership with them.
Don’t do this. Don’t ever brush off bad behavior or warning signs – like those mentioned above – as a fluke, or an accident. You don’t have to overreact, but if you recognize multiple warning signs, you may want to reconsider your relationship with this person.
- Don’t let them manipulate you – Make sure that you can recognize the signs of emotional manipulation. Emotional psychopaths typically understand emotions quite well – they simply lack empathy. This means they can manipulate others freely, often without them recognizing it. Learn the signs, and don’t let yourself be manipulated.
- Never let yourself be isolated – If you feel like you are being emotionally abused, you need to make sure you can get an outside perspective. You may want to discuss your situation with a trusted friend or close family member.
You may even want to see a professional therapist, such as Dr. Quintal, to get a professional opinion about your situation. Being able to see a professional will provide you with a healthy way to vent and explain your situation, and help you discover the proper path forward.
If you let yourself become isolated, it will be more and more difficult to take control of your situation – and recognize that you are being emotionally abused by an emotional psychopath.
With these three tips, you’ll be able to recognize and avoid emotional psychopaths – and ensure you keep them out of your personal life and your romantic life.
Know The Signs Of Emotional Psychopathy – And Avoid Them
Identifying an emotional psychopath is not always easy. They do their very best to seem normal – and it’s only after you get to know them that this mask slips.
But if you recognize any of the signs we’ve discussed above, this may be a good time to re-assess the health of your relationship – and think about whether or not you may be involved with an emotional psychopath who does not have your best interests at heart.
