Re:How to spot a psychopath
by Fnoord on Saturday September 02, 2017 @06:59PM
(#15158693)
> but some powerful psychoactive substances like MDMA or psychedelics might be able to grant them access to their subconscious and to learn to be aware of emotions they've either been unaware of before or have denied.
Sorry, with the end of your sentence you discredit yourself.
In a psychopath there is no brain activity in some parts of the brain. See story of James Fallon as mentioned in numerous sources on the subject, including this article. Psychopaths don't 'deny' themselves emotions. Psychopaths are unable to experience the full spectrum of emotions. Examples of emotions include love, empathy, anger, despair, fear. They learned to mimic the emotions they're unable to experience, in detail, so a psychopath will seemingly be able to experience fear (acting as if they do often referred to as 'wearing the mask'). They're like predators in a land of prey, constantly on the hunt, yet well disguised (I attribute that sentence to Hintjens' theories on the subject). Neurotypicals normally do not detect them. A person who denies themselves emotions is someone with deep-rooted psychological problems. That's not a psychopath as psychopaths are unable to experience the full spectrum; that's someone who likely has a personality disorder or (if a young person) is developing one. Personality disorders cannot be cured. A personality disorder is for life. It may become worse or better, therapy such as CBT or drugs can make the personality disorder bearable, but it never fully goes away. That theory makes it unlikely full-blown psychopaths can be cured, while the corner cases stay in disguise.
As for being 'unaware' of their emotions. There's evidence psychopaths can recognise emotions better than neurotypicals [1].
We should also seriously consider the long-term effects of MDMA in relation to health. E.g. neurotoxicity. Quora contains an entry on this subject [2].
Sorry, with the end of your sentence you discredit yourself.
In a psychopath there is no brain activity in some parts of the brain. See story of James Fallon as mentioned in numerous sources on the subject, including this article. Psychopaths don't 'deny' themselves emotions. Psychopaths are unable to experience the full spectrum of emotions. Examples of emotions include love, empathy, anger, despair, fear. They learned to mimic the emotions they're unable to experience, in detail, so a psychopath will seemingly be able to experience fear (acting as if they do often referred to as 'wearing the mask'). They're like predators in a land of prey, constantly on the hunt, yet well disguised (I attribute that sentence to Hintjens' theories on the subject). Neurotypicals normally do not detect them. A person who denies themselves emotions is someone with deep-rooted psychological problems. That's not a psychopath as psychopaths are unable to experience the full spectrum; that's someone who likely has a personality disorder or (if a young person) is developing one. Personality disorders cannot be cured. A personality disorder is for life. It may become worse or better, therapy such as CBT or drugs can make the personality disorder bearable, but it never fully goes away. That theory makes it unlikely full-blown psychopaths can be cured, while the corner cases stay in disguise.
As for being 'unaware' of their emotions. There's evidence psychopaths can recognise emotions better than neurotypicals [1].
We should also seriously consider the long-term effects of MDMA in relation to health. E.g. neurotoxicity. Quora contains an entry on this subject [2].
[1] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/surprise...
[2] https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-long-term-side-effects-fr...