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Feb 11, 2010, 02:27 PM
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Originally Posted by lynn P.
Thanks for explaining this so well Myers. So how have you managed to function with your wife and in society.
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You're welcome. I've managed by learning to control my impulses. And, being open with my wife and friends, I don't have to live a nomadic lifestyle like most psychopaths do. When the mask starts to slip, they understand and are able to help me with it.
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Do you feel love for her and new baby or do you just like them?
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No, I don't love them. I can't. At least, I can't love them anymore than you could love ... a car. I can have a desire for it, but there's no real emotional attachment. I shouldn't say that, I know some people who have a disturbingly deep emotional attachment to their cars... I've really come to like 'em though.
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Do you feel bad when you hear about someone who was killed?
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Usually not, but it depends. I care about people to the equivalent of the convenience they give me. Like one of my aunts... She was a sarcastic, funny woman, and I enjoyed talking to her. I wouldn't say I was grief-stricken over her death, but I missed the pleasure of her company.
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How does society and caregivers help a person like yourself?
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They don't. With all psychopaths, as soon as they (therapist, psych hospital, etc.) know what they have on their hands, they cut 'em lose as quickly as possible. They are doing experimental treatment, but until there's any real success, that's how it's going to be.
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Is it, you can learn the rules of adapting to society but you just can't feel the emotions?
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Yeah, basically. The more intelligent psychopaths are the ones who are better able to mimic normal behavior and control their impulses. Still, even with the most intelligent psychopaths, the mask does slip and people do realize what they are, which is why a nomadic lifestyle is often necessary.
The less intelligent psychopaths are more likely to end up in jail and studied by researchers like Dr. Hare.
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Is there any treatment or way to make others parts of the brain compensate for the faulty part, that doesn't feel empathy??
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I've heard of an experimental treatment that stimulates areas of the brain, but there's no evidence as of yet that it's beneficial. And I'm against a cure for psychopathy. A sudden onslaught of emotion to a person who previously had none can be detrimental to that person's health.
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