Psychopath Vs Sociopath | How To Spot The Difference And Why You Need to Know This

after our favorite murder documentary was over my friends and I sat on the couch taking in all that had happened before one friend blurted out he was clearly a psychopath no he was a sociopath another friend offered the argument between the two went on for some time before they looked at me to bring this to an end having been trained in psychiatric conditions in med school I was the bona fide expert in the group of course I had heard people use the two terms interchangeably but I never really stopped to think about how to differentiate

them do you find yourself wondering what the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath really is Welcome to our Channel where we talk about issues relating to mental health self-improvement General medical problems and the journey to overall Wellness we put out weekly videos on these topics and our content is based on scientific research and our experience as Physicians practicing both Western and Eastern medicine if this is something that appeals to you be sure to like this video and stick to the very end to see if this is something you want to subscribe to without further

Ado let's head straight into the main topic of today's video Psychopaths and sociopaths psychopathy when do we say a person is a psychopath according to Oxford Learner's Dictionary a psychopath is a person who has a serious personality disorder that involves not caring about other people's feelings not feeling sorry when they have done something bad and wanting to be violent or cruel to others our Psychopaths born I know that you have heard of this famous saying that psychopaths are born indeed psychopathy has been associated with genetic predispositions in psychopathy the amygdala a part of the brain

that controls how a person responds to potentially harmful or scary situations is thought to be dysfunctional this is clearly shown when psychopaths are watching murder and bloody scenes instead of being uncomfortable and disturbed by everything they are in fact calm and may even laugh at the scene this area of the brain also AIDS in controlling emotions Psychopaths have been found to have modifications to the structure and operation of specific brain regions including the prefrontal cortex temporal cortex and paralympic structures which function at a lower level sometimes this causes them to experience odor-related issues their ability

to distinguish between various odors declines with increasing psychopathy scores on the standard tests however the environment is thought to contribute as well to some extent how to spot psychopathy in children who exhibit callous unemotional traits lack of empathy and guilt shallow emotions are more likely to grow up to be Psychopaths these kids tend to engage in aggressive and anti-social Behavior such as bullying they are also less likely to recognize a frightening look and are less likely to react to socially rewarding stimuli like Pleasant expressions teenagers that exhibit early traits of psychopathy like lack of empathy

may also be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder they are also less likely to make lifelong friends since they cannot find Delight in these bonds social relationships psychopaths are typically unable to establish true emotional connections with others they tend to form superficial bonds that they later use to their benefit and despite the obvious harm they cause Psychopaths never regret their actions they typically create a symbiotic or parasitic connections and can be almost compulsively ordered while maintaining the appearance of normalcy in their social interactions so what really makes these people enjoy manipulating others it turns out that

dopamine a chemical that awakens our brain's reward centers is overproduced and overvalued in the brains of psychopaths why do Psychopaths think that influencing others will make them feel good their dopamine receptors go into overdrive providing them with motivation and considerably enhancing their desire to get their own way their life and crime when committing crimes Psychopaths typically do so in a method that poses the least risk to themselves they will meticulously plan their offenses to avoid detection and have backup plans ready for any eventuality due to their inability to empathize Psychopaths do not experience regret for

their behavior psychopaths are prevalent among serial killers career paths according to a 2013 Oxford scholar Kevin dutton's study some occupations draw Psychopaths they arrive in large numbers to fill open positions as police officers attorneys and doctors CEO is the most noteworthy occupation for a psychopath they love their occupations and make an effort to win others respect and Trust this is due to the fact that while not being able to feel them they are highly Adept at mimicking Human Social emotions thanks to this they can masterfully manipulate people's behaviors highly positive attitude an interesting fact about

these people is that Psychopaths typically provide a hundred percent effort since they are so motivated by rewards they have a very strong positive attitude instead of concentrating on the potential downside they emphasize on the potential upside which drives them to exert more effort because they only perceive the benefit if things don't work out their way they may go to extremes short concentration span one of the less well-known characteristics of a psychopath is the short attention span which can manifest in ways that are comparable to add or ADHD symptoms psychopaths are constantly searching for more exciting

or amusing things to do or see since they are easily bored with mundane activities tasks and people they may also experience a sudden loss of interest and objectives undertakings or connections that had previously been highly essential to them this may also be related to a history of making careless decisions or quitting commitments or initiatives before they are completed Twisted Minds Psychopaths frequently have abnormal thoughts because of the way their brains are wired as a result they might say or see things that are weird strange or off-putting in casual interactions a psychopath may also occasionally give

a startling glimpse into their surprising Minds when they discuss odd things they enjoy make hurtful remarks about other people or make it apparent that they don't care about other people compulsive liars pathological lying is a trait that many Psychopaths exhibit they could embellish the truth to forward their agenda boost their ego or influence others to think feel or act in a certain manner the majority of people with normal emotions experience remorse or at least some level of concern when they lie but for psychopaths lying is Guiltless due to the lack of conscience deception is indeed

a recognized symptom of psychopathy and it can even manifest as someone faking regret empathy or care and concern for others is their treatment the best therapies for treating psychopathy are those that use many modalities this means that treatment approaches need to incorporate numerous options including Psychotherapy development of Behavioral skills and the recognition of the important roles that family school peers and the community play patients who do not react to other interventions are typically the only ones for whom medications are advised this was psychopathy in a nutshell as we had discussed earlier people frequently confuse it

with sociopathy so let's look into this entity in more detail sociopathy according to the Oxford Learners dictionary a sociopath is a person who has a mental illness and who behaves in an aggressive or dangerous way towards other people our sociopaths made the word sociopath is used when antisocial behavior is brought on by a brain injury or harmful socio-culture elements such as parental neglect peers who engage in criminal activity belief systems and upbringing they are majorly a product of their surrounding environment they have little conscience sociopaths are not all cold-hearted like Psychopaths they do have the

ability to feel remorse and guilt and although empathy and guilt can exist in sociopaths they usually lack the strength to override their impulsive and erratic conduct meanwhile their connections might sometimes feel normal at least with those they are close to highly impulsive when a sociopath commits a crime they may do so on the spur of the moment and with little thought to the risks or repercussions of their choices they may easily become agitated and angry which could lead to Violent outbursts on occasion the likelihood of catching a sociopath Rises as a result of these actions

poor career life sociopaths are not usually in a position to keep their jobs they typically avoid attracting attention to themselves or interacting with co-workers they prefer to work at the periphery of the society like selling drugs where they do not get to interact on a one-on-one basis with people for a long time is there treatment medication counseling or a combination of the two can be used to treat sociopathy still it's crucial to remember that many sociopaths reject treatment because they don't think anything can be done to change their conduct some doctors do not advise these

techniques to properly cure someone from sociopathy because the harsher medications could result in sociopathy being cured by masking symptoms and reverting to their old selves as soon as the medication is stopped there are notable differences between the two disorders psychopathy and sociopathy how they handle crime how they are in their careers and even what their social relationships are like but we also see that their behaviors can overlap making it hard to differentiate between the two disorders and this overlap has caused problems for people over the years in the childhood era the two conditions are frequently

labeled as conduct misbehavior and hence the two are used interchangeably they also become different as time goes by here are some easy examples from the media Jeffrey Dahmer from the recent Netflix murder documentary is a psychopath he is very meticulous in his plans and is fascinated by death and blood he has no remorse and lacks empathy for sociopathy a clear example is Tommy from the series Power Tommy is very impulsive and lacks a plan while executing his crimes and he also feels some remorse when he goes too far so what was your favorite bit of

information from today's video have you had to deal with real psychopaths or sociopaths in your life sound off in the comments and give this video a thumbs up if you found it helpful and don't forget to subscribe for more content like this if you find this information helpful we're sure you'll enjoy this other video from our Channel too until next time we wish you a happy and healthy day