The truth about psychopaths is not so black and white as many people believe.
Let me illustrate how easy it is, without having to lie or manipulate the truth, to turn tables about what we think we know:
Normal People’s Truth
- Psychopaths are supposed to feel less strongly than normal people. They have a shallow emotional life.
- Psychopaths have a short range of emotions. They are in this way somewhat emotionally primitive.
- Psychopaths do not really Love others. Their emotions are often only sexual in nature. They are in a way like animals who only are driven by instinct.
- Psychopaths are supposed to be strongly attracted to excitement, extreme experiences – they use the phrasing thrill seeking.
- Psychopaths are also supposed to have low tolerance for lack of stimulation – they use the word boredom.
- Psychopaths have no emotions, which can be observed in various tests – their physical functions don’t change under emotionally triggering stimuli (and everybody know that it is the physical responses, and not the psychological perception or interpretation, that matters! (Right?)
Let’s see what happens if we interpret this differently…
The Psychopath’s Truth
- Psychopaths feel just as strongly as normal people, but we feel strongly about other things.
- Psychopaths have just as many and varied emotions as normal people, but their emotions are not always the same as normal people’s. We are aware that normal people have emotions we do not have, but they seem to completely overlook the emotions we have and which they do not have. When they notice such emotions, they dismiss them as less worthy or good.
- Psychopaths do not build mythical emotions over sexuality, they do not have the moral basis to feel such a need. To psychopaths normal people seem like animals, easily controllable because they’re driven by instinct.
- Psychopaths have an unusual emotional depth which makes basis for a much stronger need to experience all life’s extremes. Because psychopaths need stronger stimulation they are dependent upon much more inspiring input than are normal people.
- Psychopaths suffer far more if their emotional depth is not stimulated and inspired.
- Psychopaths can tolerate far more stress than normal people, which can be observed in various tests – blood pressure/flow, startle response, sweat, etc.
