Sociopath

by Patric Gagne

But social emotions—things like guilt, empathy, remorse, and even love—did not. Most of the time, I felt nothing. So I did “bad” things to make the nothingness go away. It was like a compulsion.

The quickest way to relieve the pressure was to do something undeniably wrong, something I knew would absolutely make anyone else feel one of the emotions I couldn’t. So that’s what I did.

the stress of living without natural access to feeling is believed to be one of the causes of compulsive acts of violence and destructive behavior. All I knew was that I liked doing things that made me feel something, to feel anything. It was better than nothing.

Some feelings came naturally to me, like anger and happiness. But other emotions weren’t so easy. Empathy and guilt, embarrassment and jealousy were like a language I couldn’t speak or understand.

The sociopath’s subconscious desire to feel is what forces him to act out.”

Robert Plutchik was a psychologist who identified eight fundamental feelings he termed the “primary” emotions: anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust, and joy.

“Empathy, guilt, shame, remorse, jealousy, even love—these are considered social emotions,” she said. “We’re not born with them. They’re learned.”

“Psychopaths and sociopaths are in the same boat because they’re constantly looking for a way to connect those pathways. To feel. It’s why they behave so destructively. It’s why they’re so dangerous. Eventually, the constant weight of apathy becomes too much to take.” “And then what happens?” Dr. Slack frowned. “They snap.”

“Borderlines act out due to an abundance of feeling. Sociopaths act out because of a deficit.