“They can sell ice cream to an Eskimo…but like an entire lifetime supply and at full price, with a few unnecessary add-ons…. maybe some sunscreen and flip flops, and make you feel really good about the transaction. ”

The first thing I would like to do here is help clear up some of the confusion, misconceptions and beliefs of what a true “Psychopath” really is.  Ever since Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller movie “Psycho” came out and scared the hell out of everyone by implying that they are all a bunch of crazed serial killers, the Psychology community decided to move away from the frightening term and instead calls it “Antisocial Personality Disorder” and is also sometimes referred to as” Malignant Narcissism.”  OK, OK,… there’s a little more to it than that…Actually, .Dr. Robert Hare, the doctor who created and developed the Psychopathy Checklist and the revised version (PCL & PCL-R), states in his article , “Psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder: A Case of Diagnostic Confusion”, on the “Psychiatrictimes.com” website, “Traditionally, affective and interpersonal traits such as egocentricity, deceit, shallow affect (lack of emotions), manipulativeness, selfishness, and lack of empathy, guilt or remorse, have played a central role in the conceptualization and diagnosis of psychopathy (Cleckley; Hare 1993; in press); Widiger and Corbitt). In 1980 this tradition was broken with the publication of DSM-III. Psychopathy-renamed antisocial personality disorder- was now defined by persistent violations of social norms, including lying, stealing, truancy, inconsistent work behavior and traffic arrests.

Among the reasons given for this dramatic shift away from the use of clinical inferences were that personality traits are difficult to measure reliably, and that it is easier to agree on the behaviors that typify a disorder than on the reasons why they occur. The result was a diagnostic category with good reliability but dubious validity, a category that lacked congruence with other, well-established conceptions of psychopathy. This “construct drift” was not intentional but rather the unforeseen result of reliance on a fixed set of behavioral indicators that simply did not provide adequate coverage of the construct they were designed to measure.

The problems with DSM-III and its 1987 revision (DSM-III-R) were widely discussed in the clinical and research literature (Widiger and Corbitt). Much of the debate concerned the absence of personality traits in the diagnosis of ASPD, an omission that allowed antisocial individuals with completely different personalities, attitudes and motivations to share the same diagnosis. At the same time, there was mounting evidence that the criteria for ASPD defined a disorder that was more artifactual than “real” (Livesley and Schroeder).”

      The term  “Antisocial Personality Disorder” is also a little deceiving and a bit of a misnomer because it gives us the impression that these people shun other people, society and avoid social interactions altogether, but that could not be farther from the truth!  These predators LOVE getting in the mix with other people because that is how they find and hunt their “prey”  and sustain their “fuel”.  These people are SOCIAL PREDATORS! Mixing in with and befriending lots of other people is not only their livelihood but it’s a means to an end for them.  

Based on the one I lived with for my entire adult life (over half my life span and without even realizing what he truly was) and my own personal research, I totally disagree with this new categorization in the DSM 5-R.  True “functioning” or as I call them, “successful” Psychopaths are in a league all their own and therefore should have a very specific and definitive assessment, construct and category all their own. Especially now that science has the ability to identify them through very specific biological markers, neuro-wiring, brain scans, as well as by physical and social markers and ‘tells”, which I discuss in detail in my upcoming book.  The terms “Sociopath’, ‘Psychopath’ and “Antisocial Personality Disorder” don’t really explain what exactly these people do or what exactly they are capable of, so amidst the confusion and lack of accurate and proper categorization on the part of the DSM-5, between these terms to properly differentiate between these individuals, I’ve chosen to created my own term for those more on the Psychopathy end of the spectrum who are very capable of destroying another person’s life without ever even using acts of violence, although many do as a means of control and intimidation. This term is not only self explanatory but also captures the true essence of what they do and are capable of.  That term is “SOULSPIRIT MURDERERS.” It’s simple and tells you exactly what they do without even having to look it up. 

These Soulspirit Murderers are very smart, cunning, capable and unsuspecting, as well as, being calm, cool and collected, as opposed to their more emotionally volatile and impulsive counterparts and not so intelligent Sociopaths.  Sociopaths (many but not all are narcissistic) tend to be the “fringers” of society who are emotionally volatile and often find themselves in trouble with the law, whereas the true Soulspirit Murderers (Functioning Psychopaths, who are ALL narcissists) are more likely to be the ones able to live within the confines and parameters of the law, social policy and norms. They’re more likely to live in big cities and highly populated suburbs where there are massive amounts of and different varieties of people to prey on. Living amongst a large population allows them to hide and blend in better so they are not easily identified or outed. Even so, when not busy using or manipulating someone, they would still probably prefer to spend much of their time in solitude, because after all, they loathe normal people and our full range of emotions. They are many things but most of all,  THEY ARE THE LAST PERSON YOU WOULD THINK IS A PSYCHOPATH!!! That’s the scary part. They wear their ‘social masks” well!  Think of it like this…sociopaths are more like “wrecking balls” in their actions and psychopaths are more like  “snipers” who are  possibly part  ninja and magician.   They’re intelligent, dynamic, well spoken and charismatic and you might or might not notice their lack of affect (emotions) but they can easily make up for and distract you from that deficit with humor, specifically “shock humor”- the kind of humor that shocks other people when they hear it. They bravely and boldly say and joke about things that are taboo or things most of us wouldn’t dare bring up in public and it works very well for them! My ex-husband was a master at this…Their “no filter, no boundaries” topics and conversations are usually quite engaging and it’s also a great way for them to get a “feel’ for each of their audience members (potential prey) reactions, to see who’s uptight and uncomfortable or accepting, entertained and therefore, easily sucked into their powerful vortex of manipulative negativity to be used. 

 They are great storytellers….”This one time at band camp…’  No, actually they are ‘gifted” in this area.  They have a list of several “patented” entertaining stories of their past that they will tell and retell over and over and over and, and, and……you get the picture!  You will get sick of hearing these same stories time and time again and you will notice that various aspects or details are changed(usually with many embellishments) depending on the story teller’s audience at the time. These Soulspirit Murderers tend to gravitate to such professions as politics (be sure to vote in Nov. ), church clergy, company CEO’s, salesman, law, law enforcement, you know…anywhere that puts them in a position of power over other more vulnerable people they can prey on.  They like to put themselves in positions where they appear to be doing humble helpful work for GOD or at least for the improvement of mankind, the environment, or their community. They are masters at “hiding in plain sight!”

There are many things to look for when trying to figure out if someone has this type of destructive behavior because they are pathological. Meaning they have  “narrow” patterns of this antisocial behavior, so basically they cannot help but to keep repeating it throughout their lives. It’s been internalized and ingrained into their personality.  They may be able to control themselves for a short period of time, let’s say, for example at the beginning stages of a relationship, when they know they must be on their best behavior, but it won’t last for long. The destructive behavior will eventually rear its ugly head again and again! Please arm yourself with this important information so that you don’t make the same very costly mistake I did! 

Please take a look at the related articles to learn more. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU AND THANK YOU FOR READING!