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Does a psychopath know they're a psychopath?

Posted , 4 users are following.

MasterChief
MasterChief

So I wanted to ask, can a psychopath know that they're a psychopath? The reason I ask is because the last few years I have started to become aware of what I'm doing, I don't feel bad or anything but I just know it's not normal.

The last few years I have noticed that I get great enjoyment from manipulating people, getting them to do what I want and tricking them into thinking something that may not be true. It might just be something simple like hiding my mothers oven gloves from her when she is cooking and she will look for them for 15 minutes and then I'll put them somewhere really obvious and she'll be all confused as to why she didn't notice them.

There have been other slightly more serious things where I will befriend someone in school and manipulate them into doing something bad and they'll get into trouble for it. I know what I'm telling them to do is wrong because I won't do it myself, so I'll trick someone else into doing it and it makes me feel good that I have that level of control over someone. I've made girls break up with their boyfriends by installing doubt into their minds and I've caused others friendships to end by turning each against the other.

I've never caused any physical damage or severely affected anyone but I do wonder how far I could go... How far could I manipulate someone? Is there a limit? The best part about it is they think I am being a good friend and that I care and want to help so they come to me with their problems and I pretend to care and sympathise with them when in fact I honestly do not care.

I also manipulate people so I get what I want. I'm not a violent person and I never used violence or have outbursts of rage or anything, but instead I prefer to carefully construct a situation that results in me getting my way without the other person acknowledging I'm getting my way. Or they see that I'm getting my way but they don't think I'm doing it on purpose. Just a side note I don't do drugs or smoke, I do drink occasionally but prefer to get tipsy rather than full on drunk.

My parents have mentioned it to me before that I'm a very suggestive person, I'll often get my younger sister into trouble in the house by tricking her into doing something which I know my parents will get mad at her for, although she is only 11 and it's not much of a challenge so I've not really been doing this recently.

I guess I just enjoy knowing that I have the ability to instil ideas or thoughts into other people whether it be family, friends, teachers, or strangers that I only just met. Knowing that a person acts because of what I have constructed in their minds. I am off to university next year and wonder what my life will be like there...

I've been reading about psychopathy recently and I have a lot of the symptoms but I am aware of what I'm doing... Maybe not right there and then but as the process goes on I realise that everything I'm telling this person is the opposite of what might be beneficial to them. Does this mean I'm not a psychopath? As psychopaths do not know what they're doing is wrong?

I know this is a pretty lengthy post but I just wanted to ask, if I do consult a psychiatrist, will they tell my parents that I have spoken with them? Or can I request my parents not be told anything between me and a psychiatrist?

Thanks for reading cheesygrin

2 likes, 25 replies

25 Replies

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  • jenny99721
    jenny99721 MasterChief

    Posted

    Basically what you are saying is that you enjoy hurting people - that this g ives you some sense of well being. We

    only think we know what is going on in our minds and the minds of others. If we spend a lot of time focusing on other people as you surely do the your self esteem must be fairly fragile this is when we start to inflate our egos by taking on another personna - for you it is the 'great manipulator'.  There are loads of people out there who do what you do on a grander scale - you wil have a hard time staying ahead of the game. i suggest some personality disorder may be a part of what is steering you towards this need to control peoples thoughts and feelings with your actions. I am not a psych of course - but look it up and see what comes up. Good luck Jen

    • MasterChief
      MasterChief jenny99721

      Posted

      Hard time staying a head of the game? I'm still young yet, plenty of room for improvement smile Ultimately it's about control, I enjoy knowing that the things I say and do get enbedded into people and they act on what I say.

      Have you ever tried it? Maybe you just don't know what it's like.

  • jenny99721
    jenny99721 MasterChief

    Posted

    Probably have - think we all do to a certain extent when we want something - think we have all done it with our parents to a certain extent. Thing is if you feel so self assured about it all - doubt you would be on here. My son who is 36 has a similar profile.Has manaed a good life and has much of what he wants all of the time. He is very rich and successful and is the king of manipulation. Unfortunately even though he has inherited a beautiful welsh/italian face and body he has been unable to maintain a relationship for very long . He did go for treatment when a coke habit got out of control. Underneath this lurked something a lot more painful than he presented to the world. He wasdiagosed with NPD - a lot of successful people seem to have this profile as well as a lot psychopaths so they say. But it is usually only traits and I think this is what you have. You sounds very young and you are probably experimenting with your interest in human psychology. A lot of people who study in the area go through this stage and in fact fact they have to be one step ahead to be able to treat people. They of course are aware of how they could manipulate their patients and have the skills and knowledge to do it. However part of what they do is to try and root out the patients manipulative tendencies to try and find out why they need to do this to maintain their equilibruuim. It is an intersting subject. I do mainipulate my dog sometimes to try and get him to do as I want - but he is a rather large dobberman/geman shephard and he needs to be kept in a passive mode to fit in.Jen
    • MasterChief
      MasterChief jenny99721

      Posted

      Haha you tell a dog to sit and it'll sit, tell a human to sit and she/she will ask why. It's not a challenge. Is your son aware of his symptoms? This was ultimately the question I wanted to know about the most.

      As you mentioned I am young and so I've not got much life experience on me but like most children, you don't realise things until you're older... That time has come for me, since about the age of 14 I have been aware that I am using manipulative technequies to get not only what I want, but for a kick, just to see if I can make something happen that would not happen without my doing.

      I've only ever been in 2 relationships, my current one for nearly a year and so far I'm not having any issues but my girlfriend isn't aware of my manipulative side.

      Thanks for posting. Please tell me more if you don't mind, did your son do similar things to me when he was 17? Did he grow out of it?

      I feel like what I do is part of me that I don't want to change because I enjoy it too much and I honestly do not see an issue with it. Some people are weak minded, it's just too temping.

  • jenny99721
    jenny99721 MasterChief

    Posted

    Yes probably. He was manipulative in the sense that he could always get people to agree with him which was not always in their best intrest. You are slightly different as you seem to be doing little experiments with people usually to get a desired negative effect. This is a bit like the sly fox rather than a full blown charismatic like my son was.Anyway he has learnt a lot over the years - has stopped looking in the mirror and has found other ways, to use his mind - like learning to be able to withstand boredom, and spend time doing things to help rather than hinder his own and other peoples lives,. Do no harm and all will be well. It could be that you need to take your whole focus off other people - there could be some amazing stuff u could be doing and this will give you different options for your future. And do not forget you are only preying on the weak and those who do not believe that you would be manipulating them which means u must be ok in lots of ways.
  • lisalisa67
    lisalisa67 MasterChief

    Posted

    Maybe you have a narcissistic personality disorder. A phychopath would not write on here or have the need for approval or dissaporoval. 
    • MasterChief
      MasterChief lisalisa67

      Posted

      Perhaps, I've not really looked into narcissism. I'm not seeking approval, I'm seeking opinions. Thanks for your input though.
  • tanya73074
    tanya73074 MasterChief

    Posted

    I can really relate to you, I can't help manipulating other people, it gives me this degree of power that i can recognise most people don't have. I'm able to manipulate most situations, i can get myself out of almost any trouble and i feel as though someone has gifted me with this amazing superpower to be able to read people well and toy with them till it benefits me. I'm also able to manipulate and twist things without anyone realising it's me pulling the strings. And I am undoubtly a brilliant liar (maybe not something to brag about but thats just who I am).

    I don't know if I have a disorder or if i'm a psychopath or if i'm just tapped, or maybe that's just my personality, but I know i need to stay in control of my surroundings and the people in my life.

    I've never really met anyone like me before, would you be up for chatting?

    Much Love, Tanya smile

    • MasterChief
      MasterChief tanya73074

      Posted

      Hey Tanya! Thanks for your reply.

      It's nice to know I'm not the only one who enjoys this. I can very much relate to wanting to be in control of the people around you, not by force but by psychological warfare. Sometimes I do it just to do what will happen and to challenge myself. What's great is the people around me, my family and friends don't know that I am pulling the strings, as you so elequently put it wink I'm sure if they did, they would cease being my friends.

      I know it works as well because they often come to me for advice about a situation or if they're worrying about something and I'll give them advice, but it will always be in my interest.

      I think of the world like a chessboard where people are the pieces, if you move them correctly, you'll checkmate everytime. If you want to PM me with any questions, sure, I'll be up for a chat smile

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