How do you deal with a family member with Antisocial Personality Disorder?

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Is there any hope?
Are you kidding? He won't see a shrink willingly, nothing is/has ever been his fault and nothing is/had ever been wrong with him....This is what we're dealing with..
if it is severe enough to cause problems isn't he/she seeing a shrink or therapist ? it would be best to discuss this matter with the Dr.  (+ info)

How would someone know if he or she has Antisocial Personality Disorder?

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I am classified being manipulative, lacking empathy, and being narcissistic, but what would make someone ASPD?
Those are characteristics of ASPD/sociopath. Look it up in the DSM IV to see if you meet the critera of having the personality disorder.

Some say that it's genetic. Sort of like how the male lion will eat the cubs of other male lions to ensure that their genes will endure. (Basically do anything possible even if it's morally wrong to win)

Some say it is learned. Where as a child, the person at one point realize that it's everyone for themselves. And so they will do anything they can to get what they want.

They tend to have unstable relationships with friends and partners. Sociopaths walk a fine line with the law. Some are smart enough to push the boundaries just enough to not get caught. Yet there are so many that do get caught and end up in jail (ex. murderers, etc). Not all of them do such serious criminal acts. They are mindful of their actions but simply don't care because they lack a good conscience. They feel that they are above the law because what they want has merit and supercedes any law in their minds. They are in love with themselves, holding themselves in the highest regards. They make it obvious that they love themselves. A lot of time they think they are getting away with manipulating people. In reality, people catch on and simply just don't want to deal with them anymore and just want them out of their hair.

A person that has ASPD/sociopath characterisitics: ex. Scott Peterson. The suspect for allegedly killing his pregnant wife. On TV, he obviously shows no real empathy for losing his wife when she was missing. He can't even really cry on cue. Everyone can see that he's not very sincere. Despite the fact that it would look bad if he fled, he did anyways - changing his hair color, taking out large amounts of cash. This poor judgement is a clear sign of the disorder. In his mind fleeing was in his best interest at the time. Well, now he got caught and in court, his action makes him look guilty.

What's the difference between sociopath and a psychopath? A sociopath has a normal temperment. They don't have urges wanting to kill people. But may do so if it gets them what they want without any risks.

Does this make any sense?

Do get help to make sure if you have this disorder or not.  (+ info)

What is the difference between antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy?

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  (+ info)

Have you ever been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder?

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What are the symptoms of it? How does the sufferer act?
Yes, I was diagnosed with it when I was 19, and I turn 40 this year. I am what they call "high functioning" as I have managed to keep myself from having a criminal record and haven't killed anyone (yet).

To the person who answered above me, the typical loner person is as different from a sufferer of ASPD as night is from day, as my descriptions will show.

The disorder involves a history of chronic antisocial behavior that begins before the age of 15 and continues into adulthood. The disorder is manifested by a pattern of irresponsible and antisocial behavior as indicated by academic failure, poor job performance, illegal activities, recklessness, and impulsive behavior. Symptoms may include dysphoria, an inability to tolerate boredom, feeling victimized, and a diminished capacity for intimacy.

Antisocial personality disorder, also known as psychopathic personality or sociopathic personality often brings a person into conflict with society as a consequence of a pattern of behavior that is amoral and unethical. Complications that might arise from having this disorder include: frequent imprisonment for unlawful behavior, alcoholism and drug abuse.

Samson may, it is thought, have had antisocial personality disorder. The Bible tells of his lies to his parents, his cruelty to animals, his torching the Philistine fields, his frequent brawls, and his unremitting bragging after killing a thousand men, actions fitting the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. A person with antisocial personality disorder was once called a sociopath.

Individuals with this disorder have an increased risk of dying prematurely by violent means (e.g., suicide, accidents, and homicide). Prolonged unemployment, interrupted education, broken marriages, irresponsible parenting, homelessness, and frequent incarceration are common with this disorder.

Of those, I have suffered two short bouts of homelessness, I have one broken marriage and have been with my second husband for 13 years. Instead of irresponsible parenting, I was a hyper-responsible parent and used my manipulative tendencies in shaping positive behaviors in my children.

My one major weakness is that I have been an on again off again marijuana smoker for most of my life. I found very early on that nothing kept me half as calm and have always had better results at keeping my disorder under control through that form of self-medication than I ever did with the plethora of pharmaceuticals that the doctors have tried on me over the years.

My children have never suffered because of my condition, though my daughter is currently diagnosed as suffering from both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but both are aspects of onset ASPD and the diagnosis of ASPD is never given until the patient is over the age of 18 (she was raised by her father and didn't come to live with me until she was 12). As she has come to terms with her disorder, having a mom that really understands what its like to have a disorder has helped her a lot in her own therapy.

My oldest son went through a stage from 12-14 when it looked like he might have ASPD, but we got him into wrestling and weightlifting and it helped him even out, though he admits that he fears his temper from time to time. My youngest son is going through that stage now, but isn't interested in wrestling or weightlifting and we are having a harder time finding healthier outlets for the rage for him.

As you can see, it does run in families.

As for how we act, there is a line from the first Addams family remake that describes us best, "I am a homicidal maniac, we look just like everyone else." The higher functioning the ASPD sufferer is, the more normal we appear, until we get angry; then you can tell you have a sociopath/psychopath on your hands.

We are often witty and articulate, and can be amusing and entertaining conversationalists, ready with a quick and clever comeback, and can tell unlikely but convincing stories that cast us in a good light. We can be very effective in presenting themselves well and are often very likable and charming.

Often, as part of our hobbies, we extensively study sociology, psychiatry, medicine, psychology, philosophy, poetry, literature, art and/or law. Some will go to school for these studies, most of us just read everything we can get on the topics. When we find ourselves in adverse circumstances, it seldom bothers us because we see them as temporary setbacks.

There is a lot of worthwhile information on the internet about "low functioning" sufferers of ASPD. The most famous people to suffer from the disorder are Ted Bundy and Elaine Wournos.  (+ info)

How does a psychologist find out if someone has Antisocial Personality Disorder?

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Do they perform an assessment?
they have a group of very intelligent people who prepared the tests and they ask you multiple questions and expect that the same answer from you. you may try to lie on 1 question and they will throw another question at you which sounds different but actually the same question you lied about and when your answer is different than the first one, you are busted. Thats how they find out.  (+ info)

Can someone with Antisocial Personality Disorder, Asperger's and ADHD get an SIA license and work as a bouncer?

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Or aren't you allowed to be mentally ill?
Can extremely impulsive and remorseless people work as a bouncer? It's a prerequisite.

callum p - No. Just people with Antisocial Personality Disorder. People with AS and ADHD aren't that bad, they just call you names.  (+ info)

Does anybody know of any celebrities/prominent world leaders with antisocial personality disorder?

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I need to know for a class, and I can't find anyone famous that suffers from it anywhere.
Marlon Brando
Bobby Fischer

but they're dead now  (+ info)

Are there any active support groups for people with Antisocial Personality Disorder?

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I tried the one on yahoo but I don't think the moderater has been on in a while.
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/kayla_kayla
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/mygroups2  (+ info)

Is there any relationship between reactive attachment disorder and antisocial personality disorder?

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The reason is my older sister has RADs and I was reading online about sociopaths and she fits perfectly in both. So I was wondering if she could be a sociopath.
maybe, its possible. try talking to your parents about it.  (+ info)

How many people in the united states suffer from antisocial personality disorder?

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APD is estimated to affect 3% of males and 1% of females in the general United States population. Mental health professionals may diagnose 3%-30% of the population in clinical settings as having the disorder. The percentages may be even higher among prison inmates or persons in treatment for substance abuse. By some estimates, three-quarters of the prison population may meet the diagnostic criteria for APD.


http://health.enotes.com/mental-disorders-encyclopedia/antisocial-personality-disorder  (+ info)

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