A diagnosed psychopath has revealed the common human action that might indicate someone has a psychopathic personality.
M.E Thomas is a lawyer, author and a diagnosed psychopath, and regularly discusses her experiences.
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The NHS explains that a 'psychopath' is someone with an antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) which means they lack empathy, are manipulative and 'often have a total disregard for the consequences of their actions'.
They add: "People with an antisocial personality can sometimes pose a threat to others because they can be violent. Most people with psychosis are more likely to harm themselves than others."
According to awareness group PsychopathyIs, around 30 percent of people have some level of psychopathic traits, though only about 0.6 percent of Brits could actually be classed as a psychopath.
Speaking about her experience, Thomas appeared on the What It Was Like podcast where she discussed one human emotion that she's 'never been comfortable with', explaining that she often wondered if it was simply a method of manipulation.
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Most of us feel empathy when we see another person in tears, but Thomas explained: "I've never felt comfortable with people crying. So people would cry and I'd be like, 'is this kind of a manipulation tactic?'
"And then if it kept going and it kind of seems serious, I thought 'wow, I did not see this coming, they have definitely jumped off the tracks of what I projected them to say or do today.'"
Discussing how she felt when her own sister would cry, she added: "My sister cried a lot too and I would just be like, 'I don't understand why she's constantly leaking from crying' it's like everyday there's a new leak from her, like mouth and nose, even her eyes, you know."
At this point, podcast host Julian Morgans, interrupted and said: "Even that language there you know, you're so far removed from this experience of crying."
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Thomas, who wrote the book Confessions of a Sociopath, A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight, has previously explained how she struggles to 'relate to [her] own emotions'.
Writing in Newsweek in 2022, she said: "I also have traditionally struggled to relate to my own emotions, much less the emotions of other people.
"I had learned as a very young child that people were often repulsed by me—by my chronic need to know which they labeled 'nosiness,' by the way I could read their minds and use their hidden fears and insecurities to manipulate them, and by the way I showed no empathy to those whom I guiltlessly used."
Topics: Health, Mental Health