This is how you identify a psychopath

How do you know that someone is mentally ill? Why do some people become psychopaths? And why are we so fascinated by them? Psychologist Siri Helle tells us that less than one percent meet the criteria for psychopathy, but many people do have psychopathic traits.
When wondering why some people become psychopaths, it’s important to remember that it’s a combination of genetics and environment, she says.

What kind of genes you have, and in what context you were raised in, for example, makes sense when it comes to why some people become psychopaths and others don’t. However, psychopaths are born with a low capacity for empathy, but it has a lot to do with upbringing. People who have been physically or mentally abused, for example, are at greater risk of suffering from psychopathy.

According to Siri Helle, just under one percent are usually said to meet all of the criteria for psychopathy, but it’s a matter of degree difference.

We can have more or less empathy and quite a few have psychotic traits. Then it looks a little different in different groups—US studies show, for example, that managers are often psychopaths, she says.

Darkness enchants

She believes that the widespread fascination with psychopaths and psychopaths has to do with the fact that many people are fascinated by people who are seen as charming yet manipulative. You think it might also be the case that some are attracted to malice.

Maybe it’s the darkness you don’t really understand. On the surface, a person may look like everyone else, but upon a closer look, it may be seen that the person does not have the same conscience or is motivated as much by caring for others.

Dispel myths

When it comes to psychopaths and psychopaths, there are also a lot of myths. According to Siri Helle, many people think that psychopaths are a different type of person, but the fact remains – it’s about differences in degree.

– Your boss could be a narcissist of shit but in this case he’s a psychopath. She says there is also a myth that psychopaths will be highly intelligent and calculating who manipulate people.

– But psychopaths are smart like most people, and because they are often impulsive and don’t care about the consequences, they usually do this to themselves and to the people around them. It is not uncommon to find yourself in trouble with the justice system.

It’s also not uncommon for people to claim they can identify a psychopath by their looks, which isn’t possible, according to Siri Helle.

– Some say that there are signs by which you can identify a psychopath, or that you can see it in their eyes, but it is not something that you can notice on the outside.