Sociopaths are everywhere, according to research at least 4% of the population are sociopaths, the most common types you are likely to have come into contact with or be aware of are "Rogue Traders, Conmen, Cowboy Builders etc", these are the worst types who actively go out out of their way to intentionally harm other people with malice, but sociopaths also exist in our everyday life in less obvious guises, and unknown to you may even be one of your friends.
I have come across a few in my life, probably more than I am aware of, but the most surprising of which turned out to be one of my best friends of more than 10 years, which just goes to show how clever they can be and how long they can deceive you for.
The main characteristic of a sociopath is a complete disregard for the rights and feelings of others and a complete lack of conscience when causing someone (even a friend or family member) physical or mental harm.
Sociopaths are also unable to conform to what society defines as a normal personality (although I would argue as to what is normal these days). Antisocial tendencies can also play a big part of the sociopath’s personality. This pattern usually comes into evidence around the age of 15. If it is not treated, it can develop into adulthood.
Visible symptoms include physical/verbal aggression and the inability to hold down a steady job or relationship. The sociopath typically shows no regret or remorse for his or her actions and will never accept any responsibility or blame for his/her actions, often believing they have done nothing wrong and it is them who has somehow been wronged.
Although these symptoms may all present, they may not always be evident and may not always be malicious or extreme. Research has shown that the sociopath is usually a person with an abundance of charm, wit and often intelligence. He or she may come across as friendly and considerate, but these attributes are usually superficial. They are used as a way of blinding the other person to the personal agenda behind the sociopath’s behaviour.
A sociopath will never admit to being a sociopath and will refute any evidence you may confront them with, fabricating outlandish explanations, excuses and counter arguments to disprove the facts. Most sociopaths are expert spin doctors which is their greatest asset as they seem friendly, honest, reliable and trustworthy and will be able to convince you that they are ones telling the truth or that they have done nothing wrong. In the case of the non malicious sociopath, they will even believe the excuses they give you to be true.
In my most recent case I did not find out the truth about my friend Matt until I went into business with him, at which point his facade started to fall apart as he was unable to do the things he claimed, constantly fobbing us off with excuses that became more outlandish, and then consistently refused to accept any blame or responsibility for his failures when confronted and had an excuse and and explanation for everything as to why it wasn't his fault. When also confronted with facts and proof of his failures he would become defensive and aggressive and accuse us of conspiring against him or victimising him. Myself and my other business partners had even explained to him several times that he was putting our business, our livelihood and families at risk with his behaviour but he had no remorse and a complete disregard for the damage it was having on the business and would have on us (his friends and colleagues). I had been aware of some of his shortfalls for many years, but had always put it down to him simply being unreliable and too arrogant/egotistical for his own good, but given the turn of events now the "sociopath alarm bells" had started to ring. Like any normal person, I found it hard to believe I could have been fooled for so many years by someone I thought was my best friend, but then when 2 other people told me they had come to the same conclusion, I realised it must be true.
Once this realisation had set in, so many other things he had done in the past started to make sense, his constant failures in his life and relationships over the years, inability to hold down a job, constantly blaming everyone else for everything that went wrong in his life.
He was a very enigmatic chap and always came across as very intelligent and knowledgeable in just about everything you could imagine, and could talk about many topics with an air of authority, and unless you were knowledable on that topic yourself you would not in any position to disagree or know whether what he was saying was true or not. This made him very easy to get on with and is why most people were drawn to him.
I have since realised that his true skill is having a very good memory, and the ability to read and learn just enough information on any given topic quickly to allow him to talk about about it authoritively. But if you do have knowledge yourself on a given topic and question him, it becomes clear his own knowledge is in fact superficial and he has no real world experience on the topic and cannot answer questions when posed or apply that knowledge in any useful way. This is in itself still quite a skill though, to be able to memorise all that information on all those topics and relay it back to others people so precisely.
I don't believe he is the evil or malicious type of sociopath, I think he truly believes in his own mind that he never does anything wrong and that he is always right, but I doubt he will ever realise his affliction and thus will never do anything about it.
This is the 2nd time in my life that I have become involved on a personal and business level with a sociopath, the first one was a guy named Paul Underwood and ironically it was Matt who pointed out he was a sociopath the very first time he met him, which seemed uncanny at the time, but now it is obvious how he managed to spot him so easily, a sub-conscious level of identification no doubt.
Needless of say my level of mistrust and scepticism has increased significantly and I am always looking for those tell-tale signs of of sociopathic behaviour. Here are some useful tips I have found.
10 signs for spotting a sociopath
#1) Sociopaths are charming. Sociopaths have high charisma and tend to attract a following just because people want to be around them. They have a "glow" about them that attracts people who typically seek guidance or direction. They often appear to be sexy or have a strong sexual attraction. Not all sexy people are sociopaths, obviously, but watch out for over-the-top sexual appetites and weird fetishes.
#2) Sociopaths are more spontaneous and intense than other people. They tend to do bizarre, sometimes erratic things that most regular people wouldn't do. They are unbound by normal social contracts. Their behavior often seems irrational or extremely risky.
#3) Sociopaths are incapable of feeling shame, guilt or remorse. Their brains simply lack the circuitry to process such emotions. This allows them to betray people, threaten people or harm people without giving it a second thought. They pursue any action that serves their own self interest even if it seriously harms others. This is why you will find many very "successful" sociopaths in high levels of government, in any nation.
#4) Sociopaths invent outrageous lies about their experiences. They wildly exaggerate things to the point of absurdity, but when they describe it to you in a storytelling format, for some reason it sounds believable at the time.
#5) Sociopaths seek to dominate others and "win" at all costs. They hate to lose any argument or fight and will viciously defend their web of lies, even to the point of logical absurdity.
#6) Sociopaths tend to be highly intelligent, but they use their brainpower to deceive others rather than empower them. Their high IQs often makes them dangerous. This is why many of the best-known serial killers who successfully evaded law enforcement were sociopaths.
#7) Sociopaths are incapable of love and are entirely self-serving. They may feign love or compassion in order to get what they want, but they don't actually FEEL love in the way that you or I do.
#8) Sociopaths speak poetically. They are master wordsmiths, able to deliver a running "stream of consciousness" monologue that is both intriguing and hypnotic. They are expert storytellers and even poets. As a great example of this in action, watch this interview of Charles Manson on YouTube.
#9) Sociopaths never apologize. They are never wrong. They never feel guilt. They can never apologize. Even if shown proof that they were wrong, they will refuse to apologize and instead go on the attack. 
#10) Sociopaths are delusional and literally believe that what they say becomes truth merely because they say it! Charles Manson, the sociopathic murderer, is famous for saying, "I've never killed anyone! I don't need to kill anyone! I THINK it! I have it HERE! (Pointing to his temple.) I don't need to live in this physical realm..."
Watch Charles Manson saying this at the 3:05 mark of this YouTube video.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036112_sociopaths_cults_influence.html#ixzz2LroFHzRJ
How to dispel illusion and get to the truth
Sociopaths are masters at weaving elaborate fictional explanations to justify their actions. When caught red-handed, they respond with anger and threats, then weave new fabrications to explain away whatever they were caught doing.
A sociopath caught red-handed with a suitcase full of cash he just stole, for example, might declare he had actually rescued the money from being stolen by someone else, and that he was attempting to find its rightful owner. He's the hero, see? And yet, in reality, he will simply pocket the money and keep it. If you question him about the money, he will attack you for questioning his honesty.
Sociopaths are masters are presenting themselves as heroes with high morals and philosophy, yet underneath it they are the true criminal minds in society who steal, undermine, deceive, and often incite emotional chaos among entire communities. They are masters at turning one group of people against another group while proclaiming themselves to be the one true savior. Wherever they go, they create strife, argument and hatred, yet they utterly fail to see their own role in creating it. They are delusional at so many levels that their brains defy logical reasoning.
You cannot reason with a sociopath. Attempting to do so only wastes your time and annoys the sociopath.
Tip for exposing sociopaths: Start fact-checking something they claim
One simple method for dispelling sociopathic delusion is to start fact checking their claims. Do any of their claims actually check out? If you start digging, you will usually find a pattern of frequent inconsistencies. Confront the suspected sociopath with an inconsistency and see what happens: Most sociopaths will become angry or aggressive when their integrity is questioned, whereas a sane person would simply be happy to help clear up any misinformation or misunderstanding.
Beware of fact-checking the sociopath by asking other people under his or her influence. A sociopath will usually have a small group of cult-like followers who not only believe their fictional tales, but who actually internalize those fictions to the point where they rewrite their own memories to be consistent with them. If a guru-style sociopath talks about his "levitation sessions" over and over again, some of his believers will sooner or later start to form false memories in which they imagine seeing him levitate off the floor. So if you ask those people, "Did you actually ever see this person levitate?" They will enthusiastically say, "Yes!" Because in their own minds, that illusion has become something indistinguishable from a vivid memory.
Much the same thing is true with sociopathic politicians. If a particularly charismatic politician claims he has "created millions of jobs" even though his economic policies have actually destroyed jobs and caused widespread unemployment, his cult-like followers will repeat his lie and publicly proclaim how many jobs that person has created.
That's why fact-checking a sociopath requires evidence from outside his circle of influence. Does anything he say actually check out in the real world, outside his sphere of direct control? If not, you've probably spotted a sociopath.
Sociopaths never answer facts; they always attack the messenger
Another very valuable red flag to recognize when trying to spot a sociopath is to see how they deal with attacks on their own integrity. If a sociopath is presented with a collection of facts, documents and evidence showing that he lied or deceived, he will refuse to address the evidence and, instead, attack the messenger!
If you really try to nail a sociopath down to answering a documented allegation, they will quickly turn on you, denounce you, and declare that you too are secretly plotting against them. Anyone who does not fall for the brainwashing of the sociopath is sooner or later kicked out of the circle and then wildly disparaged by the remaining members of the cult group.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036112_sociopaths_cults_influence.html#ixzz2LrqLq1o6
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