Antisocial personality disorder (DAP) is a mental illness that affects adults, making them unable to feel empathy and remorse. In common parlance and pop culture, the terms "psychopath" and "sociopath" are often referred to as those with PAD, but are not used in the medical field. From a clinical point of view, the disorder is diagnosed in those who chronically manifest manipulative behaviors, aimed at cheating others, careless and dangerous. The sufferers fall on a broad spectrum and have symptoms of varying intensity (not all those suffering from this pathology are serial killers or scam artists, as happens in the movies), but all can be difficult people to manage and in some cases dangerous. Learn to recognize who suffers from this disorder, so you can protect yourself and the sick person.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Identifying the Symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder
Step 1. Learn the factors that lead to a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder
To be considered affected, a person must exhibit at least three of the antisocial behaviors defined by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM). This manual, used by psychologists to make their diagnoses, is the official catalog of all mental illnesses and their symptoms.
Step 2. Check if the person has a history of criminal activity or has been arrested
People with antisocial personality disorder are often arrested multiple times for serious or minor offenses. Crimes are committed starting in adolescence and continue into adulthood. People with DAP also have a tendency to abuse drugs and alcohol, often ending up arrested for drug possession or drunk driving.
You may want to check the person's criminal record yourself if they refuse to disclose details of their past
Step 3. Identify compulsive liar or scammer behaviors
People with antisocial personality disorder have a lifelong habit of compulsive lying, even on less important topics. As we age, this tendency to lie can turn into a form of scam, which sufferers use to manipulate other people for their own benefit. As a related symptom, they can create aliases that they hide behind, with the intent of cheating others or simply as a form of lie.
Step 4. Beware of total disregard for your own personal safety
People with antisocial personality disorder have a tendency to ignore their own safety and that of others. They may not realize that they are in a risky situation, or they may voluntarily endanger themselves or others. It can drive at high speeds, engage in fights with strangers, and even go as far as harming, torturing, or neglecting other people altogether.
Step 5. Identify impulsive behaviors and an inability to plan for the future
Often, people with antisocial personality disorder show that they are unable to plan, either in the short or long term. He may not perceive the correlation between his current behavior and the long-term consequences, such as not understanding how drug use and incarceration can affect his future. He acts quickly without judgment, or he makes rash decisions without thinking.
Step 6. Pay attention to repeated episodes of physical aggression towards other people
These episodes can take on a variety of nature, from a fight in a bar to a torture kidnapping. However, people with antisocial personality disorder often have a history of physical abuse of others and may even have ended up in jail for such offenses. If the patient had been diagnosed with conduct disorder as a young man, this habit was already present in childhood, during which he had abused other children or even his own parents.
Step 7. Notice signs of poor business and financial ethics
People with antisocial personality disorder often find it difficult to keep their jobs, are the subject of multiple complaints from colleagues and superiors, run into debt and do not pay their bills regularly. In general, the sufferer does not have a stable job, does not have a solid financial situation and spends his money in a reckless way.
Step 8. Look for signs of lack of empathy and rationalization of pain inflicted on others
This is one of the symptoms most commonly associated with PAD; sufferers of this disorder are unable to empathize with the people it caused pain to. If a patient is arrested for a crime he has committed, he will rationalize his actions and find no reason to feel guilty about his behavior. He won't understand why other people are upset by what he has done.
Step 9. Look for repeated signs of contempt for the rights of others
Even worse than the lack of empathy, some people with this disorder are completely indifferent and will often tend to overstep any boundaries without apparently showing any remorse.
Part 2 of 4: Managing a Patient Affected by Antisocial Personality Disorder
Step 1. Limit your contacts if possible
It can be difficult to distance yourself from a close friend or relative, but you should distance yourself from someone with antisocial personality disorder. You need to do this for your physical and emotional safety.
Step 2. Put some stakes in your relationship
Maintaining a relationship with someone with antisocial personality disorder can be very difficult. If you are unable to avoid it, you should set well-defined limits in order to determine what interactions are acceptable between you.
Due to the nature of the disease, PAD sufferers have a tendency to challenge and overcome the limits imposed on them. It is important that you are inflexible and seek the help of a psychologist or support group to manage the situation
Step 3. Recognize early warning signs of potentially violent behavior
If you are in a relationship with someone with antisocial personality disorder, especially if they are substance abuse, you need to learn to recognize the warning signs of violent behavior as soon as possible to protect yourself and others. No prediction is 100% accurate, but Gerald Juhnke recommends relying on the English acronym DANGERTOME:
- [ D.elusions] Delirium (or violent fantasies).
- [ TOccess to weapons] Access to weapons.
- [ No.oted history of violence] History of violence.
- [ G.ang Involvement] Involvement with criminal groups.
- [ ANDxpressions of intent to harm others] An expression of intent to harm someone.
- [ R.emorselessness] Lack of remorse for inflicted pain.
- [ T.rublesome substance abuse] Alcohol or drug abuse.
- [ ORvert threats] Explicit threats to harm someone.
- [ M.yopic focus on hurting others] Fixation on hurting others.
- [ ANDxclusion and isolation] Isolation or alienation.
Step 4. Contact the police
If you notice that threats from the sick person are becoming more frequent or if you have the impression that physical violence is imminent, call the police. You need to take action to protect yourself and others.
Part 3 of 4: Understanding Antisocial Personality Disorder
Step 1. Ask a psychologist or psychiatrist for a diagnosis
Antisocial Personality Disorder can be difficult to identify, because it can manifest itself with so many symptoms and variations; as a result, you may get the impression that a person is suffering from the disorder even if they do not have all the symptoms necessary for diagnosis. Only a qualified professional can come to an official diagnosis. However, you can recognize the signs of the disorder by looking for a combination of symptoms, which arise over the course of the person's life.
- DAP is similar in many ways to Narcissistic Personality Disorder; a patient may exhibit symptoms of both.
- People with PDD have a tendency to demonstrate a lack of empathy; he is also often a manipulator and a deceiver.
Step 2. Avoid offering amateur diagnoses
Suspecting someone has a personality disorder is legitimate, but trying to "diagnose" a person unless you are a psychiatrist or psychologist is legitimate. If you are worried about a relative or friend, try to get them to have the help of a professional. Treatment can include rehabilitation and psychotherapy.
- Antisocial behavior doesn't always depend on a personality disorder. Some people simply feel comfortable living dangerously and develop bad habits, behaving irresponsibly and recklessly.
- Understand that people with antisocial personality disorder rarely accept medical treatment because they don't think they have something wrong. You will need to be persistent if you want the person to get the help they need and not go to jail.
Step 3. Look for symptoms of antisocial personality disorder in the person's past
Antisocial personality disorder is caused by a unique combination of biological and social factors, which manifest themselves at all stages of the patient's life. People with this condition show symptoms as a child, but cannot receive a clinical diagnosis until the age of 18. Symptoms tend to subside around the age of 40-50; they do not completely disappear, but are often reduced as a result of biological factors or social conditioning.
Personality disorders are considered to be partly genetic in nature, so they may never completely disappear
Step 4. Beware of substance abuse that accompanies the DAP
Often sufferers of the disorder also have substance abuse problems, such as drug or alcohol addiction. An epidemiological study found that sufferers were 21 times more likely to abuse alcohol than healthy people. However, this symptom does not occur in all cases. Each individual is unique and the DAP does not necessarily lead to alcohol or drug abuse.
Step 5. Be aware that antisocial personality disorder rarely occurs in women
Scientists do not know exactly why, but this disease mainly affects men. Studies indicate that men account for 75% of all recorded cases.
DAP can present differently in men and women. Men have a more pronounced tendency to display recklessness, violence, traffic violations, animal cruelty, street fighting, use of weapons and pyromania. Women, on the other hand, tend to have multiple sexual partners, run away from home, and engage in gambling
Step 6. Identify previous abuse suffered by DAP sufferers
The disease is considered to be only partially biological in nature, and child abuse is a significant risk factor. Often people with antisocial personality disorder have been physically and emotionally abused for years by a loved one who lived with them. He may also have been very neglected as a child. The perpetrators of the abuse are often parents with antisocial tendencies, which they pass on to their children.
Part 4 of 4: Recognizing the Early Warning Signs
Step 1. Learn about the relationship between conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder
The former is the infantile counterpart of the latter; in a nutshell, conduct disorder is the antisocial personality disorder in children. It manifests itself in bully behavior, disrespect for life (animal abuse), problems with anger management and authority, inability to show remorse, reprehensible or criminal conduct.
- Conduct problems arise at a young age and develop around the age of 10.
- Nearly all psychologists and psychiatrists consider conduct disorder one of the most important warning signs for future diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder.
Step 2. Note the symptoms of conduct disorder
Those suffering from this pathology voluntarily inflict pain on others and can attack other children, adults and animals. It is a chronic attitude and not an isolated episode. The following behaviors can occur in patients with conduct disorder:
- Pyromania (obsession with fire)
- Frequent episodes of nocturnal enuresis
- Animal cruelty
- Bullying
- Destruction of objects
- Theft
Step 3. Understand the limitations of conduct disorder treatments
Neither conduct nor antisocial personality disorder can be easily cured with psychotherapy. Treatments are made more complicated by the frequency with which these disorders are associated with others, such as substance abuse, mood disorders or psychopathies.
- The simultaneous presence of multiple disorders makes the treatment of patients particularly difficult and requires the use of psychotherapy, drugs and other approaches.
- The effectiveness of multi-therapeutic treatments may also vary, depending on the severity of the case. More severe cases respond worse to treatment than milder ones.
Step 4. Recognize the difference between conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder (DOP)
Children suffering from PDO challenge authority but feel responsible for the consequences of their actions. They often disrespect adults and blame others for their problems.
PDO can be successfully treated with drugs and psychotherapy. Treatment often involves parents in familiar cognitive behavioral therapies and requires the child's social training
Step 5. Do not assume that conduct disorder always leads to antisocial personality disorder
Conduct disorder can be treated before it develops into PAD, especially if its symptoms are mild.
