“Natural human reactions … strike the psychopath as strange, interesting, and even comical. They therefore observe us… They become experts in our weaknesses and sometimes effect heartless experiments.”
– Andrew Lobaczewski, ‘Political Ponerology’
Are there neurophysiological signs which could indicate the presence of psychopathy? Research into differences between the brain of a psychopath and a normal person is providing many insights into the behaviour of our predatory neighbours.
The British Journal of Psychiatry found that psychopaths “showed less activity in brain areas involved in assessing the emotion of facial expressions…” [1] with a high possibility that this psychological “disease” is the result of a dysfunction of the frontal cortex of the brain. In one study from Canada described by bio-medical scientist Renato M.E. Sabbatini, PhD, the results showed that there was significant:
…. Impair[ment] on all the ‘orbitofrontal- ventromedial tasks’ but not in the function of other areas of the frontal cortex. The similarities between psychopaths and patients with prefrontal cortex damage surfaced in several areas of the study. ‘Both the psychopath and the orbitofrontal or ventromedial frontal patient show an exaggerated preoccupation with sexual matters, acting in a promiscuous and impersonal maladaptive way,’ observed the researchers. ‘Both are remarkable for their lack of social and ethical judgment. Both neglect long-term consequences of their actions, choosing immediate gratification over careful planning.’ [2]
Brain dysfunction supports the evidence that they may look human but for all intents and purposes they act in ways that are anti-human. Or, as psychotherapist Amos A. Gunsburg describes it, they are “humanoids” mimicking those with conscience:
Mankind has spent centuries trying to make sense of these creatures as some form of human being. All in vain. Not only in vain, but at enormous on-going cost to our civilization. These creatures are not human beings gone wrong. They are a different species … dedicated to the murder of human values … as a prelude to the murder of human beings … e.g., the tactics used by Nazis, past and present.
They laugh at us. They say: “No one understands us. People can’t put themselves in the minds of men who act without a conscience. They try to understand, but they can’t.”
These creatures do not THINK human. They do not SPEAK human. They do not know what it is to BE human. We classify them as “humanoid.”
Yes, they have human form. If we manage to resist their onslaught long enough, we will eventually develop technical scanning equipment which will measure how different they are from human beings, despite their similarity of form. In the meantime, the quality of our lives … and often our very lives … depends on our recognizing these creatures for what they are, and taking steps to neutralize their attempts to destroy us. [3]
If you are thinking that the above is way too harsh – then you are not getting it. It is exactly this immediate projection of conscience onto effectively empty shells which allow entry and conquest of the soul.
It really is that profound.
It is also important to note that we must not adopt the same psychopathic traits in order to oust the “humanoids” in our midst. The only way we can reduce the effects of psychopathic actions is to build our awareness of the problem so that we set in motion a new social contract that would prevent psychopaths from assuming positions of responsibility and power. Prevention seems to be the key and that comes from a strong knowledge base. The lessons of history show us very clearly what we have repeatedly failed to do: prevent unhealthy conditions arising which attract and thereby foster pathological infection. Once taken root as an individual and collective “dance” between the predator and prey, there is usually only one conclusion – the dissolution of the organism, whether it be an individual, community or nation.
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We know that psychopaths take special pleasure in cheating, deceiving, lying and manipulating. Indeed, it is this drive that informs much of the psychopath’s reason for engaging with his victim. Prolonging this dance saps the emotional energy from an individual or group leading to innumerable states of negative emotion vital to the game. The psychopath is then able to extract the maximum quotient of energy from the suffering which amounts to a massive endorphin rush. The bigger the potential for emotional drama the greater the “hit”, which means it’s also important to recognise the power of bio-chemicals in the “dance” between the normal person and the primary narcissist and psychopath. The greater the deception, the bigger the high.
One might say that psychopaths are addicted to extracting psycho-spiritual nutrients of those with conscience.
Dopamine is one such neurochemical that plays a part in all sexual activity. It is involved in the pleasurable high that is experienced during orgasm and activates the reward circuitry in the brain. Just as the drug addict craves his drug of choice to release the dopamine rush, this operates in a similar way when we become attached, dependent or “addicted” to someone who gives us the same rush.
The neurochemical that is responsible for “love” bonding is oxytocin, which is released into the bloodstream during sex. It is a fascinating bonding hormone associated with nurturing and affection. Present in women in higher quantities than men, this hormone is also linked to emotional and physical benefits which include the healing of wounds and the tranquilising effect that can help us in times of stress. Breast-feeding stimulates oxytocin production in both mother and child while the connection between milk production and oxytocin promotes the mother-baby bond. During sex the chemical is stimulated by the female hormone oestrogen and enhances its effect, whereas with men, the opposite is the case, where testosterone dampens down production. (This may explain why women want to cuddle up after sex and talk and men become drowsy and switch off). However, despite glowing reviews of the benefits of oxytocin, it is not a panacea.
Psychologist Shelley E. Taylor, PhD and her work on oxytocin shows that the hormone may also “enhance negative social cues.” Taylor found that “…oxytocin rises not only in women who are in good, affectionate relationships, but also in women who have distressed relationships. In the latter case … oxytocin may be signalling the need to seek other social contact.” In other words, it is not saying stay close to that person but stay close to someone, anyone as long as that oxytocin high is maintained. The Doctor gives some salutary advice on this point: “It’s never a good idea to map a psychological profile onto a hormone; they don’t have psychological profiles.” [4]
Further research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine psychologist Jennifer Bartz, PhD and her colleagues had some interesting results when they exposed men and women with border line personality disorders who often had volatile relationships to a dose of oxytocin. Data showed decreased ability to work in a team and a parallel erosion of trust compared with a placebo.[5]Chemicals seem to have a dark side which can act as a potential trap in dysfunctional relationships. Mental health is a key factor as to how those chemicals will augment or help to confuse the relationship in question. If one is a psychopath then this chemical reactions can be turbo-charged on the part of the “prey”.
Unsurprisingly, sociopaths/psychopaths and pathological narcissists seem unable to secrete the hormone in anything like the same amounts contributing to the reasons for zero empathy and high levels of manipulation that eventuate. [6] What does this say when a woman is stimulated to overflow with levels of dopamine and oxcytocin in a psychopathic partner who has a hyper-reactive dopamine reward system and a lack of oxcytocin? [7] Greater and greater need for sexual and emotional hits on the part of the psychopath while the victim is trapped to giving all by an illusion made in flesh. The vampire sucks the blood of his prey until there is nothing but an empty container; an intense biochemical bond that effectively “milks” the endocrine system of the victim and which has nothing to do with any authentic emotion but everything to do with a primal addiction. Hence the reason that so many women and men have difficulty in extricating themselves from the psychopath’s powerful sphere of influence.
It is not just the tenacious nature of the psychopath’s personality but a very real physiological pull sourced from an abnormally intense biochemical bond that clamours to be satisfied despite the abusive nature of the relationship. The pain and anxiety is however, partially ameliorated by the release of oxytocin ensuring that the victim is led down the deadly garden path for more. Frequent sex alongside a permanent state of anxiety and pressure keeps the victim trapped in a spider’s web of dependency that gradually destroys the life and soul of the individual. The psychopath begins dispensing pleasure and pain simultaneously, until that is, life becomes intolerable. Then the real fight begins for freedom, one that the psychopath sees as the disappearance of “food.” This is how the psychopath bypasses logic and rationale by essentially making an addict out of his victim.
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Official Culture is loaded towards the psychopath, making it even easier to succeed in their quest to trap. Despite the victim hating the predator in her life, he nevertheless remains an object of desire she is powerless to resist without considerable outside support. When pathological or dysfunctional expressions of sexuality become the norm this further encourages psychologically compromised individuals to take advantage and propagate such deformations. Where people so often go wrong is by confusing the psychopath with a normal human being and thus misunderstanding that this has nothing to do with your explanation of the facts and logic within a given situation. The psychopath will always find ways to move the goal posts and invent reality according to his desires. Truth means nothing. It is about maintaining the bio-chemical dance and the use of any and all methods to sustain it, until that person is a husk of her former self. When that happens he simply moves on to another source to feed on. For these humanoids, there is no real distinction between a tree, a rock and a human – all are circulating objects in the psychopath’s heliocentric Universe existing as psycho-biochemical nutrition to feed his black hole of existence. Any semblance of introspection goes no further than a primal cunning of decision-making regarding how best he can quench that insatiable appetite to dominate and control.
Take one psychopath who was interviewed by Robert Hare’s team who was happy to share his thoughts on this point: “The first thing I do is I size you up. I look for an angle, an edge, figure out what you need and give it to you. Then it’s pay-back time, with interest. I tighten the screws.’ Another admitted that he never targeted attractive women – he was only interested in those who were insecure and lonely. He claimed he could smell a needy person ‘the way a pig smells truffles.’” [8]
The data at present suggests that kind, vulnerable and “giving” women are particularly targeted by these individuals, though it is more than conceivable that men can be equally targeted by the female version in the right setting. Because of his talents for mimicry and an almost psychic knowledge of the emotional profile of his prey, it is easy to insinuate himself into the lives of those naturally trusting. When caught manipulating the truth or blatantly lying, it matters little: “…they are seldom perplexed or embarrassed – they simply change their stories or attempt to rework the facts so that they appear to be consistent with the lie. The results are a series of contradictory statements and a thoroughly confused listener.” [9] What makes matters far worse for the victim is that he has no remorse for his actions, with “… a stunning lack of concern for the devastating effects their actions have on others. Often they are completely forthright about the matter, calmly stating that they have no sense of guilt, [and] are not sorry for the pain and destruction they have caused [which] is associated with a remarkable ability to rationalize their behavior.” [10]
Since they see no flaws in sense of self, they see no reason to change. According to their own pathological egotism, they can do no wrong. And it is from this realisation that metaphysician, historian and author Laura Knight-Jadczyk makes this chilling set of speculations:
Anyone who has ever observed a cat playing with a mouse before killing and eating it has probably explained to themselves that the cat is just “entertained” by the antics of the mouse and is unable to conceive of the terror and pain being experienced by the mouse, and the cat, therefore, is innocent of any evil intent. The mouse dies, the cat is fed, and that is nature. Psychopaths don’t generally eat their victims.
Yes, in extreme cases the entire cat and mouse dynamic is carried out and cannibalism has a long history wherein it was assumed that certain powers of the victim could be assimilated by eating some particular part of them. But in ordinary life, psychopaths and narcissists don’t go all the way, so to say. This causes us to look at the cat and mouse scenarios again with different eyes. Now we ask: is it too simplistic to think that the innocent cat is merely entertained by the mouse running about and frantically trying to escape? Is there something more to this dynamic than meets the eye? Is there something more than being “entertained” by the antics of the mouse trying to flee? After all, in terms of evolution, why would such behavior be hard-wired into the cat? Is the mouse tastier because of the chemicals of fear that flood his little body?Is a mouse frozen with terror more of a “gourmet” meal?
This suggests that we ought to revisit our ideas about psychopaths with a slightly different perspective. One thing we do know is this: many people who experience interactions with psychopaths and narcissists report feeling “drained” and confused and often subsequently experience deteriorating health. Does this mean that part of the dynamic, part of the explanation for why psychopaths will pursue ‘love relationships’ and ‘friendships’ that ostensibly can result in no observable material gain, is because there is an actual energy consumption?
We do not know the answer to this question. We observe, we theorize, we speculate and hypothesize. But in the end, only the individual victim can determine what they have lost in the dynamic – and it is often far more than material goods. In a certain sense, it seems that psychopaths are soul eaters or ‘Psychophagic.’ [Emphasis mine] [11]
And “soul-eaters” comes closest to the place which psychopaths have in our civilisation, and the social and cultural inheritance they have inspired. They are the progenitors of evil alluded to in so many ancient wisdom texts which intuitively grasped the meaning thought without the science of neuropsychology to back it up. If there is indeed a chemical and “energy” component to the interaction with psychopaths then the dimensions of their predatory dynamics may expand into areas we simply do not yet understand. Nevertheless, we must guard against their encroachments with the seriousness of a scientist dealing with an explosive device or a highly contagious disease.
Perhaps then we may understand how it is that humanity has gone so far down the road to chaos.
The following extract is from the book by clinical psychologist Martha Stout called The Sociopath Next Door. (Stout uses “sociopath” in place of psychopath). Her eloquent appraisal of the psychopath’s mind goes right to the heart of why we must educate ourselves and the consequences for society and its direction if we don’t:
Imagine – if you can – not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern for the well-being of strangers, friends, or even family members. Imagine no struggles with shame, not a single one in your whole life, no matter what kind of selfish, lazy, harmful, or immoral action you had taken. And pretend that the concept of responsibility is unknown to you, except as a burden others seem to accept without question, like gullible fools. Now add to this strange fantasy the ability to conceal from other people that your psychological makeup is radically different from theirs. Since everyone simply assumes that conscience is universal among human beings, hiding the fact that you are conscience-free is nearly effortless. You are not held back from any of your desires by guilt or shame, and you are never confronted by others for your cold-bloodedness. The ice water in your veins is so bizarre, so completely outside of their personal experience, that they seldom even guess at your condition.
In other words, you are completely free of internal restraints, and your unhampered liberty to do just as you please, with no pangs of conscience, is conveniently invisible to the world. You can do anything at all, and still your strange advantage over the majority of people, who are kept in line by their consciences will most likely remain undiscovered.
How will you live your life? What will you do with your huge and secret advantage, and with the corresponding handicap of other people (conscience)? The answer will depend largely on just what your desires happen to be, because people are not all the same. Even the profoundly unscrupulous are not all the same. Some people – whether they have a conscience or not – favor the ease of inertia, while others are filled with dreams and wild ambitions. Some human beings are brilliant and talented, some are dull-witted, and most, conscience or not, are somewhere in between. There are violent people and nonviolent ones, individuals who are motivated by blood lust and those who have no such appetites. […]
Provided you are not forcibly stopped, you can do anything at all. If you are born at the right time, with some access to family fortune, and you have a special talent for whipping up other people’s hatred and sense of deprivation, you can arrange to kill large numbers of unsuspecting people. With enough money, you can accomplish this from far away, and you can sit back safely and watch in satisfaction. [Emphasis mine] [12]
Far from being the kind of criminal psychopaths who are the serial killers of celluloid, the real destroyers of civilisation are the garden variety humanoids you might find in everyday life. What Stout describes above is exactly what characterises most of the Establishment institutions of our day. High level psychopaths corral the public into perpetual wars, economic insanity and repetitive social policies devoid of imagination and creativity but replete with CoIntelpro programs appealing to all social classes and psychological profiles. Power must be maintained for a minority and power for its own sake is the psychopath’s aphrodisiac.
When you have established a network of hierarchical systems over a considerable period of time, it is relatively easy to inculcate normal people towards a pathological perception of reality, thus giving more and more protection to a burgeoning psychopathic elite. Robert Hare makes this pertinent observation: “Try to imagine someone who seeks power for no reason other than to have power, or someone who deceives just to experience the delight of having done so. Or someone who tortures another person physically or emotionally for the enjoyment of watching them suffer. Imagine someone doing these things, and not losing a moment of sleep at night (zero remorse).” And most importantly: “… add to all this, the ability to conceal themselves from an extremely naive public”. [13]
We are like a herd of wildebeest being observed by crocodiles from the deep water, or a grazing herd of gazelles under the eyes of cheetahs crouching in the grass. The thrill of the chase (the act of deceiving) is just as thrilling to the essential psychopath as the final kill, whether literal or not. As psychologist Dr. Anna C. Salter mentions: “Deception is not just a by-product of deviant activities for the psychopath; often it is the main event.” [14]
There are many methods by which the psychopath quarries its prey just as there are variations of psychopaths and psychopathic tendencies. They are acutely aware that they are different to normal people and disturbingly enough: “… learn to recognize each other in a crowd as early as childhood… develop[ing] an awareness of the existence of other individuals similar to them.” [15] A narcissistic culture helps maintain the camouflage of psychopathy by erecting ego-fed barriers against anyone who has been duped or fooled by the psychopath. That is, people would rather go along with the manipulation and herd mentality rather than admit what they intuitively feel to be right. Moreover, a mass psychosis akin to the psychological impairment of “Stockholm syndrome” where the abused comes to love their abuser may well be in operation.
Our own collective self-importance is proving to be a boon in protecting evil. When built from a foundation of fear and insecurity cherished beliefs are wide open to being torn down at some point along the trajectory of pathocratic inculcation and are an essential part of the fall of Empires. Such an event can be extremely painful and can cause extreme cognitive dissonance in the victim when embroiled in the psychopath’s deadly games. This is why self-knowledge must replace ignorance on this issue, as much for a person’s potential to grow and expand their awareness as it is for society as a whole to get past beliefs which allow evil to continue undeterred.
There are also a number of secondary psychopaths that exhibit the same traits, though with modifications. These include being prone to stress, worry or guilt and the avoidance of pain. In other words: the obstruction of their formidable desires. They have vestigial conscience which is eclipsed by the lure of vicarious temptations the satisfaction of which forms the core reason for their lives. There are those who are governed by powerful sex drives and unpredictable rages where the endorphin rush leads them to risk-taking and any illicit or illegal indulgence. Others prey on the victims using charisma and charm with the ability to attract as if casting a spell. Lies and almost supernatural persuasion are an integral part of the psychopath’s emotional weaponry. They are often irresistible which is why so many women fall prey to their machinations. (Though there are also female psychopaths the data at the present time suggests the number is lower. However, this may be due to cultural camouflage and natural discourse of disbelief regarding the idea of female psychopathy as we shall see). [16]
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As discussed, there are still those who posit that the psychopath can be cured or that it is the environment that is a defining factor in producing primary or essential psychopathy. Such approaches are not in alignment with the facts however, and play right into their hands. Most psychopaths would gladly support such an approach and greedily use new curative processes as a means to pull the wool over the eyes of their assigned psychologists that they “getting better” or have “miraculously changed.” The statistical truth shows a different story. Scores of studies have repeated the same findings which show that the attempts to cure psychopaths merely gives them new and useful psychological information which they use to dupe their therapists and future victims. [17] The very notion of psychotherapy in this context could be erroneous from the outset as one journalist mentioned: “It is the conscience, and the related capacity for concern for others, that drives the serious scrutiny of one’s motives, which underlie one’s behaviour. Yet psychopaths lack conscience and concern by definition.” [18]
Faulty wiring in the brain and a suitable set of genetic indicators may denote a condition that is incurable because it is natural for that person. However, such individuals may respond to medication whilst steps are taken to make sure that they live their lives away from positions of responsibility and influence.
To underestimate the depths to which the psychopath is prepared to go to achieve his or her aims is to assist the fulfilment of their primal desires. The emergence of psychopathy in any given culture has profound implications for the future psychological health. We have seen the effects of a critical mass of psychopaths who hijack centres of power to create a Pathocracy. Such a process does not lend itself to simplistic appraisals. It may be sometime before we can truly understand the trajectory of evil and how it manages to maintain its freedom and impunity.
Robert Hare reiterates this point in the following extract:
It is true that the childhoods of some psychopaths were characterized by material and emotional deprivation and physical abuse, but for every adult psychopath from a troubled background there is another whose family life apparently was warm and nurturing, and whose siblings are normal, conscientious people with the ability to care deeply for others. Furthermore, most people who had horrible childhoods do not become psychopaths or callous killers. Illuminating as they may be in other areas of human development, the arguments that children subjected to abuse and violence become abusive and violent adults are of limited value here. There are deeper, more elusive explanations of why and how psychopathy emerges[19]
One thing we can say for sure, is that humanity is gradually waking up to the predator in our midst. And for that reason alone, the future has more possibilities and thus more hope.
[1] Psychopaths’ brains ‘different’ BBC News, December 2006.
[2] ‘The Psychopath’s Brain – Tormented Souls, Diseased Brains’by Renato M.E. Sabbatini, PhD, 1998 Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Brain & Mind Magazine, Campinas, Brazil, Center for Biomedical Informatics.
[3] ‘Beyond Sanity’ By Amos M. Gunsberg, founder of the School for Quality Being Psych News International, Vol. 2 Issue 5.
[4] ‘Oxytocin’s other side’ By Beth Azar American Psychological Association, March 2011, Vol 42, No. 3 page 40.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Thanks, Mom!’ by Tiffany O’Callaghan, ‘Time Magazine, June 7, 2010.
[7] ‘Psychopaths’ Brains Wired to Seek Rewards, No Matter the Consequences’ Science Daily, Mar. 14, 2010.
[8] op.cit. Hare (p.147)
[9] Ibid. (p.46)
[10] Ibid. (p.42)
[11] ‘The Psychopath – The Mask of Sanity’ by Laura Knight-Jadczyk and members of the Quantum Future School; a Special Research Project of the Quantum Future School. http://www.cassiopaea.com.
[12] Stout (p.1-2)
[13] Ibid. (p.48)
[14] (p.123) Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, And Other Sex Offenders (2004) By Anna C. Salter
[15] (p.151) Political Ponerology Lobaczewski
[16] Abnormal Behavior, Sixth Edition, by David, Derald, and Stanley, 2000. “The American Psychiatric Association that the general estimate is 3 percent for men, and less than 1percent in women [Personality Disorders and Impulse Control Disorders, 238].
[17] ‘Beyond therapy: Some evil can’t be cured’, by Norman Doidge, National Post, January 07, 2000. “…a recent Canadian study on group treatment for 238 sex offenders (rapists, incest offenders) from Warkworth penitentiary in Ontario… includ[ing] some well-documented psychopaths. All were taught to “empathize” with victims, and understand their “offence cycle” as part of treatment. After their release, it was found that those who had scored highest in terms of “good treatment behaviour” and who had the highest empathy” scores were the more likely to reoffend on release into the community. […]The important study by Seto and Barbaree replicated — unintentionally — a 1992 Canadian study that found treated psychopaths reoffend more than psychopaths who are not treated. A larger study, just completed in Britain, shows the same. It may be that all psychopaths learn, in our new ersatz empathy institutes, is how to manipulate better by appearing more caring.”
[18] Ibid.
[19] op. cit. Hare (p.5)
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