Community Chat

[QueenDanceALot]

---

@Noel7 wrote:

There is some debate in the mental health community re: defining a sociopath.  It used to mean someone with anti-social behavior issues, including gamblers.

But now, some in the field believe sociopaths can also not have a conscience.

The serious killers are psychopaths, not sociopaths.

Reminder: not all psychopaths do harm, that's a fairly new finding.  It is thought to be on a spectrum.

---

---

@Noel7 wrote:

There is some debate in the mental health community re: defining a sociopath.  It used to mean someone with anti-social behavior issues, including gamblers.

But now, some in the field believe sociopaths can also not have a conscience.

The serious killers are psychopaths, not sociopaths.

Reminder: not all psychopaths do harm, that's a fairly new finding.  It is thought to be on a spectrum.

---

@Noel7

Serious killers?  As opposed to say, NON serious killers?

As far as I know the sociopath I was involved with did not kill anyone, but it's possible he has.  There have been suspicions.  But he is decidedly without conscience.  

[Noel7]

---

@ROMARY wrote:

Noel:  I'm thinking that they have a 'one track mind', an 'agenda'.  Similar to a race horse wearing side-blinders.    Nothing will 'get in their way', so to speak.  Such an interesting type of personality.  Somehow, some way, some day, this mystery will become more clear to researchers. 

---

@ROMARY

I think that's true for a lot, especially the Ted Bundy types.  He is known to have killed 30 people, but there may have been more.  He lured a lot of girls with his charm behavior.

Usually people are thought to be born that way.

[lolakimono]

I don't believe the school system is concerned about budding sociopaths and serial killers.

The goal seems to be to make relationships within schools- student to student, student to teacher, and teachers to parents.  When students feel connected, they are "primed" to learn.  

They are concerned about kids feeling like no one cares about them, which leads to self harming behaviors, anxiety about going to school, depression, and elevated risk of dropping out.  

[ROMARY]

Noel:  I edited/added to my post.

[Q4u]

---

@lolakimono wrote:

---

 I agree, and the lady with the cat was my dear Mother, and this was ultimately me with my sons.  Humans are not born with the automatic ability to feel sympathy or empathy.  They're taught. Those unfortunate souls that haven't been taught, haven't been able to be taught, or did not learn the ability "along the way" have a very important chip missing.... 

[Ms tyrion2]

---

@QueenDanceALot wrote:

---

@Noel7 wrote:

There is some debate in the mental health community re: defining a sociopath.  It used to mean someone with anti-social behavior issues, including gamblers.

But now, some in the field believe sociopaths can also not have a conscience.

The serious killers are psychopaths, not sociopaths.

Reminder: not all psychopaths do harm, that's a fairly new finding.  It is thought to be on a spectrum.

---

---

@Noel7 wrote:

There is some debate in the mental health community re: defining a sociopath.  It used to mean someone with anti-social behavior issues, including gamblers.

But now, some in the field believe sociopaths can also not have a conscience.

The serious killers are psychopaths, not sociopaths.

Reminder: not all psychopaths do harm, that's a fairly new finding.  It is thought to be on a spectrum.

---

@Noel7

Serious killers?  As opposed to say, NON serious killers?

As far as I know the sociopath I was involved with did not kill anyone, but it's possible he has.  There have been suspicions.  But he is decidedly without conscience.  

---

It's pretty clear she meant serial killers.

[QueenDanceALot]

---

@lolakimono wrote:

I don't believe the school system is concerned about budding sociopaths and serial killers.

The goal seems to be to make relationships within schools- student to student, student to teacher, and teachers to parents.  When students feel connected, they are "primed" to learn.  

They are concerned about kids feeling like no one cares about them, which leads to self harming behaviors, anxiety about going to school, depression, and elevated risk of dropping out.  

---

@lolakimono

That sounds like a wonderful goal, but you can understand how the subject evolved, when it really is an interesting question of whether or not empathy can be taught, no?

[Mominohio]

I'm late to the party on this one, and haven't read all the replies, but there is a definite difference, and I'll leave it as simply as sympathy is feeling sorry for someone or their situation. Empathy is being able to put yourself in their shoes and 'feel their pain'. 

I really don't think either can be 'taught' in the clinical sense, but especially empathy. 

I think it can be brought to people's attention, situations where sympathy would be appropriate, but I don't think you can teach people how to feel (empathy). They simply have to experience it and be able to relate to it because of something similar they have gone through, or that they be sensitive enough to understand how a situation would feel or effect someone.

[QueenDanceALot]

---

@Ms tyrion2 wrote:

---

@QueenDanceALot wrote:

---

@Noel7 wrote:

There is some debate in the mental health community re: defining a sociopath.  It used to mean someone with anti-social behavior issues, including gamblers.

But now, some in the field believe sociopaths can also not have a conscience.

The serious killers are psychopaths, not sociopaths.

Reminder: not all psychopaths do harm, that's a fairly new finding.  It is thought to be on a spectrum.

---

---

@Noel7 wrote:

There is some debate in the mental health community re: defining a sociopath.  It used to mean someone with anti-social behavior issues, including gamblers.

But now, some in the field believe sociopaths can also not have a conscience.

The serious killers are psychopaths, not sociopaths.

Reminder: not all psychopaths do harm, that's a fairly new finding.  It is thought to be on a spectrum.

---

@Noel7

Serious killers?  As opposed to say, NON serious killers?

As far as I know the sociopath I was involved with did not kill anyone, but it's possible he has.  There have been suspicions.  But he is decidedly without conscience.  

---

It's pretty clear she meant serial killers.

---

@Ms tyrion2

Oh, silly me!

[LonestarBabs]

@sidsmom  You don't really "train" for it. The session is likely on a checklist that some manager got from his/her manager as part of either improving department employee satisfaction scores, OR a checklist from HR, OR a new executive, OR some other silly corporate requirement that we are all subjected to (i.e., "team-building") at one time or another during our working lives. Especially in corporate America.

😝