Am I a psychopath!?

[Anxiety Jim]

Not sure if this is the right thread for this, it's a "mental" health problem so I posted it here.

For years I've thought that I'm mildly autistic, but recently this has been moving towards me thinking that I'm a psychopath. Probably quite a unique health fear.

In the past I have been manipulative of others, pretending to be upset to get my own way, saying I felt things that I didn't, saying I would do things I had no intention to doing etc.

Today this was set off after hearing a question that most murderers and psychopaths answered the same way I did, and people who were being asked didn't get the answer I did. Anyway here it is, I'd just like to see if anyone gets the same answer as I did, if anyone does it might put my mind at rest.

A woman's mother dies, and at the funeral she meets and falls in love with a man, but she doesn't take any of his contact information and can't find him. One day she goes home and murders her sister. Why did she do it?

I'm just writing this little bit so that people don't accidentally read the answer that I put. And also to give you a little time to think before seeing my answer.

Anyway, the answer that I thought of was "so she might see the man she fell in love with at her sisters funeral" I didn't hear that this was a question that psychopaths and murders got "right" until after I answered.

Do people think I might be a psychopath? Does that mean one day I might just "flip" and go out and hurt people? I'm really quite worried, should I tell my GP?

Thanks,

EDIT: Just to add my first thoughts after the question were things like, maybe it was her sisters husband etc. I THOUGHT that I had used logic to solve the problem, but perhaps not?

ALSO I've found a link to the question: http://www.anvari.org/fun/Quizzes_and_Tests/Murder_Puzzle.html

[lollypopgirl1981]

my first thought was it was her sisters husband....then i thought maybe there sister feel in love with him to....i dont think I
u are a physopath...ive wondered if im one or worried that im going crazt
y...think its just normal to think not normal :-) x

[mummyanxious]

I have been guilty of those things in the past when I was young and immature so does that make me a psychopath too? I certainly dont think so.

I think the answer just takes a lot of thinking and is clever. I don't think for one second all the people who give that answer are psychopaths. It's quite logical when you think about it so is everyone with a logical mind a psychopath?

[KeeKee]

If you were anything id say sociopath.
I would mention it to your GP solely for peace of mind.
I have read somewhere that alot of people do have strange thoughts and unless you act on them it's relatively 'normal'.
For the question I didn't even have an answer!

[swajj]

I think the answer is illogical. Maybe you just aren't a logical thinker. Hardly the same thing as being a psychopath. A logical person would think "why would she bother to murder her sister if she knew nothing about the man she met. She had no idea how he happened to be at the funeral. Some random stranger turns up at her mother's funeral. She doesn't know him and if she doesn't know him then why on earth would she expect her sister to know him?

---------- Post added at 18:04 ---------- Previous post was at 18:01 ----------

btw I've probably know at least 10 people in my life that possessed the same traits as you eg manipulative etc

None of them have ever murdered anyone.

[JCRyanDenton]

People have called me a psycho in the past when i flew off the handle at them, this only really happened in school and i usually "attacked them"...which not once have i ever badly hurt anyone or even made anyone bleed. Havn't done this in a year and don't intend to ever again, the last people i "attacked" (two *******s who themselves condone attacking people they hate) still can't get over me mildly bruising them lol.

[Anxiety Jim]

I've never physically attacked anyone if that makes a difference? I don't think I've ever had an argument with someone I don't know, when I'm with people I hardly know I go really quiet and ignore things I'd usually object too.

I don't THINK that I have the stereotypical "no emotions" of a psychopath, I quite often cry at films etc far more than any of my other male friends.

A few times I have created a fake facebook profile to talk to someone I'm too scared to talk to, or just to see what I can find out about people, and quite often I end up having arguments with people from the fake profiles. I only do this to people I already know, but my reasoning for it has always been I'm saying things i'm too scared to say when they know it's coming from me, I see the anonymity as a kind of shield. As well as suffering from health anxiety I suffer from social anxiety too, so the anonymity gives me confidence. Even with all of that "reasoning" I know it's a pretty messed up thing to do, and I usually regret doing it and delete the fake profiles.



I think the answer is illogical. Maybe you just aren't a logical thinker. Hardly the same thing as being a psychopath. A logical person would think "why would she bother to murder her sister if she knew nothing about the man she met. She had no idea how he happened to be at the funeral. Some random stranger turns up at her mother's funeral. She doesn't know him and if she doesn't know him then why on earth would she expect her sister to know him?

I thought that I was thinking logically, it's not a logical thing for the woman in the question to do, but that's different to me not thinking logically. I think you may have misunderstood the question, the question says why DID she do it, not would she do it.

[JCRyanDenton]

A few times I have created a fake facebook profile to talk to someone I'm too scared to talk to, or just to see what I can find out about people, and quite often I end up having arguments with people from the fake profiles.

I have done that a few times, often to see what the person is really like, since most people are often too afraid to show their true self to me.

The two people i mentioned, well i did that once on Steam to one of them (thing PC gamers use), they ended up threatening me all because of something i did a year ago. I often don't have an issue with being insulted these days, but i don't take threats lightly.

[swajj]

Sorry but that isn't logical thinking. Why would there be any reason for the man to turn up at her sister's funeral? The scenario states that she knew nothing about the man so why would she expect him to turn up at her sister's funeral? Unless yopu are thinking he just turns up at whatever funeral is happening at the time. The fact that the scenario states that the woman didn't know the man at all indicates that there was no connection between her sister and the man.

[Anxiety Jim]

have done that a few times, often to see what the person is really like, since most people are often too afraid to show their true self to me.

The two people i mentioned, well i did that once on Steam to one of them (thing PC gamers use), they ended up threatening me all because of something i did a year ago. I often don't have an issue with being insulted these days, but i don't take threats lightly.

Perhaps I'm just a social & health anxiety suffering internet troll? The closest I've ever came to attacking someone is punching my brother in the arm, not even that hard. My usual response to conflict is to walk away and then cry. But what worries me is that one day I might go crazy and lose control, even though I never have... maybe it's just my anxiety making me think that? Psychopaths don't worry about this sort of thing do they???



The fact that the scenario states that the woman didn't know the man at all indicates that there was no connection between her sister and the man.

No it doesn't; as you said she didn't know the man at all, but he had a connection with her mother...

My answer is the only reason I can think of that she did it, without adding in extra information to the question. It's not a clever thing for her to do, but the question isn't, how can she find the man, it's why did she kill her sister. My answer was that the woman thought the man MIGHT turn up at the sisters funeral.

[joelhall]

Do you feel empathy for people? Feel remorse? Able to control your actions?

Although most killers may be psychopathic, most psychopaths are not violent or killers. Most murders by psychopathic killers tend to be emotional reactions, rather than simply cold-clooded killings.
There are numerous personality and psychological disorders which are characterised by combinations of different behavioural traits, which really should be evaluated by a specialist.

[JCRyanDenton]

Do you feel empathy for people? Feel remorse? Able to control your actions?

Although most killers may be psychopathic, most psychopaths are not violent or killers. Most murders by psychopathic killers tend to be emotional reactions, rather than simply cold-clooded killings.
There are numerous personality and psychological disorders which are characterised by combinations of different behavioural traits, which really should be evaluated by a specialist.

I felt remorse every time i had one of my violent episodes, but nowadays i prefer to get my own back on people in non-violent manners, such as what i just described with the two people i mentioned.

[CaffinatedCathy]

My first thought ... It is her sisters husband, yes that makes sense that she's kill her sister ... O_O

I got my husband to read it and he said there wasn't enough logic... why would she now know whom the man was if he was her sisters husband ... especially as she went 'home' to kill her sister', indicating her sister lives with them and being he husband, once would assume he would too.

--------------------------

I also have had thoughts that I am a psychopath too, I have some tendencies which lean in that way but honestly i think everyone would. We'd be a dull race of people if we weren't all weird in some way.

[joelhall]

I felt remorse every time i had one of my violent episodes, but nowadays i prefer to get my own back on people in non-violent manners, such as what i just described with the two people i mentioned.
Doesn't sound typical of psychopathy, although the information we get in clinical med over covers the basics. It may be related to a personality disorder.

[Freaked]

Haha, AnxietyJim i got the 'psycopath' answer as well, but I'm not worried I'm a psycopath. It just depends on whether you're used to a certain sort of brain teaser I'd say.

I'm a final year psych student, and trust me, you don't have antisocial personality disorder (the modern term for psycopath). You would not be suffering from anxiety if you did. That's one of the defining traits of psycopaths that most people don't know about - they don't have fear or worry in the same way as other people.

Simply put, very few psycopaths have ever worried they were psycopaths and they rarely (if ever) make any effort to actually change. That's what makes them so frustrating for mental health workers in prisons.

[Anxiety Jim]

Haha, AnxietyJim i got the 'psycopath' answer as well, but I'm not worried I'm a psycopath. It just depends on whether you're used to a certain sort of brain teaser I'd say.

I'm a final year psych student, and trust me, you don't have antisocial personality disorder (the modern term for psycopath). You would not be suffering from anxiety if you did. That's one of the defining traits of psycopaths that most people don't know about - they don't have fear or worry in the same way as other people.

Simply put, very few psycopaths have ever worried they were psycopaths and they rarely (if ever) make any effort to actually change. That's what makes them so frustrating for mental health workers in prisons.

Thanks for you input, I'm glad someone else got the psychopath answer eventually! ha ha. Perhaps it is because I do like to try to work out brain teasers like that.

I've read that "secondary" psychopaths have high anxiety, which I why I thought I might be one. Have you studied psychopaths at uni?

It's good to know that psychopaths don't worry about being one, and they try to change, because that's exactly what I'm doing. Constantly for the last few days I've been thinking "I don't want to be a psychopath" & "can I be cured?"

Whether this is of any importance I don't know. For as long as I can remember whenever I'm trying to think something over in my head, I always imagine a conversation between me and a doctor, friend, family etc

Is that normal? I'm not really aware that I'm doing it. It's not voices in my head though, I just play out both sides of the conversation, and it helps me work things out... maybe my brain is just wired up really weirdly! ha ha.

[Freaked]

No that's not weird; it's a very common thing to do. I do it myself.

Yeah we did learn about antisocial PD in university, mostly in clinical psychology and a little in neuroscience. The way I learned it, the lack of normal anxiety and response to risks and punishment was necessary for a diagnosis of antisocial PD, and I'll admit that I've never heard of a secondary psycopath (or if I have I don't remember). Having antisocial PD means more than just a lack of empathy and being manipulative; unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) there's a lot more people like that. You don't sound like you're lacking in empathy anyway, so that's probably beside the point.

But really, if you're truly worried you might be a psycopath and truly try not to act that way, then I can almost certainly say you aren't one. Also, you probably would have gotten into a lot of trouble in school and all sorts of things like that.

[swajj]

Well then anxiety Jim my first response would be that she killed her sister because she is some sort of psychopath ha ha. I think along the same lines as Joel. There are numerous personality types and a mentally ill person can be diagnosed as meeting the criteria of more than one type. Go to a library and get your hands on a copy od the DSM-5 and see how complicated it is to diagnose a personality disorder. There are different criteria and it takes a trained professional to determine which criteria apply to the patient. Of course you could just be pretending to feel remorse in which case you could be a psychopath! Just kidding Jim! You are not a psychopath and even if you are you are in the wrong place to get a diagnosis. Go and see a psychiatrist.