Recovering from psychopathic abuse
(PDPT)
“From recognising and identifying the signs and symptoms, through to eventual recovery, we are here to support victims of psychopathic abuse.”
Being in a relationship with a Person/Partner who Displays Psychopathic Traits (PDPT) is detrimental to psychological and physiological well-being.
Psychopathic traits include superficial charm, lying and deceit, lack of remorse or guilt, and emotional control and manipulation. This Insidious Relational Abuse (IRA) is subtle in presentation yet is detrimental to physiological wellbeing over time. It is often disguised, hidden and misunderstood and the subtlety of its unfolding causes confusion, cognitive dissonance and impaired sense of self and/or reality. People with psychopathic traits (PDPT’s) are themselves generally disguised and often experienced as saviours or carers. They may hold positions of authority and/or responsibility and are held in high esteem.
Their outward charm belies the psychological harm they inflict upon their victims through forms of deceit, manipulation, control and sometimes violence or threats to safety. Because psychopathy is an ill-defined, contentious topic, little is understood or acknowledged about this personality dynamic. Yet there is a pandemic of suffering that goes undetected and unsupported until understood.
Indeed, the fundamental difference with PDPT’s (as I have named them), as opposed to other personality disorders, is the unique combination of: egocentricity and self-importance; measured, calculated actions; self-focus for personal gain; neurological impairment resulting in low/no empathy and ability to emulate unconditional love and care through intimacy. It is the pervasiveness of this personality dynamic and the calculated harm imposed for self-gain, from a place of low/no empathy that I suggest sets this pathology apart.
We are working to build a network of trained clinicians, to whom we can recommend upon request
Jayne Dales-Tibbott is on the Board of Advisors for The Association for NPD/Psychopathy Survivor Treatment, Research and Education (survivortreatment.com). This institute is dedicated to supporting victims of pathological abuse. We support and recommend these sites:
www.saferelationshipsmagazine.com
Recommended reading
Brown, S. & Young, J. (2018). Women who love Psychopaths. Inside the relationships of inevitable harm with Psychopaths, Sociopaths and Narcissists (3rd Ed). NC: Mask Publishing
MacKenzie, J. (2015). Psychopath free. Recovering from emotionally abusive relationships with Narcissists, Sociopaths and other toxic people. NY: Penguin Random House
Dr. Stout, M. (2021). The Sociopath Nextdoor. One in 25 ordinary people is secretly a Sociopath. Who is the devil you know?
