When you hear the word ‘Psychopath’, what comes to mind? Most people would think of serial killers or famous Hollywood characters such as Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. The truth is, they make up about 1% of the population as per Live Science, and they aren’t always serial killers. Psychopathy is not an official diagnosis but refers to a combination of behavioral traits including: antisocial behavior ‘callousness’ and low levels of empathy and interpersonal emotions.
Did you know there are some common phrases which are a dead giveaway? Author Jackson MacKenzie, who has written a book about dealing with psychopaths, points out specific behaviors that can class someone as a psychopath. Some of these behaviors manifest as tell-tale phrases which may sound normal but are really red flags that you’re dealing with a psychopath.
“You misunderstood me.”
“You must have heard me wrong” or “I never said that. You misheard me”, hearing any of these questions makes you question yourself? Bingo! This is exactly what psychopaths excel at. Gaslighting is a tactic generally used to make victims question their own sanity at the hands of the perpetrator. It is an indicator that the person is using tactics that indicate psychopathic behavior. Psychopaths purposefully aggravate you and then accuse you of getting the incorrect information. Mackenzie states “This is called gaslighting – blatantly doing or saying something and then blaming the other party for misinterpreting it or denying that it even took place”.
“You over analyze things.”
Are you always blamed for over analyzing things or looking into things ‘too much’? Psychopaths will often use accusations designed to foster guilt in a victim instead of accepting responsibility. Mackenzie writes “Psychopaths aim to make you doubt your intuition by constantly planting hints to make you feel anxious and then blaming you for having that anxiety,”. Whenever you find a reason to question the things which a psychopath says or does, they evade accountability by trivializing your concern as overthinking.
“You are crazy/jealous/in love with me”
Anyone who has a crush on a psychopath will be labeled as a crazy person who’s apparently in love with them even if that is not necessarily true. They will once again make you the cause of the problem by emotional manipulation. Mackenzie has a set of tricks to survive this: “No texts, calls, emails, or even Facebook friendships. Otherwise, you can guarantee they’ll do anything and everything in their power to make you feel/sound crazy.”
“You’re so sensitive”
According to MacKenzie, “Psychopaths manufacture emotions in others”. People with psychopathic traits will push you to your breaking point but then call you “too sensitive” once you actually do break. They never take responsibility for causing it. Rather make it seem like it’s your fault.
“I hate drama”
Psychopaths thrive on drama. MacKenzie wrote, “You’ll soon come to discover there’s more drama surrounding them than anyone you’ve ever known.”. Psychopaths will deliberately make statements claiming that they ‘hate drama’ in order to make it clear that they condone negative behavior. In short, people who are genuinely drama free usually don’t talk about the subject, and when they do, they will direct the conversation to solutions, not patently false declarations. While psychopaths seize every opportunity to tell you how much they hate ‘drama’, all the while leaving drama in their wake.
We hope we were able to give you insight into how some phrases reflect psychopathic tendencies. How many did you know about? Leave a comment down below about your encounters with them if you’d like! Please feel free to share any thoughts you have as well!
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