The portrait of the psychopath

They live among us and are not always violent. They lie, manipulate and have no guilt. They make life miserable for those around them, but often difficult 'cazarles.' psychopaths are integrated . Sometimes I get to be charming, but it is only a facade. In relationships, often presented as blue prince and promise the moon. Emerge until the perpetrator-physical or psychological-and the story ends in tragedy.

The emotional bonds are one of the niches in which these people display their personality. The expert in forensic psychology and criminology legal José Manuel Romero Pozueco has chosen the theme for his doctoral thesis on integrated psychopaths in love relationships. "I intend to draw a number of recommendations for the victims, who are the most important are and really have a hard time because they do not feel or suffer , "he says. To protect those who suffer its excesses, the first thing needed is to make clear what is and is not a psychopath.

The term 'psychopath' has more than two centuries old, but its meaning continues to cause great confusion. Proof of this is that there are still statements that exonerated these people or reduce his sentence for the alleged mental illness sufferers. However, scholars are clear that this is not a psychiatric disorder, but a way of being. " They are fully chargeable because they have their intellectual and volitional capacities intact. That is, know what they do and want to do, "says Pozueco Romero.

Himself Robert Hare, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia in Canada has become an indispensable reference on this subject, takes the view that psychopaths are meaner than 'mad'. The diagnostic system developed by the expert (see graph) , called PCL-R, is the tool that is used today worldwide to identify them.

Among the features of this method of diagnosis there are some very extreme, and criminal versatility, poor self-control of their behavior or juvenile delinquency. However, others are much more familiar to us: verve and superficial charm , need for stimulation and a tendency to boredom, impulsivity, emotional numbness and lack of empathy ... Who does not know someone who meets any of these facets? Caution: only considered psychopaths who have many of them and a high degree.