How To Deal with a Sociopath

Sociopaths are people who look just like you and me but there are certain traits which set them apart and make them ignoble. The word sociopath may give a feeling that these people are serial killers or notorious criminals but this is not the case. They are the ones who could be around you, behave like one of you and treat you well too. But their end objective is to hurt you – not physically but emotionally. For that they may resort to any mean tricks and techniques possible. Unfortunately, most of the sociopaths do not even realize that they are one and they see nothing wrong in drawing sadistic pleasure out of people’s predicament.

If you want to deal with sociopaths, you must understand them a bit. They will get close to you; they may make you feel as if they are your best friend, but they will do it because they intend to get something out of the relationship. Self-interest is their motive but they also derive pleasure by hurting you emotionally. Do not consider them as bad people. Sociopaths mostly have mental disorder due to which they become like that. If you can avoid them, do avoid them as much as you can. This will be perhaps the best way to deal with them. However, if there is no way you can avoid them then here is how you can deal with them.

Show That You Are Not Useful To Them At All

The only reason why sociopaths will come close to you or try to have a relationship with you is their self-interest. They want to extract some benefit out of their relationships and this is their sole purpose. They will use you in every possible way. If they find that your family and loved ones could be of use to them, they will try to gain access to them through you. To make sure they get out of your life start showing that you are not useful to them at all. Even if you have to project an image of a loser do it in order to avoid them.

Keep your money safe. Even if you have plenty, never let them know. Act like a miser in their presence. In fact, start asking them for monetary help. Act as if you are not the man with means and resources and there is no one in your family or friends who could be of any help to them. Once they will realize that you are no good for them, they will leave you.

Break The Friendship If You Have One

Your friendship means nothing to a sociopath. They came in your life only to be able to take advantage of you and get something out of the relationship. Once you realize that you have made friends with a sociopath, break the friendship immediately. You need to understand that it wasn’t a friendship to begin with. It meant nothing to the sociopath. May be you were emotionally connected with them but they were not. If you are not strong enough to let go off such a meaningless relationship, they will continue manipulating and walking over you. So be firm, make up your mind and break the relationship immediately. Tell them that you no longer want them in your life. You will be surprised to see that once they realize there is nothing they can get from you anymore, how quickly they forget you.

Hide Your Weaknesses And Vulnerabilities From Them

Sociopaths not only want to benefit from the relationship they have with you, they also want to see you hurt and disturbed. Their greatest pleasure comes from seeing people in pain. When you have identified someone as a sociopath but you are in some sort of relationship with them, do not ever disclose your weaknesses and vulnerabilities to them. They will make the best use of it for their fun. They will deliberately provoke you in ways which will be painful for you but enjoyable for them. For example if they know that you are hurt when someone mocks you about something, they will deliberately mock you about that thing. Or if they know there is something that you don’t want to talk about, they will bring that thing up every time they talk to you. They will do it in such a way you will not even realize they are doing it deliberately.

The best way to deal with them is to never let them know what makes you feel bad or hurts you. Never let them gain access to your pain points.

Let Them Get No Reaction From You

Sociopaths want to see you in pain. They provoke you for your reaction. When you react they get what they want. So the best way to get rid of them is by not reacting every time they want you to. For instance, if they are making fun of you, you might get extremely infuriated, but let it not show up on your face. Once they realize they cannot get what they want they will leave you alone.