Free Online Documentary: "I, Psychopath" featuring Sam Vaknin

[CZBZ]

Link to the full-length documentary:

I, Psychopath






Warning: course language by none other than Sam Vaknin, of course

Film approximately 45 minutes long

"Psychopaths… we usually only know them from Hollywood movies. We never expect them to enter our real life. But, the psychopath is closer than you think. Experts believe their number to be as high as one in a hundred. Most of them function incognito in high-powered professions…all the way to the very top.

But… it takes one to truly know one. In this intriguing documentary, Sam Vaknin, a self-proclaimed psychopath, goes in search of a diagnosis. In a scientific first, he allows himself to undergo testing to find out if he was born without a conscience. He knows he’s narcissistic and cannot empathize with others. By his own admission, he’s pompous, grandiose, repulsive and contradictory, ruthless and devoid of scruples, capricious and unfathomable… but he believes, he’s not a bad person. What he is is indifferent…he couldn’t care less. Unless, of course, the topic is himself.

Vaknin and his long-suffering but ever-loyal wife, Lidija, embark on a diagnostic road trip. But, it’s uncharted territory… deep into the mind and life of a psychopath. The 47-year-old convicted corporate criminal has agreed to take part in the pursuit of his own diagnosis… meeting the world’s experts in psychopathy in the hope that science will provide some answers for why he is like he is. These experts put Vaknin (and his wife) through a battery of rigorous psychological tests and neuro-scientific experiments.

Vaknin is shocked at the results. Sam, his wife, the scientists, the film-makers – will they ever be quite the same again?" ~Excerpted from website

[Phoenixxx]

I remember that other forum we were on, and that weird woman calling him a psychopath just around the time he was announcing they were making that documentary, and he becoming narcissistically enraged, claiming he was a N!  not a P!

so it was odd seeing him joke on the documentary about being the worst psychopath.

He is such an odd creature.

What I came away from that documentary with, was an even less dimensional view of Vaknin than I had when he tried to annihilate us (remember that?).  When youre in a room, or even a forum with someone like him, the air seems buzzing with their toxicity.  They already dont seem quite...normal?  human?  deep?  authentic?  But to see someone like him through the added extension of a filmmaker's eye removes me even one more step, and he becomes flatter and more flimsy as a person, doesnt he?  Like those Indonesian shadow puppets - menacing faces, but flimsy pieces of rice paper nonetheless.

What I was struck by was his tantrums when he thought the cameras were not on him...and how just that short amount of abuse so impacted the filmmaker.

And how little Lidija asks of life after having surrendered everything she ever wanted.  That reminds me of when I felt my most ugly in the last 10 years.

I dont know why I still have love for my exS, its not the same, its waned incredibly but my heart still feels something caring while it also feels pity and condemnation.  What can I say?  I've been a ball of ambivalence since I met him.  But one thing I know for certain, grieving the loss no longer exists....whats taken its place, and was so evident to me after watching the documentary is how grateful I am that I'm out of that insanity.  That I dont have to feel the way that filmmaker did...anymore.

[Julia]

This is pretty good. I thought it started out very well especially. It was definately more interesting to watch how the filmaker reacts than Vaknin himself, since he is repetitive, lies, and is self-absorbed. I found myself watching Lydja's (Vaknins wife) reactions as Vaknin was verbally abusing the filmaker...... and that was eery. She always had a tight smile and a glazed look, a look of denial and pain. 

I wanted to see if the film convincingly explains psychopaths to civilians, since that is the intended audience, and for that, it is perhaps confusing and rambling. I think that people who have not had any experience with Ns or especially NPs would think..... "well my dad had an outburst like that once on our vacation and so this is really pretty normal behavior, people get cranky when they are traveling, especially  if they have a camera in their face 24/7 trying to prove they are a monster...." Also, the movie speculates quite a bit about whether Vaknin is even a psychopath at all, or just a psychopath wannabe without explaining clearly that at the VERY least he is hugely Narcissistic. So it was a shame that they did not explain the N spectrum very well, just a bit in the intro.

I enjoyed it because I have read quite a bit by Vaknin, I even wrote him once and he responded, but it was a canned answer.  Like many here, when my NH first got the diagnosis and I googled Nism, Vaknin is what comes up first on the search engines and so that is what I read. Anyone who is new and struggling to accept that Nism and malignant Nism doesn't have to look like a serial killer would do very well to watch this.

Julia

[Phoenixxx]

I was giggling a little when Vaknin scored much lower on the narcissism part of the Psychopath interview, than most other P's...and that his answers more closely resemble those of institutionalized P's, than the corporate ones.

I get my moments of smugness too from time to time, what can I say?

[Julia]

Phoenix, yes I watched that as well. I was wishing that we could watch the psychologists' reactions to the film. THat would have been interesting. The comment about stealing Faye Duniways butler, who used to be Prince Charles's butler begged to be followed up on.

Julia

[CZBZ]

Loved and hated watching this documentary. I liked seeing Vaknin in the flesh instead of reading malicious messages (some of them towards me directly) but my sadness was 'triggered' watching Lydia with whom I could identify just a little too close for comfort. Like you, Julia, I saw myself and my reactions when the X threw a temper tantrum or mistreated people. Maybe my first message should have warned people about that before they watched the documentary. Vaknin's brutish language is far less shocking than identifying with Lydia (who seems to believe he's a wounded widdle boy deep down inside and OH, SO MISUNDERSTOOD by others who just don't know him like she does.) 

I hope more people watch this film and start discussing Sam Vaknin, narcissistic psychopath...especially now that the doors have been thrown wide open. In the past, back when first learning about NPD (2002), if you didn't follow the party line, or if you started thinking critically about Vaknin's book, Malignant Self-Love, you got burned at the stake like heretics questioning the Bible. LOLLOL! And maybe y'all think this is dramatic, but if you didn't bless Vaknin's name and thank him for telling you what a scumbag you were, you were subjected to the Narcissism Inquisition. Vaknin's fans are loyal and lemme tell ya, some of 'em are relentless.

Last time the stylist cut my hair, she asked me what those singe marks were on the back of my head..........


Hugs,

CZ

[Phoenixxx]

hahahahaha!!!

SO TRUE!!!

My very first support forum was moderated by Vaknon's who guilted me, shamed me, argued with me, insulted me even because I wasnt sure at that point if my ex was a N or not, and I wanted to keep not knowing until I knew...not until I was so browbeaten by the lynch mob.  But since feeling chased away from that first forum, I've been knocked off and banned from a number of Vaknon forums precisely for questioning things he has said, or daring to say sometimes its not all its cracked up to be.  That forum where you and I met, wasnt moderated at all, a whole other ball of stinky fish, but I got to see the viciousness behind the banning and deleting when Vaknin himself turned his  sites on me, with that weird woman groupie to follow.

Theres something very much like fresh air blowing in, now that he's become that shadow puppet.

To be truthful, the forums I have been visiting over the last year, I hear his name spoken very little, and even when I do, I talk about the small contribution he made to my understanding...but he offers nothing at all for any hope of recovery.  Is it that the Vaknon tide is is ebbing?

[Julia]

CZ, I am glad that I have never been attacked like that. I would throw up my hands and say "well, ok, good luck with your healing........" And talk to other people. Which is probably what you did......

I watched and posted about   the other psychopath documentary you linked for us, the one about the psychologists, prisoners, and business suit Ns. I said that it was less triggering, and that is definitely true. I also just realized that I am PAST being triggered at this point CZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I suspect that you can appreciate how important that statement is.

It is incredible to get to a point where you just expect the bad selfish behaviors from an N. You understand and admit the truth about the N not only in your mind but in the very deepest part of your heart. It lets you really let go: of the crazies, of wondering "what if.......?" and all of the cr#8 that the N said to you, that you believed. It is freeing, as you know. After that, seeing an N be an N is just more academic.

I met a mild N at a Thanksgiving dinner a couple weeks ago. An acquaintance had told me that this guy has been separated for years, that his wife is stringing him along, that he hopes to reconcile.....but it isn't going to happen, and so they wanted us to meet. Well, he was a terrific boor right off the bat. One of those types who tells incredibly bad jokes at the Thanksgiving table (What would the pilgrims be famous for if they were still alive? ...being really old....) long, LONG after people are looking at him with glazed looks and changing the subject. He told like 15 of these.......

He then proceeded to home in on my housemate who talked to him because she felt apologetic for glaring daggers at him at the dinner table.... He was pompously academic and ignored the rest of the group which included many nice elderly folks including the parents and in-laws of this guys best friend...... And my housemate chatted animatedly away with this guy. I thought maybe she really liked him and was concerned for her. I saw red flags, then more flags, certainly enough to keep a good distance and avoid him. My housemate (who has quite a past with Ns and is just starting to understand all of this) got a text message an hour after we left. He said how surprisingly nice and unexpected it was to find someone of her caliber at the party.... and gave her links to all the books they had discussed. She was appalled and worried about him stalking her.... really over the top worries. She said she was never going to go to her very good friends house again if he was going to be there....... and I managed to talk her down and get her to see that all it takes is setting some boundaries. Boundaries she failed to set that night but could choose to set next time.

So it is good to get to the point where you see N types and stay clear; where you are not a potential victim. I am educating my housemate obviously. SHe  is very ready to hear about all of this.

I talked with her about the psychopath documentaries and she was shocked to hear me say that the Catholic priests and bishop who serially abused boys for years are likely psychopaths. Hey, in my definition, pedophiles are Ns by definition. Correct me if I am wrong CZ. Interestingly the "cure rate" for pedophiles is the same as for Ns -- about 4 %. Civilians really don't get this stuff and we have a lot of educating to do to get to that point.  So I say bring on the documentaries. It gets people talking. Next time there is an OJ Simpson (and there will be.......) the N word will be brought up. And people will be more ready to talk about it.

Julia

[Flower]

Well, Sam certainly looks different in the documentary than he does in that same ole photo plastered in all corners of the web, LOL! Getting beyond the similiarities in demeanor of past narcissists, especially with their "smarmy" grins, I was struck by his demeanor...a congruency of intellect and condescending ______ in one scoop.

Certain quotes in the documentary leaped up at me and I found myself nodding in agreement:

* They weave in enough truth to keep their victims confused. 
*  Victims just have to be human.
*  Just a belief in the fundamental goodness in people, then you are doomed to be a victim.
   
Well, the last premise explains it all for me. For awhile, I thought I had "N-magnet" stamped on my forehead.   I just don't think one can walk around the rest of one's life thinking everyone is a potential N. What a paranoid life that would be! And it would be like how n/ps live:  Thinking everyone is out to take advantage of them, and to take advantage first.

Linda Board sums it up about Sam Vaknin: "The links to varying degrees about narcissism link to him and helps the proceeds to his book."  Enough said.

Flower

[CZBZ]

"I thought I had "N-magnet" stamped on my forehead.   I just don't think one can walk around the rest of one's life thinking everyone is a potential N. What a paranoid life that would be! And it would be like how n/ps live:  Thinking everyone is out to take advantage of them, and to take advantage first. " ~Flower

I agree so much with what you've written. It's taken awhile to work through what has been described as co-dependent tendencies in myself. At first, it seemed as though I had too much compassion or empathy for people who would take advantage of my naivete and therefore, the problem was ME. You know the retarded cliche: Nobody can make you a victim but yourself. Lordhavemercy, who ever came up with that one?

"Victims just have to be human...Just a belief in the fundamental goodness in people, then you are doomed to be a victim"

I cannot bear living a life in fear of people taking advantage of me, so I don't take it personally now when they do.  It says everything about them, their values, their inability to trust or reciprocate intimacy...so I've chosen to restore my 'trust first' attitude because like you, living a hyper-vigilant lifestyle is mighty lonely and miserable. Sheesh...I still believe people are basically 'good' but now i balance that belief with the knowledge that some people are basically mercenary, malicious azzholes.

One thing that seems to be valuable in a healthy healing process is that we become less and less afraid of rejection. If you can get over the love-of-your-life rejecting ya, there's no need to fear being rejected by a 'friend'. If the friendship DOES work out, we are less inclined to take it for granted. Being rejected by others made every person in my life extraordinarily special. That's been an interesting result. I an even more grateful for my friends.


Hugs,
CZ

[Flower]

Also, CZ, I think, it is also about people firming up their boundaries, not in a mean-spirited sense, rather as in taking action when their sense of self is being severely infringed upon. 

For example, at my former workplace, my boss offered me another job, due funding cuts and noted he wanted to keep me on. However, a couple of others, who did not have seniority like me, were not asked to make concessions.  Those "others" were the proverbial office azz-kissers.  In my younger days, and pre-N experiences, I probably would have just went meekly along. Well, the new "me", ha, abruptly went to management and told them I had that previous job before, that it was terribly stressful and a set-up for failure. I left that organization that week after working there for many years. 

That cliche of "Nobody can make you a victim, but yourself" is bs. People don't asked to be taken advantage of, rather it is others who can be manipulators or in your words, " some people are basically mercenary, malicious azzholes."

My last experieNce got me to questioning myself and reading up some more. However, the result has been I have been able to firm up my boundaries so that I can cut the wolves off at their tails without feeling guilty and even more appreciative of the caring people in my life.
 
Peace & Hugs
Flower


 

[LDW]

Sam Vaknin is truly becoming a caricature of himself... I couldn't help but feeling that he censured the whole film, too bad we once again can't really get others to see what psychopaths do...

[CZBZ]

"Also, CZ, I think, it is also about people firming up their boundaries, not in a mean-spirited sense, rather as in taking action when their sense of self is being severely infringed upon." ~Flower

That's true. As you know though, intimacy requires letting our boundaries down a little (and maybe dropping other articles of clothing but let's not go there....  )

What gets me about Vaknin hanging out on message boards with vulnerable people is that their boundaries are shot all to hell. They can barely tell Up from Down (speaking about my own experience, of course!). To put a malignant narcissist in the same room with wounded people is simply unconscionable to me. There's no profit or gain in the world that would get me to agree to  something like that. Seriously...people with a little healing under their belts ought know better. 

I will never ever forget how fragile I was.

Once Vaknin and I 'tangled', my feet were back on the ground and my boundaries were up and full force. Thank goodness. I have seen him rip good-hearted people apart...put them through shredders like yesterday's newspaper. He's awful. Just awful.

Hugs,
CZ

[CZBZ]

Hi LDW!


All I had to do was observe Lydia and it was pretty clear to me what psychopaths do. That was painful and triggering. She defended him at every turn...believed he was a good guy at heart. Nothing works better for the self-serving narcissist than pretending to be an altruist. The tragedy is that most people don't realize that our 'compassion' has been used against us and unfortunately, they  make assumptions about the partner that are incorrect. Far too often, the partner is pathologized, too. I suppose that's a normal reaction for people who do not understand the enmeshment and brain-twisting we experience once we're IN the relationship!

People need time to restore their true sense of self. It's unfortunate that so many get out of N and P relationships without even realizing what happened to them.

Hugs,
CZ

[Phoenixxx]

you were damn fine tangling with Vaknin as I recall
grace
intellect
and humour.

[CZBZ]

Phoenixxx,

I had never been on a message board with Vaknin until you and I met on Careplace about two years ago (?) O, I heard tales about his malicious treatment of forum members on Suite101. I listened to people who had suffered so much abuse from the man and his cronies that they accused Vaknin of traumatizing them a second time. Until I witnessed his RAGE on a message board myself though, it was hard to imagine how ruthless he would be. I mean, he puts himself out there as a reliable expert and most people assume his 'good will' means he'll treat them with respect and dignity. What a shock to have the man write something scathing and intentionally brutal to someone who appreciated him enough to buy his book!

I know he has been diagnosed two times as having NPD with a malignant syndrome but his history of criminal activities might also qualify him for AsPD. After watching that video, it was rather funny to see that his psychopathy was more akin to mental patients than corporate psychopaths. i'm sure that didn't do much for his pompous ego.

You handled yourself pretty well, too, as I recall. You continued looking for bridges of communication but good ol' Vaknin kept setting them on fire. ha!

Hugs,

CZ


p.s. To those who were not privy to the total destruction of a formerly healthy message board, let me say that Vaknin managed to burn the whole place down in short order. I don't believe the forum even exists today...is that right?

[Phoenixxx]

For all intents and purposes, no it doesnt exist.  One can visit the site but its virtually unusable.  It was a combination of Vaknins online abuse of us and pretty well all the other survivors on the forum, as well as the similarly desperate abuse of his erotomanic stalker that killed that forum.  Remember me, who was such a big supporter of a forum being self-regulated?  Yeah, well, hard lessons learned.  The only time he wasnt abusing me was when he was flirting with me, and as you saw in the documentary, he is very aware of using the "maybe he's not so bad afterall" bones he throws to people in order to disarm them so he can abuse them once again.

I think it must be terribly tragic to be blessed with such a high IQ (in the 180's?) and to waste it so terribly in the one lifetime he gets.  I dont know that I believe he ever had a 5-storey mansion in London with Prince Charles former butler, but I do know that having to live in Macedonia is not exactly a status symbol, and now to be in a documentary that just adds to his shadow-puppetness.  Maybe it is true that as N's and S's get older they just become more aware of the emptiness of life.

I suspect my own exS will have a similar trajectory.

That saddens me.  It seems such a colossal waste of what might have been amazing otherwise.

[CZBZ]

Vaknin may be a genius with an IQ of 180 but he's a complete and total emotional retard.

Heinz Kohut coined the term 'Tragic Man' and i love that description. It fits what so many of us see when narcissists self-destruct. They can have all the support in the world, a loving family, a good-enough partner, kids, bosses, occupations that recognize their competence and yet, they do something utterly stupid and destroy it all. Kohut's description of intelligent and talented people who lack emotional intelligence is Spot On. It's another reason why you just don't want to 'hook up' with a malignant narcissist, even if he or she appears to be a short cut to success. In the end, they destroy everyone and everything attached to them.

I am sorry about the Careplace forum. it was a good place for people to learn and talk with one another. I read some fabulous messages from people there. My hope was to be able to intervene and distract some of the outrageous messaging so people could calm down. I've tried to help other forums in the past too because whenever a new NPD community started up, Vaknin's cronies did their best to kill the place. They knew that a new message board could be destroyed in a single afternoon if they could only flame the paranoia a little bit. We know how these folks do their dirty work...somehow, we managed to survive it all.

I am not blaming Vaknin for maliciously attacking communities but HE is the eye of the hurricane. His affiliates were dedicated to protecting the guy and insisting what a good man he really was. 

I wanted to see just how altruistic this Vaknin person was. I saw, I believed what I saw. I left.

Hugs,
CZ

[CZBZ]

"Remember me, who was such a big supporter of a forum being self-regulated?  Yeah, well, hard lessons learned." ~Phoenixxx

You and me both. ha! I remember how much you wanted to have a self-regulated message board and this touched my heart because when WoN was first created, I am the person who INSISTED we would not delete messages nor ban members. It was a reactionary concept after witnessing people get canceled and banned without recourse (or remorse, ha). Well, setting up a forum with the Rule that it would be self-regulated was like walking onto a battlefield with a target on your chest and six flags saying "Shoot me! I don't have a gun!"

I had to get over myself and and quick...otherwise, WoN would not be here today.

I still believe in freedom of expression and encourage people to Speak Up. I now know that there are people who are not interested in restricting themselves out of consideration for the group. Their intentions are malicious and they cannot be reasoned with.

We no longer have problems with malicious interlopers. Thank goodness...our forum has weathered the storm. 

Hugs,
CZ

[Phoenixxx]

We no longer have problems with malicious interlopers. Thank goodness...our forum has weathered the storm. 

Hugs,
CZ

well and weathered my wanting/needing to talk about an intensely sensitive topic like suicidal ideation.  I'm grateful for that, how it turned out for everyone, and how impactful it was for me personally...especially after having been knocked off other forums for not "posting according to rules".

I think that kind of sensitivity and delicacy that this forum is run with, is something Vaknin and the Vaknons who run some of the other forums wouldnt know how to handle supportively, let alone have any idea how valuable it would be to someone like me.

[Julia]

Hey, I want to say I appreciate this site very much. My only other experience with a posting site was a divorce group, and the people were kind.....and I was there a really long time and knew people well. But we all had different experiences and it was too hard for many to  believe that not everyone had the same experience. So when they gave you advice, it was not as fitting as the advice here becasue they had a normal ex.  Others were clearly victims of Ns and they had no idea, I mean they knew that they had a heck of an A$$ for an stbx but no diagnosis. I refererred Zoo Mom here from that forum, for example.

I am also relieved that I have NO idea what you are talking about when you talk about abusive followers of Vaknin. I can't comprehend anyone who had come to a forum because of a relationship with an N  trying to hurt a newbie N victim. THat just doesn't add up. Those people must have been Ns themselves. And please do not give me any examples of their nonsense. I do not want to hear it. Seriously Phoenixx  and CZ please do not go there.

Julia

[Phoenixxx]

I wont go there but I will say this,  I dont think those that did act that way were necessarily disordered or power hungry or even arrogant/malicious.  I think what they were, was convinced they knew the one right way.  In fact of all the forums I've been on and been knocked off or driven off, the owners/moderators really did believe they knew the One Right Way.

And of course as we all know, and CZ says frequently, we'll get where we need to go, if anything we need to start reacquainting ourselves with OUR gut, OUR discernment, OUR common sense, OUR conscience, OUR self-esteem, and on and on the list goes.  We need to reclaim all of the things our disordered partners put so much energy into undermining.  And that means what worked for me wont necessarily be the golden path for you.  And I honour you, by letting you figure out whats right for you.

And...I am convinced that militant thinking comes about because of Vaknin's militant thinking.  He is a N or a S, who cares which, and he sells a book thats really a compendium of all of the information he's learned by reading what he described to me once as, the world most extensive library on Narcissism and Psychopathy.  Well of course it is, he feels theyre all written about him.  So none of what he writes is original to him.  What I*S original to him is the stark, hopeless, vicious, venomous way he describes himself, those like him, and those like us who love them.  Bleak.  Thats what he is, stark and bleak and full of self-loathing that often gets projected on the rest of us.  How on earth would any of his followers end up being delicate and sensitive?

I read Malignant Self-Love, and it was useful for a number of weeks when I needed my fog blown away, I needed to read how my exS's thoughts sounded in his head for me to "get it"...but once I got it, what I needed was recovery, and that long arduous path is not supported, encouraged or cultivated by anything Vaknin espouses.

[CZBZ]

No problem, Julia.  Long-term members of WoN back in 2005 know what we went through getting this place up and running. I don't think those troublemakers were focused on  'hurting' the members---just the managers.  It's all about 'turf wars', the kind of stuff you see in any face-to-face group. Geez...we used to have arguments about who got to be the 4-H president. the thing about online disputes is that people say and do things they regret.

I believe that now that online communication is becoming part of our daily lives, people are much much better at restraining emotional reactions.  We know when it's time to walk away from the keyboard.

I originally started posting on a Midlife Crisis Forum....even met Honeybear there. It's still a valuable and active site though I don't frequent the community anymore. Just once in awhile to see what old friends are doing. A lot of people feel a need to 'give back' and they continue talking to newbies long after their personal crisis is over. I love people who are like that!

Hugs,
CZ

p.s. To put your mind at ease, Julia, we didn't have the kind of software on our old forum that we have on this one. On MSN, there was no way to prevent people from signing up with aliases and managers couldn't track ISPs and ban people who caused problems. We have that kind of control on this forum which makes it much easier to manage a safe community. So far, we've been able to ban those nasty porno ads by tracking their ISPs after locating them on a BAN THOSE SUCKERS website. hahaha! it's like magic...I just LOVE our SMF software. We'd never have had the problems we had on MSN if we'd been using this software. We can all take comfort in the high level of security on this forum!

Bless my son's pea-pickin' heart. He's the programmer. And he works for FREE. hehehe...at least for his Mom, he works for free.

[CZBZ]

One caveat to add to this thread:

Normally, we do not discuss other message boards, how those boards are managed, nor managers' credibility and competence. The two forums referred to in this thread are no longer active.

I intentionally mentioned the names of those two communities to specify exactly which forums were being discussed. It's kinda like a History Lesson in how far we've come learning how to create safe communities that are dealing with life-threatening and volatile personal situations. 

Hugs,
CZ

[Flower]

CZ,

Perhaps, I did not pick the best choice of word using, "boundaries." I am now thinking that lower tolerance for bs and speaking out about it may be more accurate.  Does that make sense? LoL!
It seems like a lifetime ago when I listened to and tolerated a high degree of bs and was more reluctant to voice my opinion to the those bsers.  I won't go there either.
I will say though that past experiences has made me more aware, but at least not bitter. Well, take that, back...bitter for awhile.  Life does go on and I realize it is a bitter pill (no pun intended) to swallow for alot of people just being familiarized with narcissism and psychopathy.  TV and movies do a disservice when narcissists and psychopaths are only portrayed has serial rapists and murderers.

Back to Sam.....and I noted this before:  I have a problem with Sam's terse reply after people have poured their heart out:  "Perhaps you would like to read my link, with a link pertaining to whatever the question/situation was.

Phoenixxx,

In some instances on certain boards, people would refer to Sam as my friend. WTF?  Sam's is a diagnosed narcissist and that means they do NOT have friends like most people perceive a friend as being. Narcissists, from my personal experience, see people as objects to be used and will go through the motions/actions of being your "friend" because they WANT something from you.  So, I had my concerns about Sam being on the same page with people who were still reeling and wounded from their experieNce.

I wonder if Sam is reading this. LOL Flower