I don't want to derail this, so I'll just say that I myself dated one for 4 (almost 5) years. For many, myself included, to understand sociopathy requires direct exposure to it. It seems like there are some universal things that happen in these situations.

For clarity, I've listed a handful of the most common responses from victims discussing the aftermath of their abusive relationship with a sociopathic individual. Understandably, many of these require professional intervention. Not being the aim of this thread, which is to collect the personal observations of those who have gone through the recovery process with or without the assistance of a mental health professional.

• Feelings of insanity; seriously questioning one's grasp on reality. Even if a victim has had no previous psychological conditions, they feel like they do. This is a particular tool that the sociopath uses, colloquially called 'gas-lighting'. Despite it's controversy in professional circles, many have felt it's terrifying effects and believe it to be a very real phenomenon.

• Isolation. Victims may become withdrawn from the world, and find it difficult to trust others. Even if they feel like they can trust others, there's often underlying damage preventing them from recovering. Sometimes the damage is accessible only to a professional.

• Worthlessness. Sociopaths have a tendency to toss their victims aside swiftly and abruptly. Such an event often shocks the other person, and it's the nature of the relationship for them to never get the answers that they need. This leaves a lot of room for self-conscious thought and a soul-unraveling confusion.

• Uncontrollable Stress. It's not uncommon for a victim to sustain enough damage in enough areas of their life to find themselves in what seems like a perpetual stress machine. Attempting to seal one hole only leads to the others letting in more.

• Physical Loss. It comes in plenty of forms, but many report financial devastation, injury stemming from recurrent physical abuse, and emotional trauma manifesting as independent ailments related to stress.