What are some of the most fascinating diseases?

These are some rather extreme questions, so feel free not to answer if you don't want to. Also, I don't mean to offend you, I'm genuinely curious, because quite honestly, I see psychopathy as very interesting but also potentially very dangerous.

Since as you say yourself, you lack empathy, is the only thing preventing you from harming or outright killing other people for your own benefit that it's messy and you can be prosecuted for it? You seem very calm in your responses, and it's honestly pretty hard for me to imagine you would do something like that, based on how you talk. Though, considering what you say, it seems very likely.

Also, why did you choose to comment and explain psychopathy to us? If you're only out for your own benefit, which as I understand it is a part of being a psychopath, wouldn't letting people know about the somewhat dangerous nature of psychopaths be a disadvantage, albeit one unlikely to have major influence on you directly, considering anonymity and all? Would you expose to friends or people you know that you're a psychopath? What about family?

If you had the choice to change the way your brain is wired to being able to feel empathy, do you think you'd do it? Why, or why not?

What about the notion of friendship? Can you see people as friends and think about them in terms of other than how they benefit you?

What are the things you interested in? Do you have hobbies the same way other people do? Do you have any goals in mind? I read that psychopaths are often in high positions in our economy, which I can understand because our economic system fundamentally favors psychopaths, but why do they care? Do you want to be powerful? If so, why? Wanting to feel powerful about abitrary things to satisfy your ego seems very irrational, and although very human, I thought psychopaths think very logical and cunning.

What range of emotions do you experience?

Do you think there is a spectrum of psychopathy?

Have you ever tried to learn empathy? Not in the cognitive sense, I mean. I know engaging with stories on a deeper level helped me immensely in gaining empathy and understanding of myself and others, and I think ultimately made me a much better person than I used to be. Do you think this would be possible for psychopaths as well, although much harder, or straight out impossible? I've read that if psychopathy is diagnosed very early, it has been cured in some cases. Is it just too late for that after a certain threshhold is reached?

When did you first notice you were a psychopath?

That's all I can come up with at the top of my head. If you feel like there's anything else interesting you have to say, please go ahead. Also, if anyone else with a similar disorder reads this, feel free to chip in. Multiple perspectives are bound to be much more interesting.

Should you have any question for me, I'd be happy to answer as well.

/r/AskReddit Thread Parent