Is there anyone on here who's been diagnosed as a sociopath (or some variant of the term) who feels they have empathy or sympathy?
I have no desire to seek therapy because I feel any diagnosis could harm my career opportunities. Plus I really see nothing to gain from therapy. But, self-diagnosis isn't exactly reliable.
When I read books and watch movies, I feel for the characters. But, I have a hard time making the same connections with real people and when I do it feels like there's a missing piece. I smiled/laughed when my mom told me that my cousin had died. I told her I was in shock and wasn't sure how to handle the news to explain my behavior. But, I'm not really sure how to explain my behavior. I also love to hear about terrible things happening (car accidents, plane crashes, etc). I think they're interesting. Friends point out people got hurt or may have gotten hurt and I brush it off like nothing. Is it possible that they are just pretending to care and that my reactions are the normal ones?
When I score myself, I got an 18 out of 40 which is below the 30 required for diagnosis and far above the 5 that normal people should get. I also have no criminal record although I scored closest to the 22 of convicted criminals.
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I wasn't aware being a sociopath was 'vogue.' As far as I can tell, it's not. I only wanted to know if anyone was a diagnosed sociopath who felt they were empathetic. They don't even have to actually be empathetic, only think that they are. By writing the information about myself, I hoped to give people an idea of what I meant. I don't particularly want to be a sociopath, but it would be nice to know if I should rule it out.
I understand that asking about sociopaths with limited empathy is strange, at the least, but it is simply one of the indicators on a list of many so it's not as though it's impossible. Not all people with a disorder have all of the traits commonly associated with it.
I guess it's nice that someone replied so quickly, but since so much of what you said was inaccurate assumptions, I don't really trust your judgment. Although responses online are like playing the lottery with rarely a winner.
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