DO they?
Most people would not even know what a real Sociopath is in the first place. They only know what they have learned from tv.
I would suspect if you have been in a long term relationship and you are actually a Sociopath. You have thrown up a few red flags in the past that might have made them look online for a answer.
If your significant other does know you are a Sociopath even after just a few years then I would say you are not a very good Sociopath or are not a Sociopath at all.
I laugh at the people who come out and tell there friends and loved ones that they are Sociopaths, for the fact that no real Sociopath would ever do such a thing, because of the fact most people with this disorder have no idea they even have a disorder.
True. If they are lucky enough to stay out of prison and live with it long enough to realize that. I didn't even look into it until a few years after I got out.
Hence my name. When I first joined I was still questioning if I was what they diagnosed me to be.
That is exactly what they would think. In todays day and age, self diagnosis is much more likely because of the internet. The downside to that, is that when you are young and you go in search of a diagnosis, they can be influenced by the symptoms and become something they aren't.
"The downside to that, is that when you are young and you go in search of a diagnosis, they can be influenced by the symptoms and become something they aren't."
Oh no believe me, confusion over what disorders are and aren't the person's case is a confusion that surpasses the age barrier. The main difference I'd say is closer to how net savvy or otherwise prone to research the person in question is. It's why therapists are supposed to show a certain degree of skepticism.
It also influences Hypochondriasis, Munchhausens, and Malingering pretty badly.