Have you met or know a psychopath/sociopath?

[julieisafemme]

Thank you very much for this post. I have OCD and it is often troubling to me when people try to diagnose someone else or assume things about me because I have a mental illness. The stigma is very real. I am very open about my OCD because I am not ashamed of it and I want people to understand that stereotypes about it and other mental illness so rarely touch on the real pain that they cause.

Originally Posted by puregrrl

Yes, there is an Antisocial Personality Disorder, but there are also others, 9 more if I remember correctly (I don't have my DSM at home). They are grouped into diagnostic clusters based on traits. And just because someone has been diagnosed with a personality disorder it doesn't mean they have psychopathic/sociopathic traits. It's kinda like saying that just because someone has auditory hallucinations, they must have schizophrenia.

There is a lot of stigma with mental illness. There are so many people with mental health problems that don't get help because of the judgment and assumptions people make.

When I tell people I am therapist, one of the first things I am most always told/asked is "Oh, that must be scary. Have you ever been assaulted/hurt/threatened/creeped out/etc etc.?" That's because of the stigma.

I could go on forever about it, but I'll shut up.