My disposition vs. a psychopathic disposition

I thought I was a psychopath/sociopath but I'm finding the more I learn about it, the more I'm realising that my disposition is different from what the disposition of psychopaths/sociopaths is..

I'm not inherently disconnected.. I have empathy and all the normal emotions, but people think I don't because of my behaviour.. it's because empathy and stuff like that has different conditions in my world than it does in the world of others.. It can also be ignored in favour of comfort and the ability to do that is based on the fact that i value my own comfort and peace of mind over doing the "right thing"..

My moral system is different too.. I'm not so rigid as most, or believe that I have to be..
The rationale I have is: "If I can ignore tons of animals being killed every day so that people like me can eat, why can't I ignore this person being upset for a few hours because I took their stuff?"
i just don't look at it and I'm fine.. And if I can make it up to them without sacrificing too much, then I'll do that.. I just won't let them know it was me.

From just what you write here, you sound like a normal person to me. Morality is weak sauce, lots of people, maybe most, don't behave morally because they have moral principles. They behave more or less morally only when there are consequences for not doing so. You picked the most obvious example yourself: there is no moral justification for killing animals to eat when you can also live just fine only eating plant-based food. Yet, only 1% of the population act accordingly (and another 3-10%, depending on location, will sometimes act accordingly, when it's convenient and attractive.) But even ignoring this elephant in the room, "normal" people will often do the wrong thing when they're sure nobody is watching them. They they'll steal, rape, molest, vandalize, cheat, lie, run from accidents they caused etc. They'll even kill other humans given the right circumstances.

What makes you think that you have any sort of disposition that would be relevant from a mental health perspective? Can you give some examples of behavior in evidence of this?

I don't know if you woud still count as normal or average but are you sure you truly have those emotions or are you deluded? It's quite possible that you mistake selfish emotions for something more altruistic. Such as you feel a ping of regret in your stomach after doing something bad but it's actually only because it damages your ego, or because you could get caught. Many people mistake pity for empathy. The point is, there's probably no objective morality and most people lack empathy.

Chainsaw wrote:I don't know if you woud still count as normal or average but are you sure you truly have those emotions or are you deluded? It's quite possible that you mistake selfish emotions for something more altruistic. Such as you feel a ping of regret in your stomach after doing something bad but it's actually only because it damages your ego, or because you could get caught. Many people mistake pity for empathy. The point is, there's probably no objective morality and most people lack empathy.

It took me a long time to realise the difference between shame and guilt. For a long time, I thought I had more empathy than I do because I feel guilt very strongly. After doing some reading, I discovered what I feel is shame, and it was all about me as opposed to whoever I was potentially hurting.

Aeva117 wrote:
it was all about me as opposed to whoever I was potentially hurting.

I think this is true of most people.

Well EllaBlack, others opinions should be taken into consideration about your actions, not your internal design. It's hard to compare yourself to others on moral intricacies since it's not something people general have strict rules on. Unless it's something ridiculous like staring down the brown hole of an akita, blood filling dick in hand and poking the entrance to ur bork friends dirty hole in anticipated delight. And really that would only make you a dumbass, not a psychopath.

Please set up your next appointment at the front desk on your way out.

justonemoreperson wrote:

Aeva117 wrote:
it was all about me as opposed to whoever I was potentially hurting.

I think this is true of most people.

I totally agree, I just think most people don't understand the distinction between guilt and shame. They assume they feel guilty because that's the term that gets thrown about, but what they're actually feeling is shame.