For serious, just pick up the DSM VI
Auuuuugh!
Okay, I'm bored, and waiting for Jojo, so I decided to watch an ep or two of House from last season. I stopped watching after Thirteen left, and I heard that Cameron was going to leave(I didn't know, at the time, that Thirteen would be returning). Given that they're my two favorite characters, I just didn't really feel like tuning in.
Sufficient boredom, however, and lack of anything else to watch...
Anyways.
Sociopath/psychopath are not diagnostically relevant terms.
It hasn't been for several years.
And by several years I mean since freakin' 1980. Seriously. 30 years and no one in television can get this shit right.
The diagnosis they're looking for is Antisocial Personality Disorder, people afflicted with which used to be called Psychopathy, in the DSM II. Psychopath/sociopath are no longer medically significant. They're the same as the words 'asshole' or 'jerk'. It's an insult with a specific slant. That's all. If you call someone a sociopath or a psychopath, it's just a colloquial insult with the implication that the person has little or no regard for the feelings of others.
No doctor or medically educated person would ever refer to someone with APD as a 'sociopath'. It would be like calling their patient a 'bastard' to refer to the fact that they were born out of wedlock. Sure, it used to have that meaning, but nowadays it's just an insult.
It makes the characters in the show seem uneducated and ridiculous.
To add to that, in this ep, the character is being called a "sociopath" because she doesn't have "feelings". This is another common misconception that no well educated doctor would ever have. People with APD lack the ability to empathize, or, sometimes called a lack of conscience. They don't have the ability to understand that other people can feel pain, or anything else, for that matter. People with APD can often be flat of affect or have less emotional intensity than other people(thus leading to thrill seeking behaviors), but they are still capable of feeling happy/sad/angry/etc, they just don't have the ability to recognize those feelings in others. They are capable of distinguishing right from wrong, they understand things at the same cognitive level as anyone else, etc, all that's lacking is the ability to wince and say 'Ooo' when they see someone getting kicked in the balls in a movie.
That lack of empathy can often lead to behaviors such as manipulation, callous actions, and using other people, because they don't feel sympathy for others, but they still know what's legal and what's illegal, and they can still feel self-pity, hate, love, etc.
The movie Death Proof has a GREAT representation of someone with APD. Stunt Man Mike is capable of feeling a range of emotions, but is incapable of understanding why people would attack and hurt him, even after he tried to kill them. He is aware of his own pain, his own suffering, and feels hurt and even picked on when the women attack him, but he asks them "Why? Why?" as they do so, unable to understand that he caused them pain and suffering when he was threatening their lives.
I just keep seeing this thing pop up, over and over again :/ It happens all the time. I wouldn't mind if it were a character who's just an average joe, or someone in a field that has nothing to do with medicine, but I see freakin' doctors use it on TV, even going so far as to diagnose someone with sociopathy, which is just...mind blowing. It's like hearing a doctor tell a patient, very seriously, that they have chocoholism.
Admittedly, there are some within the field of psychology that use the terms sociopath/psychopath to differentiate between certain behaviors of people with APD. However, these are NOT actual diagnostic terms. They are still used in a conversational manner, or as a matter of convenience to distinguish different types of APD.
Also, while I'm on it, there's no such thing as a "high functioning sociopath". All people with APD are "high functioning". There's nothing wrong with their cognitive abilities. The diagnosis they're looking for is autism. There is such a thing as a high functioning autistic.
Okay, I'm bored, and waiting for Jojo, so I decided to watch an ep or two of House from last season. I stopped watching after Thirteen left, and I heard that Cameron was going to leave(I didn't know, at the time, that Thirteen would be returning). Given that they're my two favorite characters, I just didn't really feel like tuning in.
Sufficient boredom, however, and lack of anything else to watch...
Anyways.
Sociopath/psychopath are not diagnostically relevant terms.
It hasn't been for several years.
And by several years I mean since freakin' 1980. Seriously. 30 years and no one in television can get this shit right.
The diagnosis they're looking for is Antisocial Personality Disorder, people afflicted with which used to be called Psychopathy, in the DSM II. Psychopath/sociopath are no longer medically significant. They're the same as the words 'asshole' or 'jerk'. It's an insult with a specific slant. That's all. If you call someone a sociopath or a psychopath, it's just a colloquial insult with the implication that the person has little or no regard for the feelings of others.
No doctor or medically educated person would ever refer to someone with APD as a 'sociopath'. It would be like calling their patient a 'bastard' to refer to the fact that they were born out of wedlock. Sure, it used to have that meaning, but nowadays it's just an insult.
It makes the characters in the show seem uneducated and ridiculous.
To add to that, in this ep, the character is being called a "sociopath" because she doesn't have "feelings". This is another common misconception that no well educated doctor would ever have. People with APD lack the ability to empathize, or, sometimes called a lack of conscience. They don't have the ability to understand that other people can feel pain, or anything else, for that matter. People with APD can often be flat of affect or have less emotional intensity than other people(thus leading to thrill seeking behaviors), but they are still capable of feeling happy/sad/angry/etc, they just don't have the ability to recognize those feelings in others. They are capable of distinguishing right from wrong, they understand things at the same cognitive level as anyone else, etc, all that's lacking is the ability to wince and say 'Ooo' when they see someone getting kicked in the balls in a movie.
That lack of empathy can often lead to behaviors such as manipulation, callous actions, and using other people, because they don't feel sympathy for others, but they still know what's legal and what's illegal, and they can still feel self-pity, hate, love, etc.
The movie Death Proof has a GREAT representation of someone with APD. Stunt Man Mike is capable of feeling a range of emotions, but is incapable of understanding why people would attack and hurt him, even after he tried to kill them. He is aware of his own pain, his own suffering, and feels hurt and even picked on when the women attack him, but he asks them "Why? Why?" as they do so, unable to understand that he caused them pain and suffering when he was threatening their lives.
I just keep seeing this thing pop up, over and over again :/ It happens all the time. I wouldn't mind if it were a character who's just an average joe, or someone in a field that has nothing to do with medicine, but I see freakin' doctors use it on TV, even going so far as to diagnose someone with sociopathy, which is just...mind blowing. It's like hearing a doctor tell a patient, very seriously, that they have chocoholism.
Admittedly, there are some within the field of psychology that use the terms sociopath/psychopath to differentiate between certain behaviors of people with APD. However, these are NOT actual diagnostic terms. They are still used in a conversational manner, or as a matter of convenience to distinguish different types of APD.
Also, while I'm on it, there's no such thing as a "high functioning sociopath". All people with APD are "high functioning". There's nothing wrong with their cognitive abilities. The diagnosis they're looking for is autism. There is such a thing as a high functioning autistic.