Most people tend to throw around terms like “psychopath” and “sociopath” pretty loosely. We use them to reference people who display strange, irrational, or sometimes frightening behaviors and characteristics. When you encounter true psychopaths or sociopaths, you'll find that there is really no one else like them.
In many cases, psychopaths and sociopaths find it impossible to experience any empathy toward others. They also sometimes explicitly express an urge to hurt an animal or person. That said, being around these people can be quite unsettling and even downright terrifying.
Just take it from these people who recently shared the most uncomfortable experiences they've had with a friend who is a sociopath or psychopath.
Don't forget to check the comment section below the article for more interesting stories!
#1 The Cat Gesture
Someone in our extended family offered to "take care" of my cat to help me save a vet bill. My cat was neither sick or old. He was just very enthusiastic about helping us out with that particular issue.
This wasn’t the first time we had suspicions about his violent inclinations towards animals. At a family gathering, he took the family dog for a walk. He returned with the dog soaking wet. It was December, and he claimed the dog had chased a squirrel into the river. People didn’t entirely believe that story.
He’s not allowed to be alone with pets anymore.
He also tends to leave gatherings without telling anyone, sleeps in the garden instead of on the couch, and rarely blinks. He is just altogether an odd person.
#2 Comfortable And Curious About Death
I've been longtime friends with a sociopath. He is honestly like my brother. We've developed this relationship where he basically treats me like his moral compass.
It doesn't always work. He is still manipulative and cruel at times, but even though he only cares about himself, he tries to be a good person because he doesn't want to be a jerk.
That being said, my most uncomfortable moment with him would have to be when he told me he watched some guy almost die. He told me how he knew he should have stopped watching and helped him, but he was too interested in what the outcome would be if he didn't help. It was creepy to know that as hard as he may try to be a decent person, sometimes he still can't help himself.
#3 Headlines, Headlines
My ex would say, "Headlines, headlines" which meant I would be in the headlines in tomorrow's newspaper.
#4 Do Not Resuscitate
My sister is a sociopath. It took me a lot of years to realize this and stop rationalizing it. I’m a diabetic and have been in several comas. During my last one in 2015, after a year of no contact, she showed up at the hospital saying I had expressed to her that I wished not to be resuscitated. About 12 of my friends shouted her down and I woke up three days later on my own. If I had coded during that time, there would have been a lot of uncertainties regarding whether they were allowed to revive me or not. About four months later, she took out a life insurance policy on me and asked me to sign it... I said no, of course. I no longer speak to her.
I should add that I now have very clear death wishes notarized and copies kept with my doctors and trusted friends. She’s not taking me out that easily!
#5 People to Play With
When they told me they see their friends as playthings.
#6 Armed, Loaded, And Evil
I married one. The last straw was the day I caught his reflection as he passed by. Pure evil and hatred in his eyes. I told him I was leaving the following week. He said, "If I ever see you somewhere with someone else, I won't say a word to you. I'll just walk up to you and shoot you in your pretty face."
I was moving some things out and looked under the bed for a pair of shoes. I found his guns, fully loaded and out of their cases under his side. I went to the cops. Nothing came of it. Fast forward a few months later and he remarries before the ink is dry on the divorce. Yeah, I sleep better these days.
#7 The False Narrative
When he would tell a story that I was a part of, he would make up huge lies about what happened. He would even sometimes switch his role and mine. I would just awkwardly nod my head and wonder if he truly remembered it that way.
#8 Down In Flames
By far, it was figuring out how she dangerous she actually was. I grew up with her until she was removed from the house (she tried to burn it down with us in it).
Years later, I find out her house burned down with her disabled daughter in it. She said it was an accident; a candle left burning or something like that. Possible coincidence, but highly unlikely. She did other things too: she poured paint over every item I owned when I was around 10 years old, slept with a knife under her pillow, etc.
#9 Weird Wallet Argument
I’m an ex-friend of a sociopath.
One time, we started arguing about going to his house. I had left my wallet there and told him we needed to go back so I could get it.
He then started claiming that his parents didn’t like me and didn’t want me at his house. He said since they weren’t home, it would just make it worse if they found out I had been there without them knowing. I just kept saying I needed my damn wallet and that he could easily get it for me. He proceeded to call me selfish and a monster for arguing with him. I was shocked and had nothing to say.
Afterward, he acted as if nothing happened. He asked me if we should get food, etc.
I eventually got my wallet back from him. He didn’t spend any money of mine, but needless to say, we aren’t friends anymore.
Honestly, I didn’t even consider him a sociopath until my therapist made it clear to me that he manipulated me into thinking everything was my fault. He used me just to fill his ego.
#10 The Functioning Psychopath
A friend of mine is a “functioning” psychopath. He has some severe anger issues but knows on a logical level (not an emotional one) the implications of unleashing his fury. He has no remorse. He could hurt his mother and not care, but still understand that the act is morally wrong. He can also be extremely manipulative, and I’ve seen that play out sometimes.
His ego is big. He’s got one of the highest pain tolerances that I’ve seen. He's also a really great cuddler. He’s pretty strange but all in all, he’s a decent person and I admire that he’s decided to be better than his diagnosis.
#11 Working Overtime
He once tried to manipulate me to come in and work for 50 hours, 10 of which would be off the clock so that I didn't get overtime. He knew that if he could keep labor low on his shift, he could get a promotion.
He would also expressively lie to my face, saying verbatim: "I'll come back here in a moment and take over so that you can go on break." He would just never come. Then, when enough time had passed such that a break would be irrelevant, he'd offer again.
#12 An Unwelcomed Sleepover
She told me that if my mom were ever to sleep at our future house, she would taunt her while she was asleep in the middle of the night. Nobody says that about my mom or anyone in my family. I haven't talked to her for five months now and I'm very glad she's out of my life.
#13 Someone's Not Coming Out Unscathed
My sociopath stepfather was being super creepy towards me while I was doing the dishes. He'd been doing his thing, sitting behind me about 15 feet away and staring at me without saying anything for 20 whole minutes while I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner.
I was washing a butcher knife when the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I realized he was right behind me. He was a big guy, and I am not sure how I did not hear him.
I was saying, over and over again, "Get away from me, get away from me, get away from me." He didn't make a sound and went upstairs. I was 16 years old.
#14 Sister's Sinister Knife Encounter
My sister who I no longer have contact with has psychopathic tendencies. My worst moment with her was about five years ago.
She was showing me a new knife of hers, a giant blade with serrations down the back. I remember looking in her eyes and there was this cold, alien look to them. The hairs on the back of my neck rose and I had an inkling that she was going to harm me or something.
She didn’t, but I truly think she was imagining what it would be like.
#15 The Baby Dropper
My sister and her daughter. My niece has straight up told me she’s hurt animals before, but after seeing my reaction, she would say they were just accidents. She is not allowed to hold my baby nephew anymore because she drops him. She blames him for being squirmy,
The look in her eyes is the same look I used to see on my sister’s face when she would try to hurt me, back when we were kids. She is also not allowed at my house because she terrorizes my pets. I caught her throwing my kitten into her travel carrier, then shake it hard. Thankfully, my kitten was fine. This was after I caught her throwing shoes at my senior cat to get him out of my closet. The similarities between her and her mom are terrifyingly uncanny. It brings up a lot of bad memories from my childhood.
#16 Boyfriend's Attempted Bathtub Drowning
My ex-boyfriend tried to drown me while I was taking a bath. As I was underwater, I thought I was going to die. I relaxed my body and tried to save any oxygen I could. I guess he thought I was actually dead and just calmly walked out of the bathroom.
#17 The Quiet Psychopath
In high school and college, I knew a guy who kept files on people he knew. He organized everything into folders, labeled with their names. He took notes about their personality traits, their strengths that he might have to overcome and their weaknesses that he could exploit. I only saw these folders a single time, but I saw him taking notes almost every time I was around him. He didn't even try to hide it.
#18 Quite The Con Artist
My brother is a psychopath. I could tell you so many stories about him. Heck, you could make his life story into a movie. He's an incredible con artist and has never been thrown in jail, despite having committed fraud multiple times and stolen tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars.
My mother has narcissistic personality disorder, which is in a similar class of disorders, and she is far more dangerous than my brother. That said, my brother would probably sell his only child if he got enough money for it. I just don't think he'd be capable of hurting anyone.
#19 Interested In Expressing Emotions
I have a lot of stories about my sociopathic former roommate, but one of the most uncomfortable moments I had with him was when he stared me dead in the eyes and asked, “Bravadu, how can I express more realistic emotions?” He became annoyed when my single answer was, “Have them in the first place.”
#20 The Worst Friend Ever
My friend punched me hard in the side for fun, and even though I was really hurt, he didn't say sorry. He just kept laughing as if it was all some big joke.
#21 Ballistic Over Brownies
My sister was visiting for Christmas and I was making some brownies. I like my brownies gooey and hot, so I cut into them a little earlier than I should have. My sister flipped out and started beating on me, grabbing heavy items to hit me with (pans, rolling pins, etc). All I could do is grab her wrists to avoid taking one to the head.
Maybe it's not the most uncomfortable thing she's done, but when people ask me, "Why is your sister so crazy," that's the memory that comes into my head. Her gigantic freak out over the brownies that I was making.
#22 The Guy With No Soul
I dated someone who had a similar dark sense of humor as me. The week before I finally figured out what he was, he stared at me and I stared back. It was one of those "let's gaze into each other's eyes" moments that went quickly awry... I told him, "It's like I can see all the way through you to your soul," to which he responded, "I have no soul."
All the darkly humorous things he said over the course of our relationship flew back at me in my face and I realized he probably wasn't joking most of the time.
#23 Delayed Reactions
My ex-girlfriend was diagnosed with ASPD and I never suspected a thing, but there were a few odd things about her, like her delayed reactions. When she should have been sad or angry about something, she would wait to see how the people around her felt to know how to properly react.
Also, something scary and unexpected about her was how she immediately turned from a nice girl to a terminator if she was given the slightest hint of betrayal from her close ones. For example, toward the end of our relationship I told her that I realized I didn't love her, and in the next second, she started chasing me with a metal bar to beat me.
But the most uncomfortable moment was when I realized she was totally unconcerned about the safety of other people. One day, while we took a walk with our bikes, I noticed a bleeding man in a ditch. When I wanted to help, she stopped me saying that we shouldn't bother because it would ruin our fun. Of course, I helped him anyway and called an ambulance.
#24 Even Everyday Conversations Are Different
We sensationalize it a lot in the media, but in reality, having a conversation with someone who can't feel empathy is super boring.
Me: "Hey, I was driving to work today and some guy cut across four lanes of traffic. He almost caused an accident."
Sociopath friend: "Okay."
Me: "Alright, well good talking to you."
#25 A Mother With Puppets
She told me she got pregnant on purpose because having children helped her get things. I do not know how to express it in the same way she did, but children were a means to an end. She acts like a really good mom around people she wants things from, but once the other adults are gone, her kids cease to exist to her. They're like puppets after a show. I've known for many years that she is a diagnosed sociopath, but the kid situation has made that fact more clear. I will say, however, that even though I do not believe she cares about them very much, she is oddly possessive of them.
I also do not believe she is entirely capable of true friendship, or any deep empathetic emotion.
#26 A Frightening First Kiss
He was my first kiss.
After he kissed me, he leaned down, dragged his hand across my belly and whispered in my ear, "I want to hurt you and lay beside your unconscious body"
#27 Curious About Cats
He was holding my cat and said, “Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to hurt an animal." I never let him hold my animals again.
#28 The Case Of Self Destruction
His brain is wired so that pain equals pleasure.
He just feels the urge to rip and tear sometimes, but because of his upbringing and highly moral parents raising him accordingly, he never even considers hurting anyone but himself.
He's an interesting case. If you judge him purely on his actions and behavior, he is one of the best people I know.
#29 The More-Than-Creepy Co-Worker
My co-worker has a tendency to say bizarre things. I give him rides on occasion and one night when I was driving him, he asked what I would do if he pulled a knife on me. I promptly told him that I would swerve the passenger side of the car into a street lamp. That shut him up.
#30 Using Others To Get Ahead In Life
One of my best friends had this annoying tendency of manipulating people into doing things for him. He'd also give you this unsettling stare and empty smile from time to time. It was always his way or the highway.
Another friend of mine I met a couple of years back also gives that strange stare and smile. He tends to be highly charismatic and always makes friends if they can be of use to him in some way. He'll be your best friend if you help get him good grades, but if you aren't useful in that sense, he will be snide towards you and disappear. But he's fun to be around, does lend a good ear and is a cool guy to be around overall.
Both of them will be nice to you and do you favors, but only to force you into providing them with your "services" in return. It annoys me to think that they will both probably succeed enormously in life, as society caters to this sort of messed up behavior.
#31 Limb By Limb
My best friend in high school used to catch grasshoppers and rip their limbs out part by part. She would do it slowly too, as to watch the insect suffer.
#32 Completely Unphased By Near-Death Experience
My sister had a baby and the father of her child had a blood clot that nearly traveled to his brain. She never once went to the hospital to visit him. The guy was so crushed that he called me crying. He told me that he always knew something was wrong with her, but he didn’t quite realize, until then, how evil she truly was.
#33 Mom's Misplaced Blame
My mom once said to me, "You're the reason your brother is the way he is," alluding that his biological mental defects were my fault. I'm so glad my husband was there when she said it. It's corroboration that my mom is the psycho one.
#34 Stalking Just For Fun
I believe my cousin is a sociopath. He told me that he has followed people for the sole reason of seeing how hard it would be to hurt someone without anyone noticing. It kind of weirded me out.
#35 Planning The Perfect Crime
I had a friend I grew up with who was obsessed with planning the perfect crime. He would go into great detail about how he would pick kids who had slighted him at school. For years, I just thought he was super into CSI television shows, but then I saw him bully a bunch of baby birds. He wanted me to lie for him and say that I saw him try to save the birds. I didn’t hang out with him much after that.
#36 Charged At By Brother
My little brother would sometimes charge at me with a giant kitchen knife to get me to do something he wanted. I stopped engaging with him once I reached adulthood. My mother laments that we have no relationship with each other, but I guess she never understood the gravity of his behavior.
#37 Liar's Lack Of Proof
I was engaged to a narcissistic sociopath. Probably the most uncomfortable moment (for him) was when I started demanding proof of his claims. Bank statements, tax returns, a credit report, proof of health insurance. He looked at me like a child who got caught stealing candy. Awkward for him. Empowering for me.
#38 Unmasking For A Moment
When I confronted him with the fact that I knew what he was, he kept trying to make me say that he was a sociopath out loud to him. When things started to get too awkward, I tried to steer the conversation in another direction, but he would immediately bring the topic back up. He said that since I knew the truth, I wasn’t useful to him anymore.
Luckily for me, a mutual friend walked by us and he reverted to his normal self again...
#39 "Saving" His Pet From Euthanasia
He told me he wanted to run over his cat. His logic was that it would be a quick death and better than euthanasia because she wouldn't even have time to panic. I bawled. Obviously, to anyone who's not a psychopath or sociopath, that's absolutely horrifying to think of... but to him, it was just a logical conclusion.
#40 An Insect In Disguise
I couldn't shake the image of a giant insect, a praying mantis, interacting with unsuspecting people by wearing human skin.
#41 Threatened With A Truth Serum
This guy I went on three dates with always liked to talk about his violent past (lighting his school on fire, robbing houses, getting into fights, etc). He would frequently bring up how easy it was to get into my house or track my phone. The creepiest thing was when I told him I didn't want anything for my birthday and he told me he would give me a shot of sodium thiopental (he called it a "truth serum") when I wasn't looking.
I also asked him to go to the fair with me one day and he said he couldn't because he had school, so I went with my friend instead. About an hour in, I started noticing that he was following us around the fairgrounds but not walking up to us. I finally walked up to him and asked him what he was doing, and he acted like he didn't see me.
#42 Chuckling About Choking
My ex would randomly choke me until I passed out, and every time I came back to reality the first thing I'd see was his big grin followed by a laugh... I would literally fight him when he did this and he would just laugh while I punched him... He loved showing me that he could hurt me at any moment.
#43 Learning How To Show Emotions
His lack of humanity is obvious now, but as kids, when Grandma died, he was watching other faces to see how to act. He doesn't have his own feelings but needs to be accepted. That was odd to me. It meant something but I didn't know what. He fake cried with real tears at 11 years old. Now he is an adult... A dangerous adult.
In my last communication with him, he sent me 20 selfies. Then more selfies.
#44 Always Apathetic
My brother is a diagnosed sociopath. He’s been my best friend for as long as I remember. He’s smart, funny, and kind but beneath it all, you can definitely tell he’s a sociopath.
He’s told me before that he just can’t bring himself to care about his friends sometimes. Obviously, he’ll try to make an effort at the very least, but his mind is just not wired like other people’s minds.
#45 Behind Her Back
Some dude was hugging a girl while she was crying and he was just laughing to himself with his head over her shoulder. It was creepy.
#46 Cheaters Suck
I found out he was dating three other girls at the same time. I introduced myself to the girls in secret and we exchanged screenshots of conversations we had with him. We were grossed out by how creepily similar the conversations were. Basically, he's a charming dude, until you refuse to give him what he wants. He's just the worst type of guy to be with.
#47 Exploiting Love
She used to brag about her therapist diagnosing her as a sociopath, and then quickly deny it whenever it was ever brought up. I think the moment that put it all into perspective was when she manipulated me into dating her because she thought it would make her ex-boyfriend jealous enough to want her back. It goes a little deeper than that, but that's the gist of it.
#48 Beggers Can't Be Choosers
She stood there crying and begging for me back. I played nice for a while and finally phased her out after 10 years of friendship. She then reached out to me over Facebook about another 10 years later to tell me she left her boyfriend for her now-husband. I don't know what prompted her to tell me that after all the time, especially since that information means absolutely nothing to me. She continues to secretly escort.
#49 Stuck In A Fantasy
This person I know has this megalomaniacal view of himself as a master manipulator who is destined for great things, when in actuality, he's middle-aged now and still lives with his parents, having accomplished nothing in life.
#50 Antisocial Problems
I suffer from an antisocial personality disorder. I'm always respectful to people and I don't hurt anyone if I can help it. I'm charming as heck, and I don't manipulate friends or family. I do, however, have real and serious problems with empathy and authority. One thing I will say about myself to dispel stereotypes is that I relate to animals best of all. I feel we are in the same sort of situation. If I make a mistake that hurts someone, I will learn from it, but don't expect me to feel bad. I am a good person by most standards. I just don't experience the world with the emotional fervor that most people do. It is very calculated.
#51 Maybe You're Crazy
My former roommate was a serious gaslighter. I used to push my dresser against my door at night because he liked to lightly tap his fingers on it and tell me weird stuff before denying it. The worst part is that sometimes he would do this at 3 a.m. in the morning, with the sole intention to creep me out. “Sounds like something I’d do," he'd say. "Maybe you’re crazy.” Not a fan.
#52 Not My Mom, Dude
When he took the opportunity of being alone with my mom for one minute to stare her down and ask if she thought he was mature for his age. I didn't notice it at first, but as time went on, I realized that he started getting more and more obsessed with my mom. The worst part is that he was actually a cool dude when I first met him. Now he's just super creepy.
#53 You Just Never Know
We met through some friends in the bar scene and after some time we got really close, to the point where we'd let her stay at our houses from time to time. Turns out she was an addict and narcissistic sociopath. She didn't even hide that fact. We weren't comfortable with her line of work, but we also weren't about to throw her back out on the street. One day, she got upset because we refused to give her money, so she picked up a sharp object and chased us around with it. That was the final straw.
#54 A No-Remorse Liar
I dated a guy who was apparently hacking celebrities' private files. He completely hid it from me. We met in school and were in a long-distance relationship at the time. He was very sociable, charming and funny but had low self-esteem. He often victimized himself and treated all of his girlfriends the exact same way. I believe he’s a sociopath. No regular person lies that much and feels no remorse.
#55 Weird Emotions
My niece is 10 years old and I seriously believe she is a sociopath or psychopath. I went camping with her one time and we happened to catch some crawfish. When it came time to boil them, she started freaking out. When she noticed me looking at her, and stopped mid-wail and asked, "Does my crying make you sad, auntie?" She had a smirk on her face and her delivery was so deadpan that I couldn't read exactly what emotion she was actually feeling.
#56 Med Creep
Wow. Okay, so I wasn't going to share this one, but here it goes. I dated a med student who out of the blue said, "I wonder what it would be like to cut someone open." I said, "You're in med school, haven't you done that already?" And then he said, "Yes, but I mean without anesthesia." He's probably not a sociopath or psychopath, but that's definitely a creepy thing to wonder about.
#57 Silent Escape
My mom married a bad man and, in a fleeting moment of clarity some years later, she realized something very bad was going to happen if something did not change. To give a little context, we were living in a cabin in the woods with no phone, no electricity, and no running water. There was no escape from her husband's wrath—he was manipulative and emotionally abusive. Eventually, she just left him without warning and moved into the city. He was frantic for a while, but after having no luck finding her, he just gave up. At least nobody ended up in jail.
#58 Voyeurism Is Wrong
I've known many guys who just didn't get why violating someone's privacy is a problem. In fact, I've met so many of them that I wonder just how prevalent that attitude is. In my more paranoid moments, I worry that most people are wearing a mask and have many different values than the ones they show society.
I won't deal with people who don't have a hard limit when it comes to physical violence. Life is short enough already.
#59 Narcissistic Tendencies
My friend actually had a bumper sticker that said: "Stupidity should be painful." However, he wasn't all that bright, just charming and good-looking. He was fun to talk to because he lied all the time in such a shameless way. Though that eventually got old because he'd also say terrible things and I felt like I was going to be complicit in something uncool if we kept hanging out.
I felt like he really wanted to be connected to a group. A lot. He wanted to fit in with a specific crowd and would become whoever he needed to be in order to achieve that goal. He was always on the phone, cultivating his people.
#60 Sociopath Evolution
He started displaying sociopathic tendencies as early as 8th grade. It was around that time that his lies became destructive to further his own goals. His "I don't care" attitude to authority became entrenched and he found in weaknesses in people that he could exploit. From there, it just built up and he started getting into illicit substances around age 18 or 19.
