What follows is based on my experience with a sociopath/psychopath whom I considered a friend for over a decade before realizing the true nature of this person. At some point I did a search online and it was an eye opener to find others out there who have had the same experiences, same nuances. It was disturbing to find many of these people believing there was nothing they could do to escape the clutches of the sociopath/psychopath. Equally disturbing were the recommendations on how to handle a sociopath, all involving tip-toeing around this type of criminal.
The sociopath I knew was of the same gender. I never lived with it though it wanted to be my roommate. (To be as generic as possible, I will substitute s/he with "it," which might be more suitable anyway.)
