Written By Sasha, October 2024
In this blog post, Psychopaths Part 2, I will discuss the signs of a psychopath in a relationship. The relationship you may have with this person might be a romantic one, or it could involve family, like a sibling or a parent. When it comes to these deeper and more intricate bonds, it allow the psychopath to manipulate and mold you over a longer period. However, the behavioral pattern remains the same, meaning you can still identify them and free yourself from their clutches.
Table of Contents
Attributes of A Psychopath
– When in a relationship
1. Gossiping
2. Pathological Liars
3. Limited Sleep
4. Micro Emotions
5. Low Spectrum Of Emotions
6. Thrill Seekers
7. Shocking Acts
8. Sex – Promiscuous
9. Microagressions
10. Never Take Responsibility For Their Actions
Other Signs To Look Out For
Conclusion
The Scorpion and The Frog
Attributes of A Psychopath
When in a relationship
Signs to look for when in a relationship with a psychopath. The person could be a lover, your boss, a coworker, or a sibling.
- Gossiping
Gossiping is a common trait among psychopaths. They resort to this behavior to create drama and conflicts between people. Thoughts and perceptions are manipulated by turning friends, family, and acquaintances against one another or against you.
If you have a relationship with a psychopath try to keep them, your family, and friends separate. Above all, do not believe the stories they are telling you about other people. Always double-check their story.
- Pathological Liars
Lying and exaggerating their stories come easily to them. They often fabricate stories or exaggerate them to manipulate others into thinking, feeling, or acting in a manner that benefits them. Their lack of conscience allows them to fake remorse, care, and concern for others.
Always double-check their story if possible. Be aware though, that some psychopaths are meticulous and can back up their lies with some kind of evidence.
- Limited Sleep
They do not have the same limits as “ordinary” people and don’t need as much sleep although this can vary.
- Micro Emotions
Psychopaths are deceptive by nature. You never really know their true intentions. This is why mastering the skill of interpreting microexpressions can be a powerful asset in helping you reveal their actual purpose. Learning to read facial expressions or “reactions” enables you to discern genuine emotions and thoughts of the person you are interacting with. For instance, if you notice that someone’s pupils dilate during your conversation, it often indicates they like what you are saying or they like you.
- Low Spectrum Of Emotions
It is a known fact that psychopaths do not experience a complete range of emotions. Among a few, they do not feel shame, guilt, fear, or love. These emotions can often be depicted as facial muscle movements.
Recent research, conducted by Aleix M. Martinez, Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Ohio, USA, shows that emotions can be communicated not only through facial muscle movements but also through shifts in blood flow, resulting in noticeable changes in facial color. This means you can see an increase in blood flow in someone’s face if they feel a certain emotion.
When seeking to uncover the truth about a person, I recommend silently observing them for a minimum of three months. During this period, pay close attention to their facial expressions, the visible changes in blood flow when emotions such as guilt, fear, or shame are triggered, and whether their actions align with their words.
Interestingly, in many of my interactions with psychopaths, I have found that the most common emotion displayed on their faces and in their eyes is anger.
Read the full article about blood flow and emotions:
The hidden emotions within our blood flow – TheScienceBreaker
- Thrill seekers

Picture taken by Eberhard Grossgasteiger
They often put themselves in extreme and potentially dangerous situations just to get a kick out of it. These situations often involve activities that most people would consider risky or avoid altogether. Examples of such behavior include willingly traveling to high-risk countries, diving in shark-infested waters, and engaging in wilderness camping despite explicit warnings about the potential dangers posed by wildlife in the area.
- Shocking Acts
They can perform shocking acts to elicit a response from people around them or to embarrass you in some way. In my experience I have met psychopaths who drank urine from sick patients we took care of. Ran around naked in Buddhist monasteries or argued loudly with me in public. These examples provide just a glimpse into the “shocking” behaviors, you get the drift.
- Sex – Promiscuous
They are promiscuous and usually very good at sex. However, this is not because they enjoy sex so much. Psychopaths experience sex in a very different manner than non-psychopaths. Their arousal stems from gaining a sense of power, boosting their ego, fighting boredom, and seeking a rush or thrill. An example of this is having sex with prostitutes, which can be considered an exhilarating and thrill-seeking activity for them.
They use sex as a means of control and manipulation. If they notice an opportunity for manipulation or personal gain, they will make a significant effort to ensure that you enjoy the sex as much as possible and attain maximum pleasure from it. Nonetheless, the sex is theatrical and not genuine. One intent with this is to ensure that their partner reaches orgasm, while the partner fails to return it. The manipulation tactic can generate a sense of guilt leading to feeling indebted to them.
Another common occurrence when it comes to their promiscuity is that they look for a person who will agree to their sexual demands, helping them “blow off steam”. The type of sex preference can be a Master and Slave scenario, BDSM, or any other kind of degrading sex.
- Microaggressions
They give you backhanded compliments, such as, “You are pretty smart for someone who did not go to college”, “You are so brave for wearing that outfit” or “I have never seen you look so nice in a picture before”. The compliments have an underlying mean streak and do not feel genuine.
- Never Take Responsibility For Their Actions
A psychopath never takes responsibility for their actions. On rare occasions, they could acknowledge their behavior, although they tend to downplay it significantly. This pattern of deflecting responsibility is a very common characteristic.
Sidenote
Mask your own emotions
Develop the ability to mask your emotions, so they do not become apparent on your face and by your reactions. This is how psychopaths read you, they assess your triggers by your facial expressions and physical reactions. In this way, they can develop and tailor a manipulation strategy just for you. Practice on maintaining a composed demeanor, staying cool, calm, and collected at all times. By remaining unreactive to their provocations, you diminish their interest and control over you.
Other Signs to look for:
- Loners
- Cold
- Cruel
- Neglectful
- Aggressive or hostile
- Usually not violent – calm and composed – except if they want to provoke a person
- Manipulative
- Psychopathy is mostly about manipulation, not physical violence. It’s about psychological violence.
- Verbally abusive
- Disregard for rules, laws, and norms.
- No remorse. No loyalty
- Equanimity – when committing violence.
- Incapacity to feel guilt
- They are incapable of feeling LOVE or empathy for ANYONE! They never get emotionally close to anybody. True psychopaths cannot feel love and cannot be in love.
- Impulsive
- Egocentric – The whole world revolves around them; they only look out for themselves.
- Grandiose
- Arrogant
It is easy to confuse a psychopath with a narcissist because psychopaths exhibit narcissistic traits. However, distinguish them by checking for emotions that psychopaths lack. A narcissist is capable of feeling love, fear, and shame, which often show on their face at some point, unlike a psychopath.
You can find more information about their behaviors in my previous blog post https://expandinspirit.com/2024/10/07/13-warning-signs-of-a-psychopath/
Conclusion
When dealing with a psychopath, remember that they are incapable of feeling love. If you find this confusing, please understand that they do not love you and never will. This was a major source of confusion for me when I left my ex-boyfriend. I struggled to comprehend that he never loved me and that all the affection he showed was merely an act. To understand his actions better, think of the 1933 Russian fable “The Scorpion and the Frog” from Lev Nitoburg’s novel The German Quarter.
The Scorpion and The Frog

Picture taken by Andrey Tikhonovskiy
A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: “I am sorry, but I couldn’t resist the urge. It’s in my nature”.
– Wikipedia
Amy Mayfield-Beyer
Interesting read and great advice! Thanx for sharing!
spirit.expanding
Thank you so much Amy ❤️ Much love to you ❤️
Corrinne
Such a great post! These people are everywhere! I’ve definitely worked for a few, that’s for sure. Thanks for sharing your insight! ❤️
spirit.expanding
Thank you Corrinne ❤️
Fransic verso
It’s important to know these signs and avoid psychopaths as early as possible to have a healthy life, These make life so awful. Very informative and hope many people read this article.
spirit.expanding
Thank you Fransic! I agree. The sooner we spot the behavior the better. ❤️