I’ve noticed that many psychopaths are very quick to ditch deadwood.  The psychopath does not humor that which ceases to provide value or is otherwise frustrating.  This is especially apparent with acquaintanceships.  The Borderline individual may shift from idealization and devaluation and back, but the psychopath only devalues in this context.  Whereas the Borderline will seek to repair relationships that they’ve written off as dead, my experience with the psychopath suggests that once the friend or acquaintance has been devalued, there is no turning back.  The relationship is dead and gone.

A former close friend of mine lived many thousands of miles away but we would chat daily.  We would send each other gifts and generally enjoyed each other’s company.  One day this changed, however.  I had triggered her unintentionally a few times with my aloof callousness, but a visceral and automatic response of mine to a sad situation she informed me of caused a most triggering reaction for her.  She demanded an apology for my behavior even though she knew that I am a psychopath and thus prone to faux pas related to empathy and concern. I was unwilling to give it.  I was simply tired of the emotional bond she expected of me and tired of the poor reactions from her when I “failed”.  I told her to go away (though in much less cordial terms) and I have not spoken to her since.  I don’t anticipate rekindling that relationship.

Once a person has proven that they are too needy or too worthless, the psychopath ends the relationship.  I know that many neurotypicals often try to rekindle relationships that are on the rocks, but for the psychopath there simply is no energy to spend on that which does not provide the benefit she once enjoyed.  There are no Borderline hysterics and apologies, there is merely cold static and silence as she walks away from the relationship forever.