While very few confirmed psychopaths are prototypical – that is, earning a perfect score on the primary instrument of assessing psychopathy, the Psychopathy Checklist – Revised – it would be foolish to believe that any psychopath is not prototypical in certain aspects.   My impulsivity, for instance, is legendary and pervasive to the point to where I can cite examples from each waking day that interfere with my livelihood.  The space between nightmare and fantasy is often one traveled by the psychopath with her wanted bloodlust.  This concept extends to other areas as well and really we must think of the gray area between fiction and truth.  Those that wish to white knight the psychopath often gloss over the fact that the stereotypes of psychopaths could not exist without the extreme actions of a subset of us.  The only difference, in most cases, between the desire of the mind and actuality is the level of restraint that the psychopath has built up.

I’m convinced that the overwhelming majority of psychopaths that are successful – that is, not imprisoned – deal with a certain duality.  Our minds are bathed in the blood of others that we cannot physically take.  In other areas, maybe our impulsivity causes mental distress as we seek to restrain ourselves from what seems like the inevitable.  Maybe we present a face showing an eagerness to have goals manifest, but between our ears there is nothing but static.  Each of the measured facets of psychopathy often continue in this fashion where the individual has a mind that lives in caricature but a body that exudes caution.  Sure, thought crimes are not illegal, but if another truly knew what resides in our minds, would they be as forthcoming with their company and/or information?

This is what I mean by the ‘space between fiction and truth.’  Those that seek – rightly or wrongly – to defend us from the ill will and thoughts of others cite the relative lack of caricatures among those that are successful.  In reality, there is a fine tightrope being walked, with absolute outward destruction on one side and total restraint on the other.  The psychopath, successful or otherwise, is disordered.  It is a question of whether this disorder reaches totality and we must not forget that the personality of one whom is psychopathic most certainly resides in the realm of caricature.  The space between fiction and truth is delightfully grey when fiction can become truth and truth can become fiction.