Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), also referred to as sociopathy, is a condition in which the patient exhibits a lack of understanding in morality. Victims of this disorder can be harmful towards those around them, and thus it is important to be able to identify patients and know what treatments exist.
Victims of this disorder are often unaware of their condition, as their possibly malicious actions do not alarm them in anyway. This is because they are void of the ability to differentiate between right and wrong, and thus have no standard to judge their actions.
To identify an individual suffering from APD, it is important to take note of their behavior and actions. Symptoms include; inability to manage their anger, lack of feeling guilt, a tendency to manipulate and exploit others, and a general absence of regret or remorse.
Statistically speaking, men develop the disorder more commonly than women do. However, the causes for APD come about are yet to be determined. While some research suggests the occurrence of the disorder can be related to the patients upbringing, such as having an abusive parent or disturbing childhood, although there is no concrete evidence as of yet to verify these claims.
Once upon a time, Antisocial Personality Disorder was believed to last a lifetime. However, recently, studies and research has been conducted, which has proved that the disorder is, in fact, treatable.
Therapy can be an effective method to treat the disorder, albeit it is significantly more difficult to treat APD than other disorders and mental problems. This is usually because the victim is either unwilling to accept the treatment, or because they see no need to change. As the patient lacks a moral compass, they are incapable of seeing any error in their actions. They must be taught which actions are wrong and which are right, and more often than not they simply learn this is fact; their core behavioral tendencies remain unchanged, and they are still unable to register feelings such as guilt.
Victims of APD are capable of committing very serious crimes and offences. However, it is important for the authority and those around them to bear one thing in mind; they are mentally challenged patients. And like all medically diseased, our priority should be to grant them help, and attempt to repair the mental damage they’ve undergone.