The signs you’re a psychopath, according to one

Content warning: this article contains reference to emotional, physical and sexual abuse.

Here are the biggest signs you’re a psychopath - according to one.

Weighing in at just three pounds, the brain is the most complex part of the human body and the powerhouse driving our intelligence, ability to interpret the senses, initiate body movement and controlling our behaviour.

However, due to the rich diversity of people's genetic makeup and environmental experiences, not all our brains function in the same way, with some people being neurotypical, while others are neurodivergent.

Now, it is generally accepted that 1 in 22 people are psychopaths, according recent studies - but how do you know if you actually are one?

Tyla sat down with clinically-diagnosed psychopath, Lewis Raymond Taylor, who is now at the centre of a brand-new Netflix documentary chronicling his life.

The Psychopath Life Coach

The docu-film goes into detail of Lewis' extremely tumultuous childhood, which was tainted by mental illness, sexual abuse, and profound trauma.

By his early 20s, Lewis had already received multiple prison sentences for grave offences like Grievous Bodily Harm, but later decided to turn his life around and set up a $25 million (around £20 million) life coaching business and global community spanning 85 countries.

The 32-year-old has since peeled back the mask on psychopathy and revealed exactly what signs to mindful of if you suspect you're a psychopath.

The CEO tells Tyla that one of the major signs is a general 'lack of empathy'.

BBC

"So," he explains, "you cannot necessarily care too much about people's feelings - you can understand them and empathise with them on a logical sense, rather than a felt sense point of view.

"There's no necessarily painful feeling that comes associated."

Lewis says that this particular trait can also be 'beneficial' as it can help with 'decision making'.

He adds: "A lack of empathy could be perceived as a lack of empathy, but it could also be conceived as channeling focus into a more productive area."

Other signs, Lewis goes on to say, include lying, being violent and the ability to be fairly ruthless - and it doesn't stop there.

Psychopaths are also very 'manipulative', 'deceiving' and good at 'conning' people.

Lewis says 'criminal behaviour' is also common along with 'addiction' and 'violence'.

According to the business mogul, we 'all display those traits' because they are 'common things'.

"Everyone's told a lie," Lewis says. "Everyone's, at some point in their life, been a little bit manipulative to get what they want."

He continued: "So, I think everybody will have their own subjective view of what it [psychopathy] is and what it isn't.

Lionsgate

"It's something that's down to the professional to give the actual label."

Lewis did, however, explain the limitations of such diagnoses.

"Labels really are just for the purposes of understanding someone to a certain extent in order to be able to give them some broad help." he said.

Talking about his own personal development regarding his mental health journey, Lewis stated: "I've got rid of those ones [negative traits] now and I'm moving on to the more positive ones - that's the thing."

So, out of sheer curiosity, what are the 'more positive' signs you may be a psychopath or exhibit psychopathic tendencies?

Some of the 'less dark' characteristics and the 'more beneficial' traits include the likes of charisma, intelligence, assertiveness and being good at decision making, with Lewis revealing how traits actually enabled him to 'thrive' as he actually used them to his 'advantage'.

He then explained the differences between empathy and psychopathy and how the two exist on a spectrum.

The Psychopath Life Coach

"We talk about empathy and empaths quite a lot as well, there's a lot of people that are consumed by emotion, to the point where they're not even riddled by their own emotion, they're actually riddled by other people's emotions." Lewis explained.

"So they got to watch the news that are getting upset, they can't talk to a friend without taking on that emotional burden and feeling overwhelmed and consumed by what they're going through.

"So you've got that end, and then you've got the middle, and then you've got psychopathy right at the end."

Now, while all this is very interesting, it's important to note that Lewis is making a generalisation about psychopaths and, of course, every single case is different.

Just like Lewis, there are psychopaths and people who have psychopathic tendencies who choose not to act this way and may not display such personality traits and behaviour.

The Psychopath Life Coach premiered on Netflix yesterday (22 November) and is currently available to stream on the platform.