by john carcerano
A person with an Antisocial Personality diagnosis will exhibit several if not all of the following traits:
Symptoms:
Common characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder include:
Persistent lying or stealing
Constant difficulties with the law
Often violating the rights of others.
Drug or alcohol addiction
Violent and aggressive behavoir
Agitated depressed feelings
Connot tolerate being bored,always restless and unsettled feelings
Has no regard for the safety of himself or others
Always getting in trouble as a child
They show no remorse for their hurtful actions
Charmer
Impulsiveness
They have a feeling of entitlement
Rarely makes or keep friends
Shows no feelings of guilt
People with Antisocial personality do not like or respect authority figures.
MY EXPERIENCES WITH AN ANTISOCIAL PATIENT AND ASSOCIATE
I knew a guy with antisocial personality and he was always very difficult to deal with. I also knew him when he was 9 months dedicated to sobriety and he was a very different and easier person to deal with. His name was Tom. Tom was always fast talking and conning his way through life. He was also an alcoholic and cocaine addict when he could afford it, preferably crack cocaine. But as he entered his late 40's he was broke and so he drifted away from cocaine. He still drank cheap straight vodka very heavily. About a half a quart to a quart a day. He was an inconsistent worker and he could never make ends meet. Because he was an unstable worker he would also have to rely on handouts to help him get by every month. Up until the age of 49 he had been arrested at least 10 times that I knew about. Everything from 4 dui's to car theft and drug possession. He always had run ins with the law and was in and out of the legal system all of his life. Often he would con his way to receive probation for his many arrests. He did serve 4 or 5 sentences of a year or so each. He was an extremely difficult person to be around. He told me that he had started drinking and drugging at the age of 14 and that his father was a heavy drinker. I saw photos of his father and he looks just like him, so it's apparent that he received most of his inheritance from his father. His father died when Tom was still in his teens. What you mostly find in people who have an antisocial personality disorder is that they usually come from a semi dysfunctional background and their is almost always one parent that was addicted to drugs or alcohol. Now Toms father was an alcoholic but his mother was not. His father was a very intelligent and successful lawyer. Toms mother was a heavy smoker though, and she died of emphysema. And according to Tom, he was sneaking his mother cigarettes in the hospital on her death bed. So there was a very strong addictive tendency in his family. Toms brother had succeeded at beating alcoholism and was put on SSRI medication for a psychological disorder.Tom fit the pattern well for those with antisocial personality. They start using drugs and alcohol in their early teens and begin getting into trouble with the law early in life. Tom would also tell me that he often could not sit still and relax and that his mind would race.
Treatment:
A successful outcome for psychotherapy alone is very limited for this disorder. Intense psychoanalytic therapy has also not proven to be very successful.The therapeutic relationship, therefore, can be one of the first ones. Antisocial diagnosed individuals have been found to be lacking in a life where there has not been much emotional rewards. A good and trusting rapport with the client is the only way that there can be a successful treatment outcome.
Medication
Antisocial patients respond best to SSRI's such as Zoloft or Paxil. These antidepressants often help to reduce aggressiveness, anxiety and depression. These patients often only receive treatment when they are forced to through the criminal justice system. They not only need help from a substance abuse counselor and a psychiatrist but also close support from family or friends if it is available. They have often made a lot of enemies with their agressivly conning and unlawful behavior. Breaking ground with treatment often takes some time.
