Dark Triad Personalities: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy

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Psychopaths don’t always “come across as scary”. They can be charming people superficially.

"Just keep in mind: the more we value things outside our control, the less control we have." -Epictetus

That's an interesting overview. I am a psychopath, And my advice to parents raising a psychopath is to raise him with a strict moral code. In my case the biblical law was what kept me in line and away from serious crime. One thing I have to add is that we as psychopaths have a very strong sense of right and wrong but just like everything else, it has to be learned.

We have to be careful when we are using our empathy while dealing with these dark triad personalities as they will absolutely see that as just another lever to push or pull.

I actually knew a psychopath in high-school. Kinda cool guy, did pretty much whatever he wanted. He simply didn't seem to want anything that would sit outside general social rules, and saw no point in being aggressive, forceful, or violent unless he needed to.

Psychology is like Mariana trench deeper you dive, stranger things you see...

Psychopaths don't come across as scary, not unless they're out-of-control A-listers. Quite the opposite actually, they are known for being very charming and disarming. Same with the narcissist, which is why it can be hard to tell the two apart at first. But the narcissist is fragile and needy, whereas the psychopath is truly confident and doesn't care. Sociopaths, on the other hand (pw ASPD like the psychopath but the two are different) usually come off as scary or unhinged... that's because sociopaths have stronger emotions than a psychopath. And Machiavellianism, even though it's listed in the Dark Triad, isn't really a personality trait. It's a cut throat strategy... a methodology for getting what you want. Who would you find practicing Machiavellianism? Greedy corporations and selfish people. That would include narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths.

I am Machiavellianist since childhood. It probably developed as inferiority complex because I often competed with my older and younger brother for attention from my parents. I wanted the care and support my mom treated my little brother with and I wanted to make my father proud in the way my slightly older brother did. My entire school life was riddled with intrusive thoughts of violence. I did a lot of terrible things that I regret til this day. I didn’t know there was a word for it. I eventually matured and found ways to cope with it and feel content and happy but I do have stressors I’ve yet to fully identify. I had a severe concussion three years ago and it felt like my mind lost 10 years of self-control. It’s been a terrible downward spiral for me especially since covid happened. However my self-control is good. Maybe it’s too good because the intrusive thoughts can really hurt my feelings and I often feel ashamed of myself.

This video just described most of those in positions of authority all around the world.

Had a bit of machiavelic personality. I was always acting innocently but secretly manipulative. I never quite understood what i was doing though. I just did what i knew that worked in order to get my neeeds met. I later on learned to meet my own needs and now i no longer feel like i want to manipulate anybody. I still think i can, but i usually catch myself doing it, stop, and then do conscious shadow work to heal and integrate this part.

As a narcissist, making your loved one’s aware of your condition can help. Telling them how to deal with it can make things easy. Hiding and trying to use it as an advantage will only make your loved ones discard you.

I believe Dark Triads can be observed frequently, especially in present times. People, in general, are not terribly observant of specific behaviors of strangers, therefore it takes repetitive contact to see through the cracks of Dark Triads. Because most people are amiable and trusting of others, few focus on the behavior of friends, neighbors and associates. Life is truly a learning process of ourselves and of society.

Check the DSM criteria for the Narcissistic (NPD) versus Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD, sociopathy, psychopathy) and you will see that they share many characteristics, some of which manifest in Machiavellian behavior. In other words, the triad is a spectrum of similar personality traits viewed from different directions. As to the "ego insecurity" of narcissists, I think it's quite often a matter of firm belief in personal-superiority coupled with reactivity to others' failures to "acknowledge" their "inherent superiority" = "How dare you criticize me?!"

Finally, the Dark Triad in Black Clover makes sense now.

2:00 "when you are a psychopath, you come across as cold and scary" - absolutely wrong information. Psychopaths actually come across as charming and funny even. Although the charm proves to be only superficial, eventually, when your usefulness to them ends and hence they stop prtending to care about you.

It took me 30 years to muster up the courage to tell my alcoholic, druggie, narcissistic, psychopath sister that I'd had enough. I could only do it through messaging because face-to-face confrontation absolutely terrified me. I've seen the way she beat her daughter during one of her drunken anger fits. Scary as shit. After finally telling her what I really thought and that I was done! Predictably, she denied, deflected and played the victim. After 3 years of zero contact, we are now on friendly terms, but as acquaintances, not sisters. It is the only way to not fall for her tricks again.

the machiavellian father teaching his son how to manipulate the puppet was actually kind of wholesome.

Yes for all three I engaged with others with these issues. I even had to search with when I found out my mother was a narcissist. It allowed me to see people differently not judging them but looking at the mirror to see within for any flaws which needed to become healed on the inside. Plus homeschooling my Chidren this is the main talk: Mental health101! 🙏❤️great video!

I think it's good to have compassion like the video says but my best advice is to have compassion from a distance!