There’s a book about women who love psychopaths
We’ve all heard it before: “My ex is a psycho.” And while usually hyperbole, for some women, the phrase is 100% accurate — as in their exes were diagnosed psychopaths. And we just found out that author and therapist Sandra L. Brown has written about the phenomenon in her book, Women Who Love Psychopaths: Inside the Relationships of Inevitable Harm With Psychopaths, Sociopaths & Narcissists. And um, we need to get our hands on a copy.
Brown updated the original version of her award-winning book to include the newest evidence regarding "what brain differences actually exist in borderlines, narcissists, anti-social, sociopaths, and psychopaths," as the book's Amazon description states.
In writing the book, Brown wanted to focus on helping the female victims of psychopathic relationships. She believes that falling for a psychopath is scientifically similar to entering a trance-like state, and perhaps “falling for” said psychopath is barely the victim’s doing at all.
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According to Haley Verrin from PsychCentral.com, Brown explains how the psychopath (aka a “low/no empathy and conscience” person) cannot change and let go. He often “stalks and woos his prey” and pulls his parter into a vicious cycle where he threatens to leave only to win to her back.
Ultimately, the victim falls under a hypnosis of sorts and may need outside help in order to break free.
Author Sandra L. Brown founded The Institute for Relational Harm Reduction & Public Pathology Education and is a former psychotherapist in the field of psychopathology. Brown is also a community educator on the intersections of Mental Illness, Personality Disorders, Violence, and Recidivism. She’s worked with many victims of relational harm who have dealt with psychopathic and dangerous male partners.
Brown’s most important contribution to women’s issues dealing with relational harm is her research into the effects of psychopathy on female partners.
Although Brown’s research revolves around heteronormative relationships, we’re hopeful that this research can help better understand non-heteronormative psychopathic relationships and spur more research into those partnerships as well.
We can’t wait to check this book out. Hopefully Women Who Love Psychopaths has already helped victims break free of psychopathic relationships and will inform others about what to look for. You can buy Brown’s book on Amazon starting at $12.23.
