{"id":88310,"date":"2018-05-08T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=88310"},"modified":"2023-03-16T11:07:50","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T11:07:50","slug":"is-my-boss-a-sociopath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/is-my-boss-a-sociopath.htm","title":{"rendered":"“Is My Boss a Sociopath?” How to Know (And Why It Matters)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By: MaZzuk<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n

Your boss is controlling<\/a> and mean. And you find yourself asking, “is my boss a sociopath?” And what should you do if so?<\/p>\n

Is your boss a sociopath?<\/h2>\n

“Sociopath” is a misused term<\/b>. What you probably want to ask\u00a0 is, “does my boss have narcissistic personality disorder<\/a>?”.<\/p>\n

Narcissistic personality disorder (NDP) can include such traits as an inflated sense of importance, an obsession with success and power, a tendency to exploit others, and an inability to feel empathy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A sociopath in psychology refers to someone who has antisocial personality disorder (ASPD<\/em>)<\/a><\/strong>. Both NPD and ASPD come under the same ‘cluster’ of personality disorders. But those with antisocial behaviour disorder have complete disregard for regulations and the law, don’t follow social norms, tend to be hostile and aggressive, and therefore rarely hold down a job.<\/p>\n

So it’s unlikely to find a clinical sociopath in a position of power in a company. But yes, you will find people with\u00a0narcissistic personality disorder in positions of power.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How can I be sure my boss is a sociopath or a narcissist?<\/h2>\n
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By: Eduardo Otubo<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Unless you are a psychiatrist<\/a>, <\/strong>who is carefully trained and practised in diagnosing someone with a personality disorder<\/a>, you can’t.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We live in a world where millions of articles on \u2018psychology\u2019 are at our fingertips. So we feel we are all free to diagnose ourselves and others.<\/p>\n

And calling someone a narcissist or sociopath seems to be the diagnostic of choice.<\/strong> If you looked at the internet, it would seem that just about everyone\u2019s ex<\/a> and boss is one.<\/p>\n

But in reality? Most of those articles are poorly researched and one-sided.<\/p>\n

The truth about narcissistic personality disorder is that only around 1% of the population is thought to actually have it.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is not to say your boss is NOT suffering from narcissistic personality disorder. <\/strong>But just that is is statistically more likely that your boss might have is\u00a0narcissistic traits.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Narcissistic traits vs narcissistic personality disorder<\/h2>\n

Someone with narcissistic personality disorder will have the required number of traits of NPD in all areas of their life, all the time, and since late adolescence. This is the way personality disorders work. They offer a consistent <\/em>different perspective.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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By: JD Hancock<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

And this means the actual traits from the\u00a0<\/b>books psychiatrists use when diagnosing, the DSM-V<\/a> in America, and also the ICD-10<\/a>\u00a0in Europe. Not all the traits you might read on the internet.<\/p>\n

So if your boss is nice to his family but is a monster in the workplace, <\/strong>it is unlikely he has\u00a0NPD.<\/p>\n

If he is ruthless but can actually <\/strong>see other people’s sides, he is not a sociopath but more likely overconfident.<\/p>\n

If he was known as a nice person but since being put in charge has changed,<\/strong> he is again not someone who has narcissistic personality disorder.<\/p>\n

Instead he or she might have narcissistic traits.<\/strong> This means they have one or several patterns of behaviour that are similar to someone who has NPD.<\/p>\n

NPD vs narcissistic traits<\/h4>\n