Adam psychopathic? Really?

James411 wrote:

Finished the book. (*newtown an american tragedy*) Overall an interesting book but at the same time brutal why would anyone shoot a bunch of children to death???

Why?

The book claims Adam Lanza fits the diagnosis for a phychopath and that he did not have mental illness. Instead he was rational and planned his massacre methodically and thus did not have a lapse from reality.

Lanza was not psychopathic, or at the very least not just psychopathic.

Lanza was obviously very impaired in his social functioning. And I don't mean "computer geek who has no life" impaired. I mean impaired to the point of having a real big problem to go to the barber because he suffered from so much anxiety. Lanza was obsessive about germs and clean door knobs etc. Lanza admitted he suffered from delusions. Lanza had this obsessive fear of sunshine, taped his windows with black bags etc.

All in all, Lanza presents a picture of someone who is very disturbed, but none of the symptioms are psychopathic. Psychopaths have low empathy, so at times they may inadvertently do or say things that cause shock and outrage. But otheriwise, they are not socially impaired. They are outspoken, self-confident, can defend their arguments well, make good first impressions etc.

Moreover, psychopaths don't suffer from anxiety at all. They are far less anxious than a normal persona nd experience fear very rarely if at all. In contrast, Lanza was anxious a lot for most of the time he spent outside. Even construction workers working in the garden made him very anxious and act very crazy.

Delusions are not a psychopathic symptom either. Neither is obsessions or compulsions, quite the opposite really.


Overall, everything I learned about Adam Lanza makes me think he was not a psychopathic. In many ways he was actually less psychopathic than an average joe (anxiety, social interactions).

I was diagnosed psychopathy a few years ago, and it got me surprised. I expected everything but that to be honest. I consider myself to be a normal guy by all means, yet i was diagnosed that way.

I certainly don't experience delusions, neither am I overly obsessive about anything in particular.
So, to me, Lanza got some serious issues going on in his head, but definitely not psychopathy.

AtomicMarine wrote:

I certainly don't experience delusions, neither am I overly obsessive about anything in particular.
So, to me, Lanza got some serious issues going on in his head, but definitely not psychopathy.

My thoughts exactly. Lanza had enormous issues even to keep a mundane conversation going in RL, he really does seem like one of the few people who would be MORE normal if they traded mental issues with Cho Seung-Hui.

Nothing whatsoever about him makes me think psychopathy. Huge amount of anxiety he had least of all.