Excellent link, thanks for posting. I've read it before, and it's good you posted it again. A good reminder to be cautious of those who target us...the Empaths.

And it says that we should not blame ourselves, which I have been doing ever since I discovered what was really going on.

That's so true, Avram. I've been focusing on being a forgiving person, instead of harboring the dark anger and bitterness I held onto for too long. I started by forgiving myself first. Forgiving myself for being human.

I have to get to the point where I forgive myself. I'm clearly not there yet because I keep posting all of the outrageous things the P did and said and blaming myself for believing them. But the article says it so well:

"People targeted by a sociopath often respond with self-deprecating comments like "I was stupid", "what was I thinking" of "I should've listened to my gut instinct". But being involved with a sociopath is like being brainwashed. The sociopath's superficial charm is usually the means by which s/he conditions people."

That's very true, I have often said that I was an idiot to fall my ex-psychopath when it was so obvious that something was seriously off in her, but like most of us, I chose to ignore all the red flags. Why? I suppose because she had figured out how to be the perfect lover for me and knew what I needed emotionally. Of course, once I had blundered into her trap and she got what she needed from me (visas to immigrate to the U.S.), her real self was revealed practically overnight, but by then it was too late: I had already married her.

The funny thing is that the man with whom she was cheating on me (or perhaps I should say the main man since there were many others), has often told me that he also considers himself an idiot for falling for her when it was also so obvious to him too that there was something off in her. What is is interesting is that I have never met anyone with more street smarts than him, and yet my ex-psychopaths was able to dupe him just as easily, which wound up costing him thousands of dollars and many legal headaches (we've become friends by virtue of having victimized by the same woman and in the same manner).

so so very true. great post and good advice. thanks

I definitely recognize my own experiences in the article. I found out about all the skullduggery going on at a lab where I worked and wound up getting discredited by a malicious campaign of false rumors. To this day my name is still sullied by the preposterous stories they spread about me. They were the ones practicing plagiarism and data manipulation, but I wound up being marked with the bad reputation.

This kind of thing has happened to me more than once. An honest person in a den of thieves often finds he has no real friends when everyone turns against him. People will sacrifice you to protect their own interest. I've learned to be very careful in dealing with people, they're often not at all what they seem to be.

Exactly, Richie. So true.

My ex-soc immediately told me that HE was an empath. I think now it was a game he was playing to protect himself. Be aware, a smart soc will know and use all these labels to their advantage.

Thankyou for posting that. That was really bang on.
How does one deal with it?
Fighting back?
Staying quiet until you get enough proof to expose them?
Running from the area?
Putting in a complaint ie Police, Dean, Boss?
Who do you seek to proffessionally say one should be doing say A B C procedures to deal with the victimization?
Because it's abusive.