Columbine. Virginia Tech. Aurora, Colorado. Sandy Hook. These names are just a few of the horrific events that have happened since current college students have been born, not to mention the many incidents before. When we think of these events, we think of the monsters behind the gun that caused so many deaths and grief. We classify these monsters as "psychopaths" because we cannot imagine how one person could have so much hate and cause so much destruction. But, is there a way to identify these monsters and get them the help they need before it is too late?
In James Fallon's book, The Psychopath Inside, he discusses recognizing the signs of a psychopath in its early stages, both physiologically and psychologically. One case to where early recognition was key in preventing a tragedy such as Sandy Hook was when writer Liza Long recognized psychopathic tendencies that her son had. After seeing Adam Lanza's father, Peter Lanza's (Adam Lanza was the shooter behind the Sandy Hook tragedy on December 14, 2012 claiming 26 innocent children and teachers, his own, and his mother's) testimony about his son, describing all the little quirks and psychopathic tendencies that his son had at an early age, Long recognized these same tendencies in her son. Being a concerned mother who recognized the gravity of the situation, she immediately sought out help for her son who is now on the road to a relatively normal life. According to Fallon, this mother's nurturing and realization of his mother prevented him from fully acting on his psychopathic tendencies.
However, many parents and psychiatrists do not recognize the signs until it is too late or end up misdiagnosing. Adam Lanza is an extreme case. According to Fallon, OCD and Bipolar Disorder usually come hand-in-hand with psychopathy, as it did with Fallon himself and Adam Lanza. Lanza's father told many stories about the little quirks that his son would have at an early age, but most experts saw it as Aspergers. However, Peter Lanza made the observation that everything really started to go downhill with Adam after Peter and Adam's mother divorced. Adam seemed more distant to Peter and slowly becoming more irritable and withdrawn from society. The situation only worsened when his mother kept condoning his antisocial and psychopathic behavior instead of taking him to an expert or talking to someone else about his problems. If more parents were more aware of their child's psychopathic tendencies like Long was, less tragedies of mass murders and serial killers wouldn't be as prevalent in today's society.
There are many things that people can learn from James Fallon's book The Psychopath Inside. One of the most important points is the early recognition, treatment, and nurturing of someone with a psychopathic brain. In the case of Liza Long, because of her quick thinking and recognition, she prevented her son from doing something tragic because she saw the signs of a psychopath in her son. If more parents did this, less mental disorders and "monsters" would be taking innocent lives in mass. Therefore, early diagnosis can really save lives.
Sources:
James Fallon The Psychopath Inside
http://time.com/18965/a-different-ending-to-my-adam-lanza-story/
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/03/17/the-reckoning
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