Diagnosed psychopath explains why 'normal people' can never spot them

People throw around phrases like 'psychopath' 'narcissist' and 'gaslighting' as second nature now, but according to a diagnosed psychopath, it's actually pretty hard to tell if someone is.

Loic De Marie, from Belgium, was diagnosed as a psychopath at the age of 23, and now he's trying to raise awareness of the condition.

Now 25, Loic has opened up about his life and experiences for LADbible's Minutes With series, and warns that despite common misconceptions, most 'normal' people struggle to spot when someone is a psychopath and exceptionally good at manipulating people into seeing only what they want them to see.

Loic says he had a 'really nice' childhood for the most part, until his parents divorced, his mum turned to alcohol and sadly tried to take her own life when he was aged just eight.

He recalled: "At the age I think of eight, she tried to kill herself, so in my adolescence, my mum was drinking from maybe my eight years to 16 years. And she was aggressive, she was absent sometimes and it got an impact on me."

Loic said it was the root of his condition: "She was saying to me that I'm not her son anymore. And she was this kind of mean. This is the kind of thing that with psychopathy, it changes you.

"With psychopathy, you are born that way, but it doesn't help this kind of behaviour from a mother or a father."

He explains how his mum realised he was 'different' when at the age of six, he didn't try to help his sister from drowning in a pool as he didn't want to get his clothes wet.

"My mum came out of the house and she's yelling, screaming that why I didn't jump into the pool. And I answered, 'Mom, my clothes are clean'," he recalls.

Loic De Marie was diagnosed as a psychopath when he was 23 (LADbible Stories)

"And she was like, 'What the f**k is wrong with this kid?' That was the first time my mum understood that I was different."

How to spot a psychopath and what to look out for

If you think you've got it sussed and that you can spot a psychopath a mile away, Loic is here to tell you the truth is likely very different.

He says that psychopaths can easily spot another psychopath, as they understand the behaviour and mannerisms, and their way of talking.

"You know, when you see somebody with fake charming, you're gonna understand it, you're gonna see it, and you're gonna tell to yourself, 'Hmm, I think this person is faking that'," he explains.

For everyone else, the news isn't good: "For a normal person, sorry guys, but the chances are against you because it's very difficult."

He insisted their behaviour is much like a feared mythical creature: "It's very difficult to see it. It's like... a vampire, you know."

He says psychopaths tend to be very charming (LADbible Stories)

It all comes down to the charm offensive: "They're gonna charm you, and when it's too late you're gonna realise something."

"So I think a psychopath can spot more easily the behaviour, but he's not gonna know that this is a psychopath in front of him," he added.

'Everyone' knows a psychopath

Most terrifyingly, Loic says that psychopaths are surprisingly common, and 'everyone' knows one.

"It's maybe one in 25 persons, or one in hundreds. So it's a lot of psychopaths," he says.

He tries to reassure though that they're not all bad: "If you look at it, just go to Piccadilly Circus, and maybe you got 10 psychopaths in the square, but they're not with bad intention or to kill somebody, but they are here."

Watch Loic's full Minutes With episode below:

He says films and popular culture often portray a very one-sided portrait of a psychopath: "Very often it depicts psychopaths with a neutral face. This is not the case, because very often the psychopath's gonna be the most smiling person in the room."

"He gonna make you laugh, he gonna make you have a good time. I personally think that the psychopath who doesn't rob the bank, he's gonna end up the CEO of the bank. Two types of psychopaths," he added.

Now you know.