Who is Patric Gagne?
Patric Gagne, a PhD-holder, is a renowned author, former therapist, and champion for individuals with sociopathic, psychopathic, and anti-social personality disorders.
Her book, Sociopath: A Memoir, has been a top-seller in the New York Times and reveals her personal journey to comprehend her sociopathy and bring awareness to this frequently stigmatized and misinterpreted psychological condition.
Frequently, misunderstandings, exaggerated depictions in movies and the press, and confusion with psychopathy have misrepresented sociopathy.
Gagne’s viewpoint seeks to foster an understanding of the difficulties that sociopaths encounter, as they makeup about 5% of the population and often exhibit varying degrees of it. However, Sociopath also serves as an unexpected and uplifting tale of love.
Patric Gagne Discusses Being Diagnosed As A Sociopath
From a young age, Patric Gagne recognized that she had a unique trait – she lacked a sense of fear. At the age of seven, she confidently made her way home from a sleepover at a friend’s house, while most children would have experienced some level of unease walking alone at night. Gagne recalls feeling a sense of freedom instead.
While speaking with Mamamia’s Mia Freedman, Gagne discussed her childhood. She said,
“Through observation as a kid, I learned that kids like me were not seen favourably — kids that said they didn’t really feel remorse or shame. I understood very quickly that I needed to hide away the fact that I didn’t feel.”
Upon returning from the sleepover, seven-year-old Gagne’s mother appeared frightened. Although Gagne acknowledged her mother’s fear, she couldn’t empathize with it. This was not the first instance in which Gagne had difficulty experiencing fear during her childhood.
She said,
“My sister and I were playing in our front garden and a man showed up and said that he had kittens. My sister understood right away that this was not someone to be trusted. She was younger than I was. All I could think about was that he was going to give me kittens.”
Patric Gagne further added,
“So of course I was going to follow him. It wasn’t until I almost got to his car that I realised, oh he doesn’t have kittens. What saved me was that I didn’t overreact emotionally in that moment upon recognising. I distracted him and then took off running. I just didn’t have a sense of fear like my sister. It was muted. I had to pay attention harder to find it.”
In her interview on Mamamia’s No Filter, Gagne recognizes that she does not fit the typical stereotype of a sociopath. Despite being married and a mother of two, she is a productive member of society and has a social circle.
Gagne exhibits all the traits of a sociopath, including dishonesty, disregard for rules, impulsive behavior, and a lack of concern for personal safety due to the absence of fear and guilt.
