The origin of modern humans has probably been the most debated issue in evolutionary biology over the last few decades.
As per a renowned theory, modern humans originated in Africa within the past two million years and evolved from their most likely recent ancestor, Homo erectus, which means 'upright man' in Latin.
No way is this an essay on human evolution. It's an article on understanding our behaviour coined against threats during this evolution period. Even nowadays, many of us carry a small fraction of this DNA from our ancestors. This shared DNA could have shaped our susceptibility to modern-day fear, diseases or adaptation to new environments and climates.
Moving from hunting to food gathering, to farming and ultimately storing. Each step had a new enemy. Our very survival depended upon being able to sense and overcome these dangers, which is still the case. However, today's dangers are not from a sabre-toother or from a mammoth, but from a mentally dispositioned species of our times, the sociopaths. While identifying risks is ingrained in our genetic system. We all sense it not only mentally but physically as well. Things are no different here. Your voluntary physical reactions warn you of the dangers to you from a sociopath.
Sensing physical danger was probably the first warning sign our ancestors identified with. Their body reacted to it in a certain way, probably fright, flight or freeze. However, in today's world, things have changed, and so has the type of dangers. We now have sociopaths and psychopaths.
A sociopath is a person with an antisocial personality disorder. Still, with a Conscience, that would mean that he or she knows that they are doing something wrong, in contrast to a psychopath who is callous, unemotional, and morally depraved. Psychopaths tend to be more manipulative, can be seen by others as more charming, lead a semblance of a normal life, and minimize risk in criminal activities. Sociopaths tend to be more erratic, rage-prone, and unable to lead as much of a normal life. Which makes our sociopath that much more dangerous?
Sociopaths are usually the villains who kill or torture innocent people in movies. In real life, some people with antisocial personality disorder can be violent, but most are not. Instead, they use manipulation and reckless behaviour to get what they want. They are skilled at climbing their way up the corporate ladder, even if they have to hurt someone to get there. They are easy to spot as they make it straightforward and clear that they're not interested in anyone but themselves, which is evident by their dominance. They fast speakers and have a switcheroo attitude.
Fear. The switcheroo attitude is to play with your emotions and install a fear so that the sociopath can get what he is after. The physical reaction to fear has more or less been the same fight, flight or freeze. If you have any of these three thoughts coming to your mind in the presence of someone's company, you have a sociopath breathing down your neck. It's best to put on your guard to either save yourself or avoid the sociopath.
Sweat, when a sociopath uses to his advantage your weak spots and vulnerabilities, and you are suddenly in the most unthinkable situation, you break into a sweat. Breaking into a sweat is a physical reaction to helplessness and terror. It could be as simple as someone looking at you like you're their next meal, and the hair on the back of your neck stands up. You could be reacting to a sociopath's predatory stare.
Difficulty breathing. Your emotions often tell you to beware because your brain wants to believe what your instinct tells you, that is, to be very careful. When knowing that things are not in your favour, you are helpless to play along. When you find it hard to take deep, even breaths around the person, it's probably because something about their behaviour is profoundly troublesome. This could even lead to another physical characteristic, a Pounding heart. This Pounding heart is not out of excitement or attraction. It is because of fear.
Nightmares. Latent Emotional torture is usually first identified by the subconscious mind. This results in bad dreams, which the sociopath in the wings. If you have difficulty sleeping, pay attention. Something is interfering with your rest. Identify the sociopath.
Nagging feeling. Your Sixth sense is your weathercock, directing you in the problem direction. Sometimes, you know that something is wrong, but you can't identify it. Your inner self knows there is a problem and is trying to get your attention. Beware, there is a sociopath around targeting you.
Pay attention to these physical warning signs.
The key to escaping sociopaths is to pay attention when you experience warning signs like these. So that you are not victims of Love-frauds, betrayal, paranoia or rejection.
Most people experience warning signs early in their involvement, but they don't know what this means. Researches state they over seventy per cent of individuals who were in an engagement with the sociopath had an intuition or a gut instinct early in the relationship that something was wrong. Nearly half of them played to the tune of the sociopath either due to lack of knowledge in identifying the red flag or choosing to continue overlooking their institution.
So, if you instinctively have a bad reaction to someone, don't chide yourself for being judgmental or paranoid. Don't tell yourself that everyone deserves a chance, and you should be open-minded. There is a reason for your reaction, even if you don't know what it is right away.
Better safe than sorry. The best is to seek help.
