15. Psychopaths, Captivity and Aphrodisiacs or, “Let Me See You Beg, Honey"

Psychopaths, Captivity and Aphrodisiacs or, “Let Me See You Beg, Honey"

Welcome back to Monster Stories Podcast, Living with Evil after a brief absence during which your host took a historic tour of northern New Mexico, visiting the offices where Dr. Mario was hired into our group practice, as well as the homes where Dr. Mario first began to groom the host for a life of captivity; the house where first he began kidnapping his then, daughter (from a prior marriage). This, a trip both unnerving and reifying. How necessary it is sometime to see a place of horror with renewed vigor.

(We hear yet another simulated apology by Dr. Mario at the beginning of the podcast)

The interlude this week is some of the “keening” done by your host while she is managing to survive the horrendous trauma occurring while being held by her captor.

In this episode we continue our discussion of captivity… how it occurs, the dynamic between the psychopathic captor and his captive. We speak of the erroneous portrayal of the psychopath as sexual predator and look at what his actual aphrodisiac of choice is. Furthermore, we speak of how the “psychopath as superior lover” is also a misnomer. If not superior, what kind of lover is he? Can a person devoid of sensate capacities be a “lover”? Is the psychopath able to perform sexually, if so, under what conditions? What really does arouse the psychopath?

What is Captivity and how does a psychopath accomplish it? Why are others so unable to see a captive and notice how s/he’s suffering? Why are people so unwilling to believe in the pathological paradigm of psychopathic captor and captive? How is this pathological dynamic maintained in secrecy and when does it begin to be exposed?

Gaslighting is a tool for maintaining captivity. The more the captive doubts herself the more removed she becomes from a reality check as it were. S/he is moving about her life and career burdened with various physical and psychological traumas inflicted on her by the psychopath, while also being told that she is not doing enough; that she is not strong enough; that she is not enduring enough. The captive may be a person who has often felt to be not enough throughout her life, hence the psychopath is able to capitalize on this predisposition as he insinuates himself into her psychological state. Similarly, friends, colleagues, neighbors, family surrounding the captor and captive are indoctrinated into a brainwashing that the psychopath is always manufacturing in order to protect his image, his veneer, his mask of sanity. He is pointing at his prey and speaking of how he or she is ill; exposing her idiosyncrasies; creating plausible tales about her as the captive become increasingly isolated within shame, a confused identity and melancholia.

Pease visit www.monsterstories.com for further notes, and links to books and films mentioned in this episode, as well as contact information.

This podcast is a production of Honestly Speaking LLC. Suzann Kole, Ph.D. has worked in academe and the mental health field for over 40 years. She holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and Narrative Studies (an area of linguistics).