Diagnosed sociopath says there are five characteristics people with the condition all have

A woman who has been diagnosed as a sociopath has revealed the five characteristics that people with her condition are guaranteed to have.

Kanika Batra isn't one to shy away from being a self-confessed 'sociopath', after being diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder at the age of 21.

Antisocial personality disorder causes people to lack empathy, which means they don't care about or understand other people's feelings, WebMD explains. While narcissistic personality disorder sees people have an inflated idea of themselves, and they need a lot of attention from others.

Though Kanika, from Australia, believes she was 'born this way', she has previously acknowledged that events in her childhood may have played a part in why she is the way she is.

She now uses her platform on social media to raise awareness of the mental disorders, which can cause people to experience emotions very differently from those who don't have the conditions.

While many have their own assumptions of what a sociopath might look like, which is largely down to movies and true crime documentaries, Kanika has outlined exactly what characteristics to look out for in a person who's a sociopath like herself.

Kanika Batra is a diagnosed sociopath, and she's delved into the characteristics to look out for (LADbible Stories)

The five characteristics of a sociopath

Speaking recently on LADbible's Minutes With series, Kanika begins by explaining the first characteristic to be aware of is charisma.

"We're very charismatic people," she says. "You will never realise you're dating or dealing with a sociopath or a psychopath because we are very, very well-versed on being appropriate and being seen in the correct light and behaving correctly, if you will."

She then points out how a lack of care is another characteristic in sociopaths.

"Optics is our strongest game. So, what we tend to do is also we don't have empathy, so we know what you're thinking," she explains.

"We know how you're feeling. We just don't really care, but we'll pretend to care because we know that makes you happy, and that makes you able to want to be our friend and do things for us. We are also very, very callous."

The third characteristic Kanika mentions is pathological lying: "There's also this ability to pathologically lie and manipulate people for absolutely no reason out of just either enjoying it or, let's say, they get some minor perk from it."

The ability to easily manipulate people is another trait, with Kanika explaining: "There's also this ability to pathologically lie and manipulate people for absolutely no reason out of just either enjoying it or, let's say, they get some minor perk from it."

And the fifth characteristic? Having no empathy.

"We don't have any empathy," Kanika says. "Our empathy is so, for me at least, when I see people crying, I have no internal reaction."

She says she doesn't feel empathy, and has no internal reaction to seeing someone cry (LADbible Stories)

The importance of control in Kanika's life as a sociopath

Elsewhere in the interview, Kanika discussed how important it is for her to have control in any kind of situation.

"I need to be in control of everything," she says candidly. "Control is something that I very much value. I am not happy in any situation where I don't have control.

"So, I will try to have control over my body, everything I eat. I will have control over my friends. I'll have control over my partner in the way that they must be loyal. They must show that they are loyal. They must defend me in public. They must do these things. I don't like being inebriated.

"That's why I don't drink, because that shows your weakness. It shows an ability to get manipulated. So, control for me is incredibly important."

How Kanika maintains relationships

Despite her condition, Kanika is married and insists she can feel love in relationships just like anyone else.

"So, I can feel love, and I have had romantic relationships," she explains. "I'm a serial monogamist because I don't believe in promiscuity. I think it's disgusting."

Speaking of her husband Sam, she says she believes she 'loves him more than she's ever loved anybody'.

"He's my rock. He's so incredible," she says. "He won't even eat if I haven't eaten. He has that much sort of sympathy for me.

"I think that Sam is kind of the exception to the rule of someone I could stay with long-term because I generally get a lot of contempt for people within, like, three months of dating them.

"But with Sam, I was fully allowed to take off the mask, and he didn't judge me, and he didn't make me feel bad about anything."