(upbeat music) - How can I know that
you're being honest with me, and did you lie to any of us? - I don't think I've lied to anybody. I guess, I could be lying to you. - [Female Speaker] If
you were alone in a room with a diagnosed sociopath, what would you ask? - Have you ever been in love? - What does empathy look like for you? - Have you ever felt guilt? - That's like a complicate question. (upbeat music) - How are you doing? - Pretty good. - Okay, that's good. - What's your name? - Greg. - All right, nice to meet
you, nice to meet you. - What age were you diagnosed? - I think I was around 21, 22. - How old are you? - I am 33. - What's your definition of a sociopath? - A sociopath to me is someone who has no regard for themselves
or for other people. You're very impulsive, very
irresponsible, reckless, basically like a child. - Were you surprised
when you got diagnosed? - I don't think surprised
is the right word. I think relieved, like I
had felt out of control. And, I didn't understand why I was doing what I was doing for a long time. So, knowing that there
was an actual reason behind why I was doing these things, it was really like kind of freeing in way. - What made you think you was a sociopath? - Waking up in prison was
probably my first clue. - Do you mind me asking what
led you to go to prison? - I've committed several crimes. I was using drugs and
selling to support my habit. I also have like many retail thefts. - How long ago did you
commit those crimes? - The last time I committed
any crimes was 2011. - And then, you haven't
committed any crime since then? - I wouldn't say I haven't
committed any crimes. I haven't committed any
major crimes since then. Actually, I don't even
drive recklessly anymore like I used to. I stopped stealing. Now that I say it, I don't
know if I've been doing crimes. I think I changed my ways. - What made you make the
decision to change your life? - Not wanting to go back to prison. It was one of the worst
experiences of my life. - What do you think people
most often misunderstand about being a sociopath? - Personally, I think
that the stereotype is that they're incredibly
violent and just malicious just to be mean. And like, just for it's own sake. At least for me, that's
not how it presents. More often then not, people with antisocial personality
disorder, sociopaths, they're just irresponsible,
impulsive people. That can lead to you being a little bit aggressive and irritable, but
the myth that they're violent and just out of control monsters is blown way out of proportion. - Have you ever manipulated
someone to benefit you? - Yeah, of course. I feel like everyone
manipulates other people to an extent. We're all trying to get something out of any given relationship. - Okay, I haven't really
thought of it that way. For me, it's more like mutual respect and wanting to do others for people to make them feel better. - Yeah, I see what you men. I look at all of my relationships
as very transactional. And, it's just kind of the way
that I engage with the world. - What are some things that piss you off? - When people can't admit they're wrong or made a mistake, that
drives me absolutely crazy. And, I think that's just
because I used to do that same thing. I used to not ever admit that I was wrong. - What does empathy look like for you if you have empathy at all? - So, I call it cognitive empathy. It's just me making sure that put myself in someone else's shoes,
like intentionally. My first response in
any given situation is never empathy. It's usually some like
logical like solution to the problem. When a lot of the times,
that's not what people need. They need you to listen
and just be there for them. - Have you ever felt guilt or remorse? Is that something that you feel? - That's like a complicated question. So, at the time, I didn't feel bad about anything that I did. I really didn't have a care in the world. Once I move on from it, like in my head, it's over to me. Which isn't great when you
cheated on your partner, and then, they don't forget about that. - Yeah. - But, I would. I regret it now, because I don't like that
I put people through that. And, I don't like that I hurt them,. But that's now. That wasn't then. - I wanted to ask you what
your childhood was like. - Part of the problem is,
like I don't store memories very well, so I don't necessarily remember much of my childhood. - Is that a condition associated
with being a sociopath? - From what I've gathered, memory is tied to emotion fairly strongly. The way that I experience
emotions is not quite as deep as other people. So, the emotional tie to like memories is that makes them stick in your brain doesn't really happen for me that often. - Did you tell your parents
about your diagnosis right away? - No, actually, I didn't. I've only actually
mentioned it to my parents like one time. When I told them, they didn't believe me. They're like, "That's
not the Greg I knew." And, I guess it just speaks
to how fooled I had them. They just didn't believe that
I was capable of those things. - Have you ever been in love, and do you feel love? - I think so. Like, I do experience emotions and love and connection and closeness. It's just maybe not to the depth or like breadth of some other people. - Who would you say is
your favorite person in your life right now? - Probably my son, followed
very shortly after that by my partner. He's one of the main reasons
that I've gotten better. - And, your diagnosis hasn't affected your parenting in any way? - Wanting to be the best
dad I can for him is like a huge motivating factor for me, 'cause, I don't want him to live the same life I've lived. There's a huge genetic
component to sociopathy. And, the other half of
that is your environment. So, I have to do everything I can with his environment to
overcome his genetics. - How did you feel when
you first met your wife? - It's always been her, even though there was a period of time when I was really not a good boyfriend. I was not a good partner. I don't deserve to still have her, but she stuck it out and knew that there was a person
inside of that version of Greg that was better. - Do you go to therapy? - I have gone to therapy in the past. At the time I was in prison, I did have what's called
a therapeutic community. And, they do cognitive behavioral therapy. And, when I left prison,
I didn't continue. Nowadays it's more like self led. Like I do self exploration. And, with my partner,
we kind of explore it if something happens. She'll gently let me know. It feels like and accusation, like you're doing something wrong. I'll shut down. I don't like being told what to do. So, a lot of the times, I don't know, I require gentle guidance. - Is that you saying, like you think you've learned how to cope
with being a sociopath? - So, the way I look at it is that I've learned how
to not destroy my life by accident. I can manage to stop those
thoughts and impulses before they lead to actions. - How can I know that
you're being honest with me, and did you lie to any of us? - I don't think I've lied to anybody. I guess I could be lying to you, but it doesn't serve me to lie to you or to most people. I'm here to like share my
actual lived experience. I'm not gonna like to you about it. - [Female Speaker] And, if
you'd like this chance to meet face to face, it's the moment to do it. - Hi. - Hi. - Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you. - Hi. Sorry. - You're good. - Nice to meet you. - Likewise. - Hey, how are you doing? - Greg. - Nathan. Nice to meet you, Greg. - Likewise. - I can put a face to
you. So, that's cool. - It's a pretty face. - It is. - Nice to meet you. - Likewise. Those were great questions. Thank you. - Thank you.
