3
“No one loves you like I do.”
A sociopathic person will do anything to get someone on their side, including appealing to what they know to be common aspects of love or relationships. “Sociopaths can be very charming in a relationship and even very caring towards their partner, but if you anger them or put them down (or they perceive that is what you’re doing), they can turn on a dime and use manipulation to make you feel guilty or to make you do something for their benefit,” Dr. Ho explains.
By building up their partner with phrases of love and appreciation, they can manipulate them into staying around, even as they also tear them down. “They may also show shallow affect, meaning they will display loving actions and affection, but they don’t actually feel those emotions on the inside,” Dr. Ho says. “A sociopath may tear their partner down and make them feel bad about themselves and tell them things like, ‘no one loves you like I do,’ to discourage them from leaving.”
4
“You’re lucky to have me.”
When a sociopath isn’t buttering someone up with compliments, they might turn on them by saying things that make the other feel less than. “No one is ever going to love you the way I do” or “I could do better” are just a couple of common phrases a sociopath will say, licensed clinical psychologist and author, Dr. Ramani Durvasula, Ph.D., tells Bustle. “Once they have satisfied their need, their tendency is to discard people, or simply show them no more warmth,” she says.
5
“You owe me.”
Sociopaths usually form relationships with people in order to get what they want — be it power, sex, money, status, and so on. “They have little capacity for intimacy, mutuality, and reciprocity in a close relationship,” Dr. Durvasula says. So it’s very common for them to keep score in their relationships.
6
“I already did this for you. What more do you want?”
