Lately, I am reviewing things that have happened in my life and I am beginning to wonder if I have looked in the eyes of a psychopath and did not realise so, or, perhaps, more accurately, did not accept that he could be one.

How does one truly know a psychopath in action?

For many of us, I think, it is difficult to accept that he whom you know and care for suffers from “chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviour,” as a psychopath is defined by the Oxford Dictionary.

It is indeed difficult for some of us to accept that he whom we know and care for is “an unstable and aggressive person.” Only after he does the worst of the worst, that is when we may begin to consider him a psychopath. And often we do so while claiming something like “I never saw it coming.”

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Sadly, in reality, when we reflect on and review our past interactions with them, we will see that we should have seen it coming or even that we saw it coming. But then again, in order to cope, I guess, even then many of us will still find excuses not to accept that he is indeed a psychopath.

And by the way, a psychopath need not be physically violent themselves. He can be the kind who will buy others or goad others to executive the violence for him. Basically, he pleasures himself double-double – manipulating others to do his bidding; while at the same time inflicting pain on his target.

As I remain truly in disbelief of my own situation, during these difficult times, such as the on-going 42-day lock down in Uganda, because of the Delta variant of Covid-19, I wonder how my fellow women folk are coping.

• Are some of them, like me, at least beginning to wonder if they have looked in the eyes of a psychopath? And worse still if they share a bed with one?
• Are they, as I am, overwhelmed with that “no it can not be delusion” – you know, seeing all the signs that he could be one, but refusing to accept that he is one?

And if you did not know already, this is a major reason why I am pledging to intensify my advocacy for the provision of good public mental healthcare services in Uganda. Plenty of victims of psychopath need rescuing and treatment.

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Featured photo: I think I took this photo of my colleague, friend in the nonprofit charity and development sector, Elise Kant. The last time she was in Uganda and I had the pleasure of having a coffee with her. I featured it for this post, just to demonstrate the importance of having a support network, for without a psychopath thrives. I admired her tenacity in her advocacy for the greater good.