Many of us would rather not see the behaviors of someone with a mental illness to be “evil. “But the reality is that some people clearly are evil in their intentions (especially if they are diagnosed with a personality disorder such as sociopathy) and may derive gratification from their acts toward others. There is no better way, for me, to describe it than pure evil.

10 things makes it difficult to trust, care for, live with, and help someone with personality characteristics that harm others. These include:

1. Instilling fear and discomfort in others: Do you know anyone who gets a “rush” from instilling fear? Sociopaths and inconsiderate, heartless people are good examples. It’s sickening to think that there are humans in this world who feel good about causing others to fear them. But those who enjoy this are often wounded themselves in some fashion (spiritually, emotionally/psychologically, etc.). But having compassion on these people can be a trap. It is often best to keep these individuals at a distance as many tend to lack empathy.

2. Trying to control: Controlling individuals are not automatically “evil.” However, there are some controlling people who will go to extreme lengths to interrupt your life and peace of mind. They will become the agents of confusion and sometimes even intimidation all in an effort to gain some kind of control over you. Many domestic violence cases would apply here.

3. Manipulating and calculating: The manipulative and calculating behaviors and mind-games of Charles Manson would characterize this kind of evil. His ability to use his charm, social intelligence, and mannerisms to convince, persuade, and then ultimately harm is frightening. It worked on thousands of people and sadly, he wasn’t caught until later in his life.

4. Triangulating: I define triangulation as an individual creating confusion between one or more people unintentionally or intentionally which results in confusion, unresolved hurt feelings, and anger.

5. Using emotions to dominate: Have you ever heard of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy or factitious disorder? Both conditions involve a parental figure creating symptoms in the child in order to receive some kind of emotional or psychological accolades or support that they personally desire. It is conceptualized as child abuse/maltreatment as opposed to a mental health condition.

6. Destroys anything that is pleasant: Do you know someone who seems to destroy every ounce of peace and joy you (or anyone else) has access to without a real cause? Growing up I had a “friend” who would cry out of nowhere and make up stories (pathological liar) for the simple purpose of garnering attention. It wasn’t until she created division in many relationships that I said goodbye.

7. Seeking to humiliate you: We can all be humiliated by people who aren’t intentionally trying to embarrass us. We can also be humiliated by people who may not care what other people think. But someone who intends to ruin your reputation or “good name” is, in my opinion, evil. Natural human emotions such as envy or jealousy, competitiveness, or a need for attention can certainly become destructive forces in the lives of someone who possesses these feelings to an extreme degree. In other words, these normal human emotions are fleeting for most people but long-lasting for others. These people often have some form of sociopathic traits.

8. Stealing your identity: As stated above, some people (primarily sociopaths) tend to engage in behaviors that are completely destructive to others. Someone who tries to steal your identity and displays no empathy or regret, can certainly be characterized as evil. What other explanation would there be for someone who blatantly destroys another and cares nothing about what they have done? We can label this person a sociopath, but a sociopath is a nice way to describe a human who is simply evil.

9. Minimizing your emotions: Minimization of your emotions without any consideration for how you feel is another form of evil. Sociopaths, pathological liars, people who triangulate and create confusion without remorse can also be considered evil agents.

10.  Seeking to destroy you: Destruction of someone else’s life, their reputation, their peace of mind, their achievements, etc. is simply evil.