There is no shortage of movies or shows that spotlight "psychopaths" as their lead character, drawing a line between their homicidal tendencies with love or sex obsession.
There's Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, or Joe Goldberg, the dark protagonist of Netflix's hit drama series "You."
But there's one problem: the word "psychopath" doesn't describe a real medical condition.
"People use the word 'psychopath' colloquially to describe a person whose behavior defies social norms and conventional understandings of right and wrong," Kelly Scott, a therapist at Tribeca Therapy in Manhattan, told Insider. "From a clinical perspective, the word 'psychopath' doesn't mean anything."
Scott said that the closest diagnosis that reflects the stereotypical representation of psychopaths in popular culture is antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). According to the Mayo Clinic, ASPD is a mental disorder that causes people to not have any regard for right or wrong, empathy, or the well-being of other people.
Though people with ASPD exhibit behaviors that would make for an unhealthy and even toxic partner, they are incredibly charismatic and good at faking empathy.
Here are four indicators that you may be dating a psychopath — or someone with ASPD — according to Scott.