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Closingmy eyes,Irepeated the mantra that this was a safe space to disclose my greatest worries.
Poppy’suncontrollable reactive nature was turning sadistic, andIeven caught her manipulating her cousins.Oneof them,Rayyan, was also gifted likePoppyand often boasted of becoming the nextCEOofAmbaniCorp.Heonce toldPoppythat girls didn’t becomeCEOs.Thatafternoon,PoppytoldRayyanthere were nut products in the snack he just ate, which he was deathly allergic to.Poppysimply watched with blank eyes as a panickedRayyanrepeatedly stabbed himself with anEpiPen.
Therewere no nuts in the snack.
Theextent ofPoppy’sobsession over her father’s coveted head seat subdued her empathy.Herpatience and impulse control persistently thinned with age.Poppystopped connecting with kids her age, and her biggest rival to this day remained her cousin,Rayyan.Whenhe got accepted into high school beforePoppy, she nearly lost it.Shewas used to surpassing her peers academically and couldn’t handle the disappointment of being bested.Poppystarted showing signs of apathy and disengagement, and fights turned frequent.
“Youknow how some people can manipulate and exploit others without experiencing guilt?”Iblurted.Ifeared that ifPoppycouldn’t generate empathy for others, she’d continue on this path and eventually end up in jail.
Dr.Stevensonobserved me. “Youmean someone with anAnti-SocialPersonality?” he asked nonchalantly.
Ialmost shushed him, though there was no one around.Iwanted to learn more aboutAnti-SocialPersonalitieswithout tellingDr.Stevensonthis was about my daughter, not untilIofficially signed her up for therapy.Doctor-patient privilege didn’t extend to you unless you were a client, andIdidn’t want private information about my kid falling into the wrong hands.Stigmawas associated with kids considered psychopathic, andIdidn’t want anyone to treatPoppydifferently.
Itwisted my wrists. “Whatdo you know about it?”
Dr.Stevensonraised his eyebrows. “Lotsof things,Ihope.Otherwise,I’dbe a terrible psychologist.”Irolled my eyes as he bit into another brie and cracker combo. “Itmight save us both time if you tell me what you want to know.”
Idecided to be a straight shooter as well and plopped onto the chair across from him. “FromwhatIunderstand, people with…”Isearched for the word before settling on the clinical term forAnti-SocialPersonality, “…ASPDstruggle with violent tendencies.”Wouldmy daughter end up hurting people, too?Icould no longer ignore the recent bout in violent incidents wherePoppywas concerned.HowcouldIstop it?HowshouldIhelp her? “Canthey inhibit the impulse to harm others?”
Dr.Stevensontilted his head, contemplatively assessing my words.Whenhe showed no emotion,Itried to lighten the conversation so he wouldn’t read into it.
“Ordo they all turn into serial killers?Isthere like a kill switch activation button?”Ilaughed uncomfortably.
Hefrowned, unamused at my attempt to make light of the situation. “That’sbased on an entirely unfounded theory.It’smisinformation, thanks to societal oversimplification.”
“Youdon’t agree?”
Heopened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again as if choosing his words carefully. “It’slike saying everyone with depression will resort to self-harm.Doyou find that statement to be true?”
Mylips parted, not having thought of it that way. “Ofcourse not.”
“Didyou know one percent of the population is considered psychopathic?”
Iblinked. “Ididn’t know that.”
“What’sthe population ofAmerica,Piya?”Hewas finished with the cheese spread and started on the second course.Mytime was limited, andIwished he would stop speaking in riddles.
“Morethan three hundred million,”Isaid robotically.
“Onepercent of three hundred million is three million.Doyou think there are three million serial killers inAmerica?”
“No,”Iadmitted slowly.Obviously, three million serial killers weren’t walking around freely.
“Exactly,” he concurred, unwrapping the foil off the salad container next. “Notevery person to display antisocial traits is a serial killer, nor are they all prone to violence.”
Hopeblossomed in my chest for the first time since learning ofPoppy’stendency to resort to violence.
“It’simportant to remember that social stimuli can manipulateASPD,” he continued. “Ifa kid withASPDgrows up watching violence, they’re prone to imitate it.”
ButPoppywas part of a happy, healthy family without an inkling of violence in her childhood.Untilrecently, she hadn’t exhibited these predispositions, either.So, what changed?
“IfanASPDkid grows up in a loving home surrounded by positivity,” he continued, “they might deviate to academics instead of violence. i.e., instead of beating someone up for a thrill, they’ll find it more exciting to excel in academics, business, or things that positively impact their lives.That’swhy many withASPDpursue careers as world leaders andCEOsof large corporations.”
Ugh.Therewas that stupid word,CEO.Ihated the title, especially seeing what it had done to my daughter.
AmbaniCorpwas a family company, and while it employed endless people, only anAmbanicould climb the ladder for high-ranking positions.Thecompany was designed to encourage the kids in the family to grow up within a system deeply integrated within them.Atthe company, family days were highly encouraged, and opportunities were built-in for kids.Juniorinternships.Giftedand talented programs.Apart-time job in high school.Theyhad paid internships for all four years of college.Oncethese kids graduated college, you guessed it, they were offered high-salary positions to stay with the company.
Nepotismran deep.Thatwas how influential people kept the money within the family for generations.Evenso, there was a larger evil.AmbaniCorpwas designed to control the upcoming generation.Ifyou had a cushy, high-paying job, why would you have to leave it behind and move away from mommy and daddy?Thatwas whyJay’sfamily mainly lived inChicagoorNewYork.Thosewere the headquarters of operations.
