"I am A Psychopath"

What if manipulation doesn’t feel like manipulation? What if it feels like you’ve finally met someone who understands you? In this episode of The Shadow Sessions, Hiba Balfaqih sits down with Lewis Raymond Taylor, who has spoken publicly about being diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, as well as his experiences with severe childhood trauma, addiction, and the life he built afterward. Lewis takes Hiba inside the process: how someone might be chosen, how trust is established, how vulnerabilities and emotional needs are identified, and how seemingly small interactions can become tests. They explore the line between intimacy and information—and how the things you reveal because you feel understood can potentially be used to influence or control you. The conversation also confronts a difficult distinction: trauma can help explain behavior, but it does not excuse it. This episode isn’t about deciding whether Lewis is a good man or a bad man. It’s about understanding the psychology of manipulation from someone willing to describe what it can look like from the inside. Because sometimes the most dangerous manipulation isn’t the kind you can immediately see. It’s the kind that initially feels like connection.