Did you know there's a dark side to empathy?

A dark empath is someone who uses their understanding of others emotions and thoughts to manipulate and deceive them.

So how do you know if someone is a dark empath?

Here are eight signs you're dealing with one.

Number one, all three signs of the dark triad are present in their personality.

We're going psychology 101 on you today.

The three traits in the dark triad are narcissism, which is the need for praise, attention and feeling more important than others,

along with psychopathy, which is not caring about what happens to others, using manipulation and having no remorseful feelings.

And finally, machiavellianism, which is being cynical, abusive or vindictive.

When all three of these personality traits are present, you got a dark empath.

Number two, they have a malicious personality.

When you hang out with friends, it's fun to make jokes and laugh, but is one of your friends always making you the punchline of the joke?

If you have a friend who constantly puts you an embarrassing or compromising positions or reveals embarrassing information about you to others,

please do not continue to allow this person around you, this is not healthy behavior nor healthy to be around.

Number three, they're like Prince charming until...

When you're dealing with a dark empath, you may notice a disconnect.

Dark empaths are witty, charming, funny, affectionate and so on until you're alone or don't give them what they want to.

Think about your current or past relationship.

Does your significant other act attentive, sweet and happy when you're around others, but then cold, distant and condescending when you're alone?

If you told your family about how your significant other treats you behind closed doors, would they say, "What? But they're so sweet, They would never do that."

This is a sign of dark empathy.

They have created a persona that they use around mutual family and friends. That way they can manipulate you or guilt you.

Number four, they get upset when others are experiencing something positive.

When a loved one of mine has good news, I want to celebrate with them and cheer for them.

Dark empath would not agree with me, unless it's their achievement we're celebrating.

Dark empath have a sense of narcissism to them, which makes them feel more important than anyone else.

Therefore, if they're not having fun or receiving an award, no one should.

A dark empath may show their feelings by making fun of the person of honor, downplaying their achievement, displaying inappropriate emotions or removing themselves from the situation altogether.

And number five, they love to gossip.

Gossip is a tricky thing.

Whether you like to gossip or not, a lot of us are guilty of listening to or spreading it.

When it comes to gossip, ark empath are social butterflies.

They know who's who, what's what and they have all the drama to go with it.

And they're not just an archive of stories.

They tell everyone and anyone who will listen because gossip is something that a majority of people will listen to for a sense of inclusion.

A dark empath has an unlimited audience who will hang on to their every word.

So do any of these signs remind you of someone? Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks for watching. As always, keep your eye on site for more Psych2Go content.