Not quite a sociopath.

[munchausen]

Recently I've started paying more attention to my attitude towards people in general, it seems that while I'm fully capable of empathy and affection for a person I rarely find anyone who sparks these emotions. In order for me to even pay attention to someone I have to find them interesting; by this I mean there must be something truly distinguishing about them, be it that they are incredibly intelligent, or perhaps they have an eccentric personality or more commonly something that is psychologically interesting, for example a personality disorder. The point is there has to be something about them that sparks my interest, but, if it gets to a point where I feel I understand the person or I can't learn anything new from them I will lose all interest and regardless of how strong the bond I used to have with them, including close friends and even family members, and even lovers I lose all emotional attachment. If they no longer interest me I no longer care about them.

Additionally, If I spend time away from people that I still find interesting or still have an attachment to, I don't miss them. I'll lie to them and say that I did if I'm asked because I know I'm supposed to, but, I am literally incapable of missing a person. Don't get me wrong, I think about them. There's just no emotion there. In my lifetime I've managed to find only two exceptions to this rule.

Something more worrying has become apparent recently, my mother has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. I was expecting this as she's been in and out of hospital having tests, the fact that this came just after something irregular showed up in her blood work basically confirmed the idea, but, when she finally told us I literally didn't care. I didn't even have an initial shock. I have started helping out more, started talking to her and am trying to make her feel more comfortable, but there's no heart in it. I'm just doing what's expected of me for the sake of keeping up appearances, making it apparent to me that I no longer care about my family. It's not even that I don't care about them, I genuinely think that I just can't.

[Mortal Coil]

It actually sounds like you may be a sociopath (though you can't be diagnosed until you're over 18, no idea how old you are now) since you say people don't interest you unless you can learn something from them. It sounds kind of like people are just objects to you.
Please excuse me if I come off as insensitive.

[munchausen]

It doesn't seem entirely likely, I value people and I do feel regret if I directly hurt them or even animals for that matter and I'm more than willing to jump to aid anyone if they are in trouble. It's just that there are a lot of people in my life that I should care about deeply that I just don't feel for at all. I get the feeling that if I harbor resentment for people I just can't let it go.
When it actually comes to friends of mine, I do care about them I enjoy spending time with them but I won't actively seek to spend time with them because I don't miss their company when they are not around.

[PyChE36]

Key symptoms of a Psychopath/Sociopath:

1. Glib and superficial
2. Egocentric and grandiose
3. Lack of remorse or guilt
4. Lack of empathy
5. Deceitful and manipulative
6. Shallow emotions

Psychopaths can be very effective in presenting themselves well and are often very likable and charming. To some people, however, they seem too slick and smooth, too obviously insincere and superficial. Astute observers often get the impression that psychopaths are play-acting, mechanically, "reading their lines".
Sociopaths are very egocentric individuals that lack a sense of personal responsibility and morality. They may be impulsive, manipulative, reckless, quarrelsome, and consistent liars.

The sociopath may be an excellent actor, always appearing charming, calm, and collected. They usually have a normal or above normal intelligence level and good verbal fluency. It is these qualities that sometimes place the sociopath in leadership positions within their social groups and often make it hard to spot their "black side".



Psychopaths can be very sociable, even though they are antisocial behind their "mask" in the sense that their "emotions" are completely fake. They are masters at manipulating others for their personal gain. Their charm, in fact, is legendary.
Psychopaths are experts at using people. They can ask anything of anyone without embarrassment and because of their outgoing seducing friendliness, their use of "poor innocent me! I am such a GOOD person and I have been treated so BADLY!" the victim invariably gets sucked into giving the psychopath what they ask for - no matter how outrageous.

Psychopaths are masters at faking emotions in order to manipulate others. One psychologist reported that if you actually catch them in the act of committing a crime, or telling a lie, "they will immediately justify their actions by self pity and blaming another, by creating a heart-rending scene of faked emotional feelings." These fake emotions are only for effect, as the careful observer will note. The Psychopath considers getting their way or getting out of trouble using faked emotions as a victory over another person.

Psychopaths are incapable of feeling concern or remorse for the consequences of their actions. They can calmly rationalize their insensitive and bizarre behavior all the while attributing malice to everyone but themselves. When caught in a lie, they will manipulate others or stories to their own advantage without any fear of being found out - even if it is obvious to everyone around them that they WILL be found out.

Psychopaths cannot feel fear for themselves, much less empathy for others. Most normal people, when they are about to do something dangerous, illegal, or immoral, feel a rush of worry, nervousness, or fear. Guilt may overwhelm them and prevent them from even committing the deed. The psychopath feels little or nothing.

The psychopath seems to be full of something akin to deep greed. They manifest this inner state in many ways. One of the most common ways is to steal something of value to their victim (valuables), or to hurt/slander the victim or something or someone the victim loves. In the psychopath's mind, this is justified because the victim crossed him, did not give him what he wanted, or rejected him (or her).

Psychopaths lie for the sake of lying. They can convey the deepest heart-felt message without meaning a word of it. They can also tell the most outrageous stories simply in order to be at the center of attention and to get what they want.

The psychopath is obsessed with control even if they give the impression of being helpless. Their pretense to emotional sensitivity is really part of their control function: The higher the level of belief in the psychopath that can be induced in their victim through their dramas, the more "control" the psychopath believes they have. And in fact, this is true. They DO have control when others believe their lies. Sadly, the degree of belief, the degree of "submission" to this control via false representation, generally produces so much pain when the truth is glimpsed that the victim would prefer to continue in the lie than face the fact that they have been duped. The psychopath counts on this. It is part of their "actuarial calculations." It gives them a feeling of power.

It is all too easy to fall under the spell of the charismatic psychopath. There are many who do the psychopath's bidding without realizing that they have been subtly and cleverly controlled. They can even be manipulated to perform criminal acts, or acts of sabotage against another - innocent - person on behalf of the psychopath. Very often, when this is realized by the victim, that they have caused suffering in innocent people at the behest of a liar, again they prefer to deny this than to face up to the truth of their own perfidy and gullibility.

from "A Natural State of Pschopathy", by Laura Knight-Jadzyk

Hope that helps.