HANDWRITING TRAITS

That Can Signal Psychological Problems

by Joelle Steele

Nobody, including employers, wants people around who are dishonest, unreliable, violent, etc. The following are some of the primary handwriting traits that reflect such negative behaviors as dishonesty and unreliability, as well as a variety of sociopathic and psychopathic or criminal tendencies. But, keep in mind that only a single one of these characteristics in a body of writing is not sufficient to label a person dishonest, unreliable, or a criminal. It is when a collection of three to five or more of such characteristics are repeated throughout different handwriting samples that there should be a cause for concern. Even then, it is a good idea to consult a graphologist for clarification and verification of your suspicions.

GRAPHOLOGICAL CASE HISTORY

After a week of chatting together online, my 38 year-old friend Wendy finally met Greg. Wendy was a CPA and Greg was also an established professional. He was attractive, outgoing, and seemed very compatible with Wendy. They began dating and Wendy soon moved into Greg's house. It seemed a little fast to me, but I do realize that some people jump into relationships more quickly than I do. However, within a very short while, it became increasingly difficult for me to make contact with Wendy. Greg kept her very busy; she was so completely engulfed in his life that she had practically given up her own.

Then one day I managed to visit her at their house. After listening to her go on and on about how great Greg was and how they were going to get married, she went to change clothes so we could go to lunch. I sat in the kitchen and waited. On the table was a legal pad with a lot of writing on it. To my horror, the handwriting was composed of almost every trait one would expect to find in the handwriting of a sociopath. I had never seen writing like that outside of samples in my graphology books. I knew it had to be Greg's writing, and I didn't want to say anything to Wendy. Although I had been studying handwriting for more than fifteen years, I had only been practicing professionally for about two years at the time and was still a little unsure of myself. What if I was wrong? I could ruin her relationship with Mr. Right, or ruin the one between us. I kept my mouth shut.

Six months later, only a few weeks before their wedding, I was awakened by the phone at 3:00 a.m. It was Wendy calling from the police department. She and Greg had gotten into an argument about her not supporting him by attending a function which conflicted with something she had to do during tax time. He had pulled her hair, hit her, thrown her against a wall, pushed her outside and down the front steps, after which he locked her out. When Wendy arrived at my apartment some time later, she told me that this was not the first such outburst from Greg, and the entire ugly story of months — almost an entire year — of emotional, psychological, and physical abuse unfolded. It was all right there in his handwriting.