A Wall Street accountant turned professional escort says she's a psychopath – and swears it's the key to making 6 figures

• Mia Lee is a New York City-based professional escort who says she has never felt sadness, fear, or anxiety.

• She identifies as a psychopath, though it's not a diagnosable condition, and says being one helped her become financially successful and happy.

• Lee only acts in ways that benefits her personal happiness, and advises others on how to do the same, even if they have empathy.

Most people would take offense if they were called a psychopath, but Mia Lee doesn't mind.

A former Wall Street forensic accountant, she credits her luxurious lifestyle — in which she regularly indulges in expensive hobbies like whiskey and cigar tastings and joy rides in sports cars — to her psychopathic tendencies.

She's self-employed, running her "professional girlfriend" business where she escorts rich men who happily hand over a minimum of $3,000 for just two hours of her time.

Lee, who previously spoke to Insider about her sex-work business, regularly refers to herself as a psychopath — and seems to do so proudly.

"Psychopath" and "sociopath" are often used interchangeably, but clinically, they hold different meanings. Neither are diagnosable conditions, but can be used to describe a spectrum of behavior that someone may embody at any given moment.

People who have high levels of psychopathy rarely or never feel anxiety, fear, or sadness. They also tend to come off as charming and bold, Insider previously reported. Sociopaths are more avoidant and impulsive, tending to act on feelings of anxiety or anger.

Mental health professionals only assess psychopathy, through a clinical checklist, in people who have a history of violence or criminal behavior in order to gauge how likely they'll be violent again, clinical and forensic psychologist Darrel Turner told Insider. He said that not all people with high levels of psychopathy are violent or destructive, and many use their lack of empathy to become "fierce competitors" in highly competitive fields, as Lee did in finance.

Lee has never received an antisocial personality disorder diagnosis, nor had an evaluation using the clinical checklist for psychopathy. But, from her perspective, her psychopathic tendencies have helped her create a life she finds fulfilling.

"Every waking moment, the only goal that I have is to increase my overall happiness and reduce any kind of negative emotionality. I don't have any other goals in life," Lee told Insider.

Using a lack of empathy for professional and financial success

Lee said that she views her brain as a sort of AI-like learning machine that she's fine-tuned over the years, both to blend in and get what she wants.

As a Wall Street accountant who investigated complex bank records to prevent financial fraud, she used her laser focus to make six figures. She loved the cutthroat nature of her job, and says she didn't identify as a psychopath at the time, though she now sees how her personality was helpful to her career success. White collar jobs tend to draw in people with greater psychopathic tendencies, Turner said.

In 2018, Lee was diagnosed with depression, which her doctor linked to job-related burnout. Looking for a new way to feel fulfilled, she took her business acumen to sex work, becoming a professional girlfriend. She got to make her own schedule while still making bank. It was then that Lee started to notice her lack of empathy compared to others.

She said she hasn't once felt shame or guilt over having sex for money. When pushy clients ask her to lower her prices or engage in a sex act she's said is off-limits, Lee said she's never budged. It's not that she's worried about her safety, she said. She just can't stand that someone would try to take advantage of her when she's made her offerings clear from the start.