Clinical lycanthropy , or likomapaniya , is a mental state in which the patient feels that he has become or can turn into a wolf [1] [2] , one of the forms of zooanthropy. The mythical disease, in which the patient turns into a beast, is also called lycanthropy , from ancient Greekλύκος "wolf" and ἄνθρωπος "man." It seems to patients with clinical lycanthropy that they have turned into wolves, their behavior corresponds to self-perception and is often dangerous to others [1] . There are other various variants of zooanthropy: dogs (kinantropiya), cats (galeantropy), snakes (ophidantropia) [3] [4] , horses, birds, frogs, etc. In some cases it is not possible to determine which animal represents itself. sick. There are also variants of autometamorphosis, in which a person feels transformed into a plant or object [1] .
In psychopathological terms, different researchers attribute the phenomenon of lycanthropy to psychotic symptoms, violation of the integrity of the self (according to Jaspers ), depersonalization, or delusional ideas [2] .
One 28-year-old killer who suffered from lycanthropy described his mental disorder as follows: [5]
“When I’m upset, I feel as if I’m turning into someone else; my fingers are numb, like pins and needles stuck in my hand; I lose control of myself ... I feel like I'm turning into a wolf. I look at myself in the mirror and see the transformation process. My face is no longer mine, it is completely transformed. I peer intently, my pupils dilate, and I feel as if my hair grows all over my body, and my teeth are getting longer. It seems to me that my skin is no longer mine. ”
Original Text (Eng.)“When I'm emotionally upset, I’m turning into something else; I had my fingers go numb, as if I had my hands; I can no longer control myself ... I get the feeling I'm becoming a wolf. I witness my transformation. It's no longer my face; it changes completely. I like my skin and I’m not getting any more hair. ”
Deliberation of lycanthropy can be determined for any of the following two symptoms [6] :
- the patient himself says that he sometimes feels or feels that he has turned into a wolf;
- the patient behaves quite animally, such as howling, barking, or crawling on all fours.
Lycanthropy occurs in schizophrenia and other mental disorders [1] .
Notable patients
- The Bible ( Dan. 4 ) describes how Nebuchadnezzar II suffered from a similar disease [7] ;
- Manuel Blanco Romasanta - the first serial killer of Spain;
- Trdat III , King of Great Armenia , who was healed by Gregory the Illuminator . As a token of gratitude, the king proclaimed Christianity the state religion in 301. As a result, Armenia became the very first Christian state [8] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Stoimenov Y. A. , Stoimenova M. Y. , Koeva P. Y. , et al. Psychiatric Encyclopedic Dictionary. - K .: “MAUP”, 2003. - p. 15, 485. - 1200 p. - ISBN 966-608-306-X .
- 2 1 2 Garlipp P., Gödecke-Koch T., Dietrich DE, Haltenhof H. Lycanthropy - psychopathological and psychodynamical aspects (eng.) // Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica : journal. - 2004. - Vol. 109 , no. 1 . - P. 19-22 . - ISSN 0001690X . - DOI : 10.1046 / j.1600-0447.2003.00243.x .
- ↑ Kattimani S., Menon V., Srivastava, MK, Aniruddha Mukharjee A. (2010). “Ophidianthropy: The Case of a Woman Who Turned into a Snake” (English) . Psychiatry Reports. Archived copy . The date of circulation is October 6, 2018. Archived April 16, 2014.
- ↑ Mondal G., Nizamie SH, Mukherjee N., Tikka SK, Jaiswal B. The 'Snake' Man: Ophidianthropy in a Case of Schizophrenia, Along With Literature Review. (English) // Asian Journal of Psychiatry: journal. - 2014. - Vol. 12 P. 148-149 . - DOI : 10.1016 / j.ajp.2014.10.002 . - PMID 25453533 . (eng.)
- ↑ Benezech M., DeWitte J., Etcheparre JJ, Bourgeois M. A Lycantropic Murderer. (Eng.) // American Journal of Psychiatry : journal. - 1989. - Vol. 146 , no. 7 - P. 942 . - ISSN 0002953X . - PMID 2742025 .
- ↑ Keck PE, Pope HG, Hudson JI, McElroy SL, Kulick AR Lycanthropy: Alive and Well in the Twentieth Century. (English) // Psychological Medicine : journal. - 1988. - Vol. 18 , no. 1 . - P. 113-120 . - ISSN 00332917 . - DOI : 10.1017 / S003329170000194X . - PMID 3363031 .
- ↑ Kroeger Catherine Clark. The Women's Study Bible: New Living Translation . - Oxford University Press, 2009. - P. 1003. - ISBN 978-0-19-529125-4 .
- ↑ Binns, John. An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 30. ISBN 0-521-66738-0 .
Literature
- Lycanthropy // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- Benezech M., DeWitte J., Etcheparre JJ, Bourgeois M. A Lycantropic Murderer. (Eng.) // American Journal of Psychiatry : journal. - 1989. - Vol. 146 , no. 7 - P. 942 . - ISSN 0002953X . - PMID 2742025 .
- Blom JD When Doctors Crying: A Systematic Review of Literature on Clinical Lycanthropy. (English) // History of Psychiatry: journal. - 2014. - Vol. 25 , no. 1 . - P. 87-102 . - DOI : 10.1177 / 0957154X13512192 . - PMID 24594823 .
- Fahy TA Lycanthropy: A Review. (Eng.) // Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine : journal. - 1989. - Vol. 82 , no. 1 . - P. 37—39 . - DOI : 10.1177 / 014107688908200115 . - PMID 2647981 .
- Garlipp P., Gödecke-Koch T., Dietrich DE, Haltenhof H. Lycanthropy - psychopathological and psychodynamical aspects (English) // Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica : journal. - 2004. - Vol. 109 , no. 1 . - P. 19-22 . - ISSN 0001690X . - DOI : 10.1046 / j.1600-0447.2003.00243.x .
- Bou Khalil R., Dahdah P., Richa S., Kahn DA Lycanthropy as a Culture-Bound Syndrome: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. (English) // Journal of Psychiatric Practice : journal. - 2012. - Vol. 18 , no. 1 . - P. 51—54 . - DOI : 10.1097 / 01.pra.0000410988.38723.a3 . - PMID 22261984 .
- Keck PE, Pope HG, Hudson JI, McElroy SL, Kulick AR Lycanthropy: Alive and Well in the Twentieth Century. (English) // Psychological Medicine : journal. - 1988. - Vol. 18 , no. 1 . - P. 113-120 . - ISSN 00332917 . - DOI : 10.1017 / S003329170000194X . - PMID 3363031 .
- Metzger N. Battling Demons with Medical Authority: Werewolves, Physicians and Rationalization. (English) // History of Psychiatry: journal. - 2013. - Vol. 24 , no. 3 - P. 341-355 . - DOI : 10.1177 / 0957154X13482835 . - PMID 24573449 .
- Moselhy, HF Lycanthropy: New Evidence of Origins. (Neopr.) // Psychopathology. - 1999. - V. 32 , № 4 . - p . 173-176 . - DOI : 10.1159 / 000029086 . - PMID 10364725 .
- (1992). “Vampires, Werewolves & Demons - 20th Century Reports in the Psychiatric Literature”. - Bruner / Mazel Publishers, New York, USA 1992–244 p. ISBN 0-87630-632-6
- Yellowlees PM , 'Werewolves Down Under - Where Are They Now?', The Medical Journal of Australia 151 (1989), 663-665, 664.
- Koehler K., Ebel H., Vartzopoulos D. Lycanthropy and Demonomania: Some Psychopathological Issues. (English) // Psychol Med : journal. - 1990. - Vol. 20 , no. 3 - P. 629-633 . - PMID 2236372 .