Necrophilia: Characteristics, Causes And Treatment
Necrophilia is one of the sexual disorders that causes the greatest rejection in society since few individuals can understand that there are subjects who become sexually aroused by the presence of corpses.
But what exactly is this disorder? What are its symptoms and treatment? In today’s article we will answer these questions. Now, to understand what necrophilia is, we will first explain what paraphilias are, a category in which necrophilia is included.
Sexual disorders are divided into three broad categories: paraphilias, sexual dysfunctions and sexual identity disorders. The word paraphilia It has its origin in the Greek language. In Greek, “para” means next to, and “filein” is synonymous with the verb “to love.”
Paraphilias are mental disorders that are characterized by intense and repeated sexual fantasies , sexual impulses towards children or people who do not consent, or towards non-human objects or situations such as suffering or self-humiliation. Therefore, paraphilias such as necrophilia negatively affect the quality of life of one or more people. Some of the best known are: exhibitionism, voyeurism, fetishism or pedophilia.
You can learn more about these paraphilias in our article: “The main sexual and psychosexual disorders”
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), these sexual fantasies or sexual urges occur over a significant period of time (at least 6 months) and interfere with the person’s normal functioning or sexual satisfaction in their relationships. .
Characteristics of the behavior of the person with paraphilia
Although paraphilias are often seen as strange and extreme behaviors, they are easier to understand if one thinks about those behaviors that, in less extreme cases, are quite common. For example, for a person, sexting can cause arousal. However, When an individual is only aroused through sexting, then it would be considered a paraphilia because he has a way of satisfying his sexual desires that has a negative impact on his well-being.
Recommended article: “Sexting: the risky practice of sending spicy photos to each other via mobile phone”
In summary, the behavior of people with paraphilia is characterized by:
Necrophilia: a strange disorder
Within paraphilias, necrophilia is, along with pedophilia, one of the paraphilias that causes the greatest social rejection Few individuals can imagine a person having intimate relations with a dead person. But the truth is that, despite its strangeness, over the years cases have been known such as that of Carl Tanzler, who has become famous for his macabre story: he exhumed the body of a former patient of his to keep intimate relationships with her.
People with necrophilia are excited by dead bodies , fantasies about them or the fact of possessing objects from the person who is no longer there, with which they can play intimate games. This pathology leads the necrophile to a feeling of apathy with those around them, pouring their life into these types of acts.
Social pressure against necrophilia
Some patients with necrophilia have had a life in common with the deceased person and, after their death, wish to continue copulating with them. In other cases, necrophiles may have sexual relations with multiple victims, such as the case of Kenneth Douglas, a necrophile from Hamilton County in Ohio, United States, who He had sexual relations with more than 100 female corpses while working as an assistant in a morgue in that region In this case, the necrophile was able to direct his life in such a way that he could carry out these acts, so that social censure did not affect him.
But necrophilia not only brings with it social or personal consequences, but also legal ones, since the desecration of graves and the retention of lifeless bodies is penalized in most countries. Therefore, many necrophiles end up arrested and having severe problems with the law
Possible treatments
Different techniques can be used to treat necrophilia, generally cognitive behavioral therapy. Psychotherapy (both individual and group) is the fundamental pillar in the treatment of these patients and, in addition, it is usually part of a multimodal treatment, which may include social skills training, drug administration, and hormonal treatment.
The administration of antiandrogen drugs such as medroxyprogesterone acetate (in the United States) or cyproterone acetate (in Europe) is the treatment of choice for this disorder. Treatment is long-term, because deviant sexual arousal patterns can reoccur shortly after testosterone levels return to normal.
The administration of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine or fluvoxamine may be helpful as well.
Carl Tanzler: one of the most famous cases of Necrophilia
One of the most famous cases of necrophilia is that of Carl Tanzler, a man who, astonishingly, He was able to exhume the body of Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos, who he considered the woman of his life, to continue having sexual relations with her
Tanzler managed to glue the bones of his deceased beloved with hangers and wires, put glass eyes in her eye sockets, and changed her rotting flesh for silk cloth treated with wax and white plaster, since the body was in considerable condition. state of putrefaction and thus could keep it visible longer.
Learn more about this case in our article: ”The famous and macabre case of necrophilia of Carl Tanzler”
