Clinical Lycanthropy: People Who Believe They Transform Into Animals
The figure of the werewolf is a classic of both science fiction and the mythology of different cultures. Since ancient times, human beings have generated figures in which characteristics of humans and different animals were mixed, considering them from gods (as in ancient Egypt) to products of a curse (in the Middle Ages or even in Ancient Greece).
Also throughout history there have been many people who have claimed to be or transform into an animal, some experiencing it with genuine fear. Many of these people are believed to have suffered a rare mental disorder called clinical lycanthropy which we are going to talk about in this article.
Clinical lycanthropy or licomania is considered a mental disorder characterized mainly by the existence of the hallucination of being or transforming into an animal This hallucination is accompanied by the perception of supposed bodily changes, with many patients noticing how their physical appearance has changed over time. The shape and size of the mouth or teeth or even the sensation that they were shrinking or enlarging has been manifested in several of the recorded cases. The period in which these people consider themselves transformed varies enormously, and can range from one day to fifteen years.
Clinical lycanthropy is not or does not have to be limited solely to a belief, but rather They also maintain typical behaviors of the animals they believe they transform into Among other behaviors, they can move like themselves (on all fours for example), moan or howl, attack or even feed on raw meat.
A strange and little-recognized disorder
We are facing a strange and not very common disorder, of which in fact between 1850 and 2012 one of the authors who has explored the disorder, Blom, has only found thirteen documented cases. Although it is not an internationally recognized disorder since there are few cases and Its symptoms are largely attributable to disorders such as schizophrenia and some psychotic breaks , some authors have come to generate some diagnostic criteria. Among them is the fact that the patient claims to be an animal, claims in a moment of mental lucidity that he sometimes feels like he is an animal, and/or performs typically animal behaviors such as those mentioned above.
It is important to keep in mind that although lycanthropy technically refers to wolves, people who suffer from this alteration may believe they are transforming into very different animals beyond them. Cases have been detected in which the person believed they were transforming into horses, pigs, cats, birds, toads or even insects such as wasps. In some cases it has even been recorded that the patient reports progressively transforming into different creatures until he becomes human again.
Lycanthropy throughout history
Although there are very few modern cases of clinical lycanthropy that are considered recorded and that meet the criteria stipulated by some authors, the truth is that the belief in werewolves is very ancient and shared by a large number of cultures. It must be taken into account that the belief in animistic and totemic elements was much more widespread than today, which explains why most cases and myths date back to ancient times. But A spiritual explanation was not always given to this phenomenon In fact, there are records that indicated already in Byzantine times that there was some type of mental alteration behind some of them.
During the Middle Ages, however, many cases of people who considered themselves or others considered werewolves were persecuted and burned, in many cases considered examples of demonic possession. Despite this, even at this time some alleged cases were treated medically (although with little success). Probably the high degree of belief in supernatural elements facilitated the expansion of the werewolf myth and possibly this could have influenced the appearance of a greater number of cases.
However, scientific advances and the progressive decline of beliefs regarding magic and spirits made it increasingly less common to believe in the possibility of being possessed and/or being able to transmute into an animal. Cases of lycanthropy have been decreasing over the years, probably for this reason.
The causes of this mental alteration
Clinical lycanthropy is a very rare disorder, with very few cases found throughout the world. It is because of that The investigation of this impact is minimal there being no truly proven theories about the factors that can cause it.
However, the presence of neurological lesions and cognitive impairment associated with the evolution of different diseases (including dementia) could be one of the possible causes: Although the number of known cases of clinical lycanthropy is small, in two of them some researchers They have been able to obtain images of his brain and records of his brain function. The brain recordings of these two subjects seem to indicate that at the moments in which they believe they are transforming, an abnormal pattern occurs in their brain functioning. Regarding the information obtained by neuroimaging, it has been observed the presence of alterations in the regions of the brain that process proprioception and sensory perception, with the somatosensory cortex being altered.
Others that different authors have maintained throughout history have stated that this alteration may be due to some type of remnant of sociocultural evolution as a species, it being common in ancient cultures to imitate the wolf or other animals with the purpose of obtaining their associated characteristics (strength, speed, fierceness) so that these will benefit our survival. Those who have this hallucination could be unconsciously seeking to acquire the qualities of the animals they hallucinate, as a way to deal with situations of frustration or stress
Psychoanalysis has also explored the vision of transformation as the act of letting ourselves be what we are, said hallucination being a form of avoiding guilt or coping with conflicts. It could also arise as a mental maximization of the bodily changes that we experience throughout our evolutionary development.
Disorders with which it is associated
Although clinical lycanthropy or lycanthropy has special characteristics in relation to other disorders (such as the involvement of the brain areas that regulate proprioception), It is possible to consider it as part or symptom of other mental and neurological disorders
The disorder with which it has been most frequently associated is with the presence of schizophrenia, although the hallucinations in this disorder are usually auditory and not as much kinesthetic and haptic as in lycanthropy. Another condition with which it is associated is chronic delusional disorder. In general, it is considered a psychotic-type disorder In addition, it has been associated with the experience of manic episodes, in which different types of hallucinations can appear.
