The Possible Mental Health Disorders of Dr. Hannibal Lecter: A Case Study
I am going to explore the possible mental health disorders extant in the life of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Research suggest that his psychological issues began during his childhood, when he experienced a tragic event that shaped the rest of his life. I chose Dr. Lecter as my case study because I know that he’s well know psychopath with many characteristics that would be interesting to study.
The Case
Hannibal Lecter played the part of a psychiatry medical doctor, who was also cannibalistic. He used his intelligence to manipulate law enforcement to get insights on crimes. He was very calculating and lack remorse of empathy for his victims (Blair, 2005).
Identifying Information
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His sister, whom is was very close to was captured by the group and cannibalized. Lecter was able to escape, but this experienced was very traumatic for him. Lecter was then sent to live in an orphanage, where he viewed as an outcast, ran away often, and stole items from stores and even begin butchering animals. The demise of Hannibal’s sister was definitely the manifestation of his psychological disorders. It changed the way he viewed relationships, and he became extremely obsessed with prestige, entitlement and power. When Lecter left the orphanage he was taken in by his aunt, and lived in France. As a teenager, Lecter committed his first act to murder when he beheaded a butcher worker that he felt belittled his aunt. From this point, Lecter set out on a mission to avenge his sister’s death by finding the men who killed her; where he then found them, mutilated and cannibalized them. Following this experience, Lecter left to pursue his college degree at John Hopkins University. Once he graduates and is well established in the community, Lecter beings to kill and cannibalize …show more content…
His crimes began before he was eighteen years old and he experienced childhood trauma and begin killing animals and people. Dr. Lecter frequently engage in fraudulent crimes, and theft. He refused to conform to what society establishes as normal behavior, or lawful expectations (Taylor, 2014). Antisocial personality disorder is categorized by an established pattern of a contempt for the rights of others.
People with Antisocial Personality Disorder often lack empathy and are inclined to be cynical, and condescending of the rights of others. Dr. Lecter, displayed superficial charm and lacked empathy for his victims. Antisocial personality disorder is diagnosed when a person’s pattern of antisocial behavior has happened since 15 years old in which they fail to conform to social norms, practice deception, aggressiveness, lack of impulse control and disregard for the safety of others. In diagnosing the client, there should be symptoms of conduct disorder seen even if it was not previously diagnosed by a therapist.
Justification for Diagnosis
Diagnosis Diagnostic Criteria Example
Antisocial Personality
Jeffrey Dahmer was a notorious serial killer in the late 70’s throughout the early 90’s. What made him stand out from most serial killer’s was what he did to the bodies of his victims. During this research paper, I will cover his childhood life, what led to his lifestyle of killing and cannibalism and also the crimes that were committed during his murderous acts. I will also compare what theories relate to Jeffrey Dohmer and what could possibly be the reason why he did what he did.
Antisocial personality disorder is a disregard for others rights and violating theses rights. This disorder starts as a child to people who carry this disorder portray the characteristics of irritability, aggressiveness, lack of remorse, and irresponsibility. A psychopath falls under the umbrella of antisocial personality disorders. A psychopath is a person with a personality disorders which is inherited from their parents at birth. Flashes of these inherited factors show and happen in the child upbringing this includes torture animals at a young age, playing weird dark games as a kid, or ripping heads of toys. A perfect example of a Psychopath is Edmund Kemper. A man who showed his psychopath tendencies at a young age that grew into to him becoming a serial killer.
Jeffrey Dahmer, also commonly known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, is one of America’s most notorious serial killers. In the span of nearly 15 years, between the years 1978 and 1991, it is estimated that Dahmer was responsible for the death of fifteen to seventeen young men (Radford University). As his nickname suggests Dahmer was known for drugging his victims, then raping them, then disembodying them, and if the mood fit him, cooking and eating his victims. Dahmer’s unique case resulted in him being psychologically analyzed and diagnosed by at least seven different psychologists during his trial (Palermo & Bogaerts, 2014). This paper seeks to explore the diagnostics given to Jeffery Dahmer and prove, through the use of available information, their accuracy.
Jeffrey Dahmer was a “Psychotic” Psychosis which is a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impared that contact is lost with external reality. Symptoms, hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, thinking, or unresponsiveness. Before going to prison he never
Individuals with antisocial personality disorder frequently commit illegal acts like destroying property, stealing, and harassing others. They often employ manipulation and deceit to obtain profit or pleasure. The criterion of impulsivity is often seen in a lack of planning. In other words, these individuals live in the present, not thinking about the past or future. This is often seen in numerous and sudden job changes, homes, or significant others. They tend to repeatedly fight with others and commit physical assault. A reckless disregard for one’s safety and that of others is often shown by unsafe driving behavior like drunk driving, drug abuse, or high risk sex. Those diagnosed are irresponsible. For example, it is not uncommon to see erratic work history, large gaps in employment (even when employment was readily available), departing a job with no plan to get another, and repeated unexcused absences
Sydell puts this concept into simple terms by saying, “Real serial killers have no empathy, in other words. But in Lecter, we get a little sweetness -- and that may be what makes him better fiction, more likeable and more enduring.” While he may carry himself in the same way of a professional, he is still seen as a dangerous person. Specifically, Lecter is said to have brutally killed and eaten a nurse while in the hospital: “The doctors managed to save one of her eyes, Lecter was hooked up to the monitors the entire time. He broke her jaw to get out of her tongue.
Jeffrey Dahmer’s personality and criminality is extremely complicated to understand, however the theory that seems to fit the infamous serial killer best is psychoanalytic theory. The main focus around the theory is that the different parts of one’s personality conflict with another as a result of some early life trauma or deprivation. There are three different parts of the personality in the theory the id, ego, and superego. Psychoanalytic theory offers explanations based on the ideas of Freudian psychology and its theory of personality, which can be used to explain.
His background and early life mentioned earlier proves his actions of aggression and impulsivity. His diagnosis is ASPD comorbid with substance abuse, and accompanied with sadistic, necrophilia, and obsessive features. The sadistic and obsessive feature comes from his sexual pleasure to harm and control others. Also his obsessive features can be linked with his canabalism. “Dahmer reported that he felt an intense need of consuming the flesh of the dead body in order to incoporate the other in his own self, and he experienced this as a sexual sense of closeness and unification” (Martens,2011, pg.504). His necrophilia feature has been present sense his early adolescence. His low self-esteem, and unsocial behaviors may have easily led him down the path to developing ASPD and his other features. Jeffery’s mother also “suffered from hysteria, depression, suicidal
The crucial characteristic of antisocial personality disorder is repeated lack of concern for and violation of the rights of others. Other core features of this disorder are manipulation and deceit. The antisocial person feels no remorse for hurting others. They may become irritable and aggressive. People with antisocial personality disorder lack responsibility and fail to plan ahead.
Antisocial personality disorders are immense, and psychopaths and sociopaths are just two of the various personality disorders. An antisocial personality disorders is defined as, “a type of chronic mental condition in which a person's ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional — and destructive.” (Mayo Clinic Staff). Sociopaths are a direct correlation to antisocial personality
British neuroscientist Adrian Raine was the first to scan the heads of murders to observe their brain activity in California. The reason Professor Raine was drawn to California was because of the homicides and murders there were in the whole state of California. Throughout a couple years, professor Raine kept scanning the brains of murders and noticed something that appeared in similarly in most of the murders. There was reduced activity in the frontal cortex of the brain. The frontal cortex is the area of the brain where our emotional instincts are controlled. Professor Raine also discovered that the amygdala, is where our emotions and motivations come from, is over activated. This proves that serial killers and murderers have trouble controlling themselves due to the their emotional state from the frontal cortex. What causes the brain to behave this way? Well, Raine’s studies suggest that childhood abuse and childhood trauma is the cause for the emotions of a person to be overwritten. One of the patients Professor Raine scanned was Donta Paige. He was charged with brutally murdering a twenty four year old woman who caught him breaking into her house. As a child, Paige was abused by his mother and every time it got worse. His mother would use electrical cords, shoes or whatever was around her to abuse her son usually on a daily basis. "Early physical abuse, amongst other things could
Introduction The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the constructs of psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder. The aim is to highlight whether the terms psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder reflect the same construct or whether they differ. Furthermore, recommendations for treatment of criminal behavior will be explored. For the purposes of this evaluation some definitions need to be highlighted: Criminal offence is an act that breaks a law, which relates how to behave in society. The harm caused by the act is seen to be against society as a whole, not just a specific person. Sometimes it refers to the specific law that was broken (Herring, 2009). Crime is the breach of rules or law for which some authority
It has even been said that Hannibal could have a narcissistic personality disorder or another type of social disorder. Throughout the books, films, and the TV series Hannibal sees himself as superior to almost all other characters. He finds it hard to talk with some people because he doesn't see them fit intellectually, and he toys with them because he thinks it's funny. There are very few he respects, one of the people he respects being Clarice Starling who is an FBI agent that goes to him for help in a case. In this quote you can see that Clarice was different for Hannibal compared to others when the author states, "It occurred to Dr. Lecter in the moment that with all his knowledge and intrusion, he could never entirely predict her, or own her at all. He could feed the caterpillar, he could whisper through the chrysalis; what hatched out followed its own nature and was beyond him. He wondered if she had the .45 on her leg beneath the gown. Clarice Starling smiled at him then, the cabochons caught the firelight and the monster was lost in self-congratulation at his own exquisite taste and cunning." The quote shows that even though Hannibal believes he is superior to most, there will be at least person to perplex him and have him
Silence of the Lambs focuses on two main characters with problematic mental disorders: Hannibal Lector and “Buffalo Bill.” Both of these characters appear to have anti-social personality disorder (ASPD). Based on diagnostic criteria from the DSM 5, significant impairments must be present in personality functioning as well as interpersonal functioning. This can be present in either identity or self-direction. These ideas of self-functioning are focused on personal gratification from goals and self-esteem, and result from personal gain, power, or pleasure. This characteristic is present in both characters, as they feel a sense of pleasure and gain from killing their victims. Hannibal Lector would eat body parts of his victims, and Buffalo Bill would collect the skin of his victims. This also demonstrates the characters failing to conform to lawful, ethical behavior. Next, interpersonal functioning impairments are present in empathy or intimacy. Empathy is the lack of feelings or remorse for others, which is vividly seen in Hannibal Lector’s scenes throughout the movie. For example, after Lector has killed the police officers in his cell, he stands around, swaying as music plays, content with what he has just done, instead of feeling bad or guilty about the murders. In Buffalo Bill’s home, the senator’s daughter is seen trapped a well-like structure, screaming for help. Meanwhile, Buffalo Bill acts oblivious to her suffering and is not affected or remorseful about it. The DSM 5 also describes those affected by antisocial personality disorder as having pathological personality traits in antagonism and disinhibition. While antagonism has several defining characteristics, callousness and hostility are present throughout the movie, as well as disinhibition characterized by risk-taking behaviors. The other evident qualifications include these expressions not understood as being normative, not due to the effects of substance or medications, and the characters being over eighteen years old.
Antisocial personality disorder is “a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood.” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2007). It is often characterized by blatant inattention to social norms and laws, pathological lying, putting others at risk for personal benefit, and an obvious lack of remorse (NIMH, 2007). One of the most notorious people with this disorder is Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer and necrophiliac whose sexual nature and gruesome offenses captured the nation’s attention (Talbott, n.d.). This paper will attempt to provide an overview of Dahmer’s life, as well as explain how both nature and nurture played roles in not only the production of a criminal, but also in the personality of all people.