- Main psychological problems associated with Clinical Vampirism
- How the diagnosis is made
- How it can be treated
Clinical vampirism, also popularly known as Renfield's Syndrome, is a psychological disorder related to an obsession with blood. This is a serious but rare disorder, about which there are few scientific studies.
People with this syndrome may manifest different symptoms that include an uncontrollable need to ingest blood, a desire to injure themselves and cut themselves to suck their own blood, always accompanied by great satisfaction or pleasure during or shortly after ingesting the blood.
Main psychological problems associated with Clinical Vampirism
Some of the main symptoms and needs that may indicate the presence of this disorder include:
- Uncontrollable need or obsession to drink blood; Willingness to inflict cuts or wounds on yourself to suck blood, also known as self-vampirism, Willingness to drink the blood of other people, living or dead; Feeling of satisfaction or pleasure after or during blood ingestion; I like novels and literature about witchcraft, vampirism or terror in general; Obsession to kill small animals like birds, fish, cats and squirrels; Preference to stay awake at night.
Not all symptoms need to be present and clinical vampirism is often associated with other disturbing behaviors, which may include psychosis, hallucinations, delusions, cannibalism, rape and homicide.
How the diagnosis is made
The diagnosis of this disorder can be made by the psychiatrist or psychologist, who identifies the presence of an obsession around blood and human blood consumption.
In addition, the presence of psychosis, hallucinations and delusions, related to blood or vampires, fictional characters of immortal terror and who survive on the ingestion of blood, is common.
However, this disorder can often be confused with other psychological illnesses, such as schizophrenia, for example, since there is little scientific research on clinical vampirism.
How it can be treated
Treatment for clinical vampirism generally includes hospitalization, so that the patient can be monitored 24 hours a day, as it can often pose a danger to himself and others.
In addition, treatment with drugs is also necessary to control psychoses, hallucinations or associated delusions, as well as daily psychotherapy sessions.
While clinical vampirism is a real term used to describe an obsessive relationship with blood, Renfield's Syndrome was a term invented by a scientist to describe compulsive blood intake, which is not scientifically recognized. This name was inspired by the novel by Bram Stoker's Dracula , where Renfield is a secondary character of the novel, with psychological problems that maintains a telepathic connection and correspondence with the famous fictional character Count Dracula.
