People know about the existence of werewolves from numerous tales, myths and legends. But not everyone knows that there is a disease in which a person begins to consider himself a werewolf, most often a wolf, and experience a series of sensations and emotions that indicate a disease. This disease is lycanthropy, and the name comes from the merger of the words "wolf" and "man" in the ancient Greek language.
Studies of patients with lycanthropy indicated that most of them used specific drugs, drugs, smeared with ointments, supposedly causing a transformation of the body and giving superpower, but completely different cases were encountered.
Historical facts
In ancient times, cases of this disease were described, believing that according to one theory there are four types of fluids in a person (blood, mucus, bile and black bile or melancholy), which, being in an imbalance, lead to a number of diseases and form a character. Excess black bile leads to lycanthropy, causing mental disorders, hallucinations, depression, and insanity.
In one of the medieval treatises there was a description of "wolf rabies" or lycanthropy caused by melancholy. Pallor of the skin and especially the face, dry tongue, loss of vision, a feeling of lack of moisture and constant thirst were considered characteristic signs of madness.
Patients with lycanthropy themselves spoke of characteristic symptoms: fever, crazy headache, constant thirst, shortness of breath, sweating, swelling of the extremities, bending of the toes, which turned into wolf claws, and the inability to wear any shoes. There was also a complete change in consciousness, the appearance of terrible fear, claustrophobia, esophageal cramps, burning in the chest.
The sick could not talk and made slurred sounds, they wanted to move on all fours, growl and bite, and gradually began to transform, becoming “werewolves”, attacking people and wanting to bite through an artery and drink blood. After this, his strength was left, and the patient fell into sleep for several hours.
Today’s findings from doctors indicate that lycanthropy is a mental illness. At the same time, a person suffers from a special form of delusional disorder and presents himself as an animal, most often a wolf. In practice, there are real examples of patients with lycanthropy, when their behavior changed beyond recognition, and they really became like imaginary animals.