Renfield's Disorder: A Rare Psychological Disorder Where Humans Must Drink Blood

Previously published in Examiner

Part 9 of the vampire series

As we say from the last article, the mainstay treatment for porphyria is blood or heme transfusions. Again the vampire stories could have surfaced because prophyria sufferers can drink blood to get the relief they need, though this is not a medical treatment per se.

However, there is another disorder one which has a psychological component where the sufferers feel they are empowered by blood. They crave it and they must drink it. This could also be a contributing factor to vampirism.

Or, the reverse could be true as well; the psychological condition may be brought on by the influence of vampire myths. Vampires are larger than life and they are seen as all powerful as compared to a mere mortal.

Renfield's syndrome is also known as clinical Vampirism. Clinical Vampirism is a mental disorder. The people afflicted with Renfield's Syndrome have an overwhelming compulsion to drink blood. Richard Noll, a clinical psychology named the syndrome in 1992, but it has yet to be recognized in the Diagnostic Statistical Manuel (DSM), the psychiatric disorders manual, put out by the American Psychiatric Association.

to be continued

The Montreal connection with the Twilight (Vampire series)

Montreal-born actress Rachelle Lefèvre landed a key role in the Twilight movie. She says she always had a passion for vampires.

Sources:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=born-to-the-purple-the-st&page=2

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-renfields-syndrome.htm

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/243-vampire-cults