What is the story behind werewolves?

Do you believe in werewolves? Well, some people strongly believe they are werewolves. Clinical lycanthropy is a rare mental disorder in which the patient believes that he/she is a wolf. They “believe” that they are transforming or have transformed into a wolf. They don’t physically transform into one, of course!

One Dutch scientist set out to find out how prevalent the condition is. He found that since 1850, there have been 56 original case descriptions of people who believed they were metamorphosing into an animal. Patients have delusions of seeing themselves as the animal when they look at their reflection in the mirror and some even develop craving for the food of that animal. But some scientists think that it is an unusual manifestation of another disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

A mental disorder in which a person believes himself to be a bovine is called Boanthropy. Bovinae is a biological classification which includes cow, ox, buffalo and bison. Patients with boanthropy try to lead their life like a bovine – walking, eating and mooing like an ox or cow. They develop a taste for grass and hay. This condition is also rare.

Picture Credit : Google

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