The uncontrollable desire toconsume human fleshis usually go through as a sign of insanity , yet the author of a new study suggest thatcannibalistic urgesmay in fact be triggered by a more nuanced set of factors than mere overthrow . Highlighting the illustration of Wendigo psychosis among sealed Native American residential district , the researchers discover how cultural conditioning , raising , and other influences can sometimes attest as a thirst for humans .
“ [ Wendigo psychosis ] is a fascinating and enigmatic culture - bound syndrome root in the mythologies of Algonquian - speaking kin group , particularly those in the northerly regions of North America , ” save the authors . “ This phenomenon is marked by an overwhelming belief and head game that individuals are transform into Wendigos , malevolent spirits driven by an unsatiable desire for human bod . ”
add together some meat to the pearl , the researchers go on to excuse that the Wendigo takes the form of “ a towering , bony figure emanate the smell of decaying flesh , ” with “ fiery eyes ” and “ a heart made of ice . ” Individuals experiencing Wendigo psychosis “ set about to trust that they are possessed by the Wendigo , chair to heightened levels of paranoia and violent hallucinations of possible victims . ”
“ Further along , those afflicted may develop an alarming shift in perceptual experience , see others , even closemouthed family members , as possible quarry , ” explain the author . “ Once human flesh is consume , the transmutation to Wendigo is regard complete and irreversible . ”
Though cases of this maniacal disorder are rare , historical records live on back 300 years attest to the creation of the cannibalistic stipulation , admit one sick person who killed and eat on his relative during a shortage in 1786 . However , while such delusions may seem like unadulterated rabidity , the researchers say that Wendigo psychosis could stage a culturally relevant psychological defense lawyers mechanism move up from Algonquian mythology .
spring up in Canada , these tribes were no stranger to brutal winters marked by famine and starving . In extreme scenario , fall back tocannibalismmay have become necessary , and the existence of the Wendigo myth may therefore have provided a narrative tool to distance oneself from one ’s unspeakable actions .
In other Holy Writ , “ cannibalism , and indirectly , Wendigo psychosis , can become a maladaptive and laissez-faire survival strategy during times of extreme scarcity [ … ] where the belief in transmutation into a Wendigo serves as an outlet for expressing internal suffering , ” write the author . Analyzing the myth ’s psychological function , they explain that “ the Wendigo ’s insatiate appetency mirror the despair that emerges amidst scarcity , while its transformation from human being to grotesque entity stand for the jeopardy of losing one ’s humanity in dire situations . ”
That being the case , it ’s hardly surprising that Wendigo psychosis and cannibalism have historically been more widespread during flow of uttermost dearth . Fortunately , a more stable food supply and good psychiatric treatment in the mod epoch have all but eliminated the Wendigo , which has n’t reared its sanguinary mind in many a recollective wintertime .
The cogitation is write in the journalCureus .
