Cannibals are in a class of their own since even most serial killers only kill their victims but do not feed on their flesh. In the past human beings have been feeding on other persons mostly in war in a belief of gaining the power of their enemy or sometimes to just scare their opponents. Cannibalism didn’t start the other day; it’s a thing of the past, but various human beings do for different reasons. Some do it because they are psychopaths, it is a mental disorder, which could be paranoid schizophrenia as in the case of Richard Trenton Chase who was a serial killer who killed and ate human flesh because he believed aliens from space were changing his blood to powder. He believed that he had to replace the blood. Before the cannibal can kill and feed on the victim there is a process of luring the victim to a secluded place or it may be through drugs. When in a secluded place then the cannibal can either stab or shoot the victim to kill them before they start feeding on the flesh. Chopping the meat of the victim’s body is said to bring a feeling of fulfillment as they believe that the process is a robust process that is not achievable by most individuals. Simply this process of cannibalism is exciting to the killer, each step of the process excites the cannibal.
Various theories explain the cause of cannibalism. Cannibalism is the response to frustration and sometimes bitterness that leads to one responding by one absorbing a human being and eating them to satisfy their urges. One reason is the way in which a child is nurtured from ta young age. Cannibalism can also be psychological, especially due to trauma experienced in young age. Once a child has had to stop breastfeeding and concentrate on being weaned, he experiences fantasies and anxiety of separation about devouring their mother. In Gullhaugen’s research, psychopaths are reported to have been exposed to parenting that is either neglecting or children subjected to total control because no one cared for them or forcing them to be submissive. When a child experiences this in their old age, they may regress back to the stage of separation from devouring their mother because of trauma and may lead to one seeking fulfillment which results in cannibalism. An example is Dahmer, who murdered someone for the first time due to a family breaks up. This may not be the only cause of cannibalism; it may also be true to some extent that stress causes cannibalism. Some theories have proven that cannibalism may be a sexual disorder, an eating disorder, or even a mental disorder since most cannibals have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The common characteristics of schizophrenia include reality loss, hallucinations, disturbances, disorganized behaviour, thoughts, and delusions. These features are experienced before the cannibalistic activities. These may not be the only causes of cannibalism. Therefore more research is required to make things clearer.
Cannibalism can be addictive; Hylen says that it just begins as fantasy which the individual repeatedly plays in their head. When they eventually get the real taste of their fantasy a lot of dopamine is released in their brain because their brain pleasure centers have been activated, this is similar to the known addiction of things like drugs or other pleasuring activities. Once this happens, the victim seeks the same feeling repeatedly, with time this urge will turn to an addiction that the victim will not want to stop, which is referred to as dependency. Cannibals are not only addicted to the literal eating of their victim's flesh but also their experience in hunting down their victim. Most addictions can be possible for an average person, but cannibalism takes somebody of completely no empathy and lack of normal human emotions. Cannibalism may be psychopathic, but cannibalism is not the possible realm for every individual with psychopathic tendencies. Psychopaths also tend to experience more of the negative emotions like shame and hostility, than the normal people do but do not feel guilty.
References.
Peggy Reeves Sanday. "Divine hunger: cannibalism as a cultural system".
Rubinstein, W. D. (2004). Genocide: a history. Pearson Education. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-582-50601-8.
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Gibbons, A. (August 1, 1997). "Archaeologists Rediscover Cannibals". Science (Sciencemag.org) 277 (5326): 635–37. doi:10.1126/science.277.5326.635. PMID 9254427. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
McKie, Robin (May 17, 2009). "How Neanderthals met a grisly fate: devoured by humans". The Observer (London). Retrieved May 18, 2009
Raffaele, Paul (September 2006). "Sleeping with Cannibals". Smithsonian Magazine.
