DISCLAIMERS • i’m a doctor, but not a psychiatrist; • everything here is /my opinion/; • fictional portrayals of mental illnesses tend to be unidimensional or over-simplified; • this thread is just for meta analysis purposes and to discuss of one of my favorite characters.

[1] THE DSM DIAGNOSIS hannibal would fit the criteria for antisocial personality disorder (aspd), which is defined as a pattern of socially irresponsible, exploitative, and guiltless behavior that begins in childhood or early adolescence

aspd is characterized by behaviors constituting a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, and is manifested by disturbances in many areas of life

[1.1] BUT ISN’T HE A PSYCHOPATH? psychopathy has been described as a clinical construct distinct from aspd, being defined by a constellation of antisocial behaviors and psychological symptoms (e.g. lack of emotional connection with others and an incapacity for guilt or remorse)

psychopathy indicates a particularly malignant form of aspd and appears to fall at the severe end of the antisocial behavior spectrum most psychopaths meet criteria for aspd, BUT not everyone with aspd is psychopathic

[1.2] CONDUCT DISORDER aspd overlaps with conduct disorder, a mental disorder of childhood/adolescence, which entails repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior violating basic rights of others or major societal norms or rules

[2] FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS respondent behavior (or reflex) happens when a stimulus from the environment produces a specific response in the organism—that is independent of learning

[2.1.] MISCHA in ‘hannibal rising,’ after a prolonged period of food deprivation during WWII, a group lithuanian hiwis (who were aiding the nazis) discovers hannibal and his younger sister, mischa, hiding in a farmhouse

the hiwis kill mischa and eat her. hannibal ends up eating her too, but unknowingly behavioral analysis tells us that we are born sensitized to certain environmental conditions, such as water, food, sex, warmth etc here, hannibal’s food deprivation served as a conditioner

the cannibalism served as a discriminative stimulus for the response of eating, resulting in satiation (alleviation of hunger, a stomach emptiness, low sugar levels etc) it increased the value of food for hannibal in a very early age

the repetition of the behavior occurs through the removal of an aversive stimulus (hunger) from the environment through what we call negative reinforcement

[2.2] THE ORPHANAGE + LATE CHILDHOOD hannibal’s days at the orphanage exposed him to both physical and emotional adversity (screenshots are mine)

the lack of familial support and the mistreatment in the institution probably contributed to the development of his ruthlessness

[2.3] THE MUTISM hannibal was mute throughout most of his childhood/teen years, obviously a response from the trauma but i’d like to refine it and say it also has to do with dissociation and a conversion disorder—it being: a psychological trauma results in a physical symptom

the dissociation happens as a way of the brain to protect oneself it can be cause by trauma, anxiety, depression, panic and even stress hannibal showed signs of severe detachment from his classmates and the outside, which makes me think he has also has a dissociative disorder

I’ll add more to this thread whenever I have some time :) hope you guys liked it 💞

@indigocarnation Oooh this was such an interesting read stef!! 👀 do you plan to do one for Will too?

@cannibalyaoi hmm I could try! are there any specific points you’d like me to include? :)

@indigocarnation Amazing, Stef! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us 🤗 I enjoyed learning more about Hannibal 💖

@LDogtag love you :)