Question:
I am doing a pyscho anlyisis on Adolf Hitler. What would you characterize his pyschosis in one sentence?
?
2008-02-11 20:34:18 UTC
Please give me a website that would prove you accusation! I want a psychological disorder not just something like "psycho!!! He is a psycho!"
Fourteen answers:
vicky
2008-02-11 20:37:24 UTC
paranoid schitzophrenic



Adolf Hitler's medical health has long been a subject of popular controversy. There has also been speculation regarding his mental health.



Contents [hide]

1 Diet

2 Syphilis

3 Parkinson's disease

4 Mental health

5 Autopsy comment on anatomy

6 References

7 Further reading

7.1 Medical books

7.2 Other

8 External links







[edit] Diet

See also: Vegetarianism of Adolf Hitler

Although beginning in the early 1930s, Hitler gradually reduced his meat intake and more or less eschewed alcohol until the war went badly (when he used it to aid his sleep), his eating habits in general could be unhealthy and irregular. He reportedly had a sweet tooth and as a result ate large amounts of chocolate and pastries, sometimes to the exclusion of a balanced diet. According to the Wagner family, for example, he added at least seven teaspoons of sugar to every cup of tea he drank. Combined with his refusal to engage in any regular exercise aside from walking, Hitler put on weight as he aged.



His penchant for sweets seems to have contributed to bad dental health. By the 1930s, Hitler had many bridges and fillings (which were used by the Soviets to identify his body in 1945). Some observers have offered this as one reason why Hitler rarely smiled in public and when laughing often covered his mouth with one hand.





[edit] Syphilis

Hitler's tremors and irregular heartbeat during the last years of his life could have been symptoms of tertiary (late stage) syphilis,[1] which would mean he had had a syphilis infection for many years. Along with another doctor, Theodor Morell diagnosed them as such by early 1945 in a joint report to SS head Heinrich Himmler.[citation needed] Some historians have also cited Hitler's preoccupation of syphilis across fourteen pages of Mein Kampf, which he called a "Jewish disease", leading to speculation he may have had the disease himself. His possible discovery in 1908 that he himself had the disease may have been responsible for his demeanor; while his life course may have been influenced by his anger at being a syphilitic, as well as his belief that he had acquired the disease from undesirable societal elements which he intended to eliminate. He writes about the temptation of prostitution and the spreading of syphilis in several chapters of Mein Kampf, specifically volume 1, chapter 10 "Causes of the Collapse".[2] Historians have speculated he may have caught the affliction from a German prostitute at a time when the disease was not yet treatable by modern antibiotics. It would also explain his avoidance of normal sexual relations with women. It has also been speculated that Hitler may have had one of his testicles removed to prevent the progression of the disease; as the fact that he was missing one testicle was noted in a Russian autopsy of the body. No pictures exist of Hitler revealing any portion of his torso; such as wearing a bathing suit at the beach. The author Deborah Hayden[3] has written extensively regarding Hitler and syphilis.[4] See a documentary video file[5] produced by the Armed Forces in the late 40's about the very serious number of cases of the disease reported in Europe and the United States in the early part of the century.



Since the 1870s, however, it was a common rhetorical practice on the völkisch right to associate Jews with diseases such as syphilis. Historian Robert Waite claims Hitler tested negative on a Wassermann test as late as 1939 although this does not prove that he did not have the disease as the Wassermann test was prone to false-negative results. Regardless of whether he actually had syphilis or not, Hitler lived in constant fear of the disease and took treatment for it no matter what doctors told him.



In his biography of Doctor Felix Kersten, called The Man with the Miraculous Hands,[6] journalist and Académie française member Joseph Kessel wrote of how in the winter of 1942 Kersten heard of Hitler's medical condition. Consulted by his patient, Himmler, as to whether he could "assist a man who suffers from severe headaches, dizziness and insomnia," Kersten was shown a top secret twenty-six page report. It detailed how Hitler had contracted syphilis in his youth and was treated for it at a hospital in Pasewalk, Germany. However, in 1937, symptoms re-appeared, showing the disease was still active, and by the start of 1942, signs were evident that progressive syphilitic paralysis (Tabes dorsalis) was occurring. Himmler advised Kersten that Morell was in charge of Hitler's treatment, and that it was a state secret. The book also relates how Kersten learned from Himmler's secretary, Rudolf Brandt, that at that time, probably the only other people privy to the report's information were Nazi Party chairman Martin Bormann and Hermann Göring, the head of the Luftwaffe.





[edit] Parkinson's disease

It has also been speculated Hitler had Parkinson's disease. Newsreels of Hitler show he had tremors in his hand and a shuffling walk (also a symptom of tertiary syphilis, see above) which began before the war and continued to worsen until the end of his life. Morell treated Hitler with an agent commonly used to treat this condition in 1945, although Morell is viewed as an unreliable doctor by most historians and any diagnoses he may have made are subject to doubt.



A more reliable doctor, Ernst-Günther Schenck, who worked at an emergency casualty station in the Reich Chancellery during April of 1945, also claimed Hitler might have Parkinson's disease. However, Schenck only saw Hitler briefly on two occasions and, by his own admission, was extremely exhausted and dazed during these meetings (at the time, he had been in surgery for numerous days without much sleep). Also, some of Schenck's opinions were based on hearsay from Dr. Haase.



Some doctors dismiss his ailments as hypochondria, pointing out the apparently drastic decline of Hitler's health as Germany began losing World War II.





[edit] Mental health

As debated as Hitler's physical medical issues may be, his mental health is a minefield of theories and speculation. This topic is very controversial, as many believe that if a psychological cause can be found for Hitler's behavior, there would be more reasoning behind his actions.



Waite, who authored an extensive psychohistory of Hitler, concluded that he suffered from borderline personality disorder, which manifested its symptoms in numerous ways and would imply Hitler was in full control of himself and his actions. Others have proposed he may have been schizophrenic, based on claims that he was hallucinating and delusional during his last year of life. If true, this might be explained by a series of brief reactive psychoses in a narcissistic personality which could not withstand being confronted with reality (in this case that he was not the "superman" or "savior of Germany" he envisioned, as his plans and apparent early achievements collapsed about him). In addition, his regular methamphetamine use and possible sleep deprivation in the last, highly stressful period of his life must be factored into any speculation as to the cause of his possible psychotic symptoms as these two activities are known to trigger psychotic reactions in some individuals. However, Hitler never visited a psychiatrist, and under current methodology, any such diagnosis is speculation.



Michael Fitzgerald, an expert in autism spectrum disorders, concludes that Hitler suffered from, and met all the criteria of Asperger's Syndrome as documented by Hans Asperger.[7] As evidence of Asperger's Fitzgerald cites Hitler's poor sleep patterns, food fads, dislike of physical contact, inability to forge genuine friendships, and an emptiness in his human relations. His conversations in the Men’s Home in Vienna were really harangues and invited no reciprocity, for which he lacked this capacity. In Munich he was distant, self-contained, withdrawn and without friends. His comrades noted that he had no humanitarian feelings. He was obsessive and rarely made good or interesting company, except in the eyes of those who shared his obsessions or those in awe of, or dependent on him. He was single minded and inflexible. He spent a great deal of time with Albert Speer, examining architectural plans, and this remained a major focus of his life throughout. His other major interest was in the music of Wagner. His greatest interest, clearly, was in control over people and power over people.[8]



Fitzgerald further states that Hitler was an ideologue with unshakable convictions, and had a bed compulsion, which demands that the bed be made in a particular way with the quilt folded according to a prescribed pattern and that a man must make the bed before he could go to sleep. He did not use language for the purpose of interaction with others, but only for the purpose of dominating others. He endlessly engaged in long-winded and pedantic speeches, with 'illogical arguments full of crude comparisons and cheap allusions.’[9] He was unable to carry on a normal conversation or discussion with people. Even if only one other person was present, he had to do all the talking. His manner of speech soon loses any conversational qualities it might have had and takes on all the characteristics of a lecture that may easily develop into a tirade. He simply forgets his companions and behaves as though he were addressing a multitude, repeating the same stories over and over again in exactly the same form, almost as though he had memorised them. After the First World War ‘his awkward mannerisms’ were noted. At that time he wore his gangster hat and trenchcoat over his dinner jacket, touting a pistol and carrying as usual his dog whip, he cut a bizarre figure in the salons of Munich’s upper-crust. But his very eccentricity
Diogenes
2008-02-12 05:42:06 UTC
Delusions of Grandeur, Paranoid Schizophrenic,

Sadist, Murderer, Criminally Insane...get the

picture?..Any Psych 1 book will attest.
Reverend Mimal
2008-02-11 20:49:25 UTC
He was delusional and after ww1, which he par took in as a young soldier, he had recovered a mustard gas attack which led him to a severe form of hysteria which then led to his extreme interest in the NEW germany.
2008-02-11 20:41:42 UTC
Narcissistic megalomaniac



Deluded



He was also addicted to methamphetamine (crystal meth as it is known today) and he was given daily injections of the drug



That makes you totally loopy
Indifferent
2008-02-11 20:42:20 UTC
he was injected with methamphetamine 3 or 4 times a day i think it was? i guess he had amphetamine induced psychosis, but i can't remember his other mental illnesses, try wikipedia.
b long
2008-02-11 20:37:54 UTC
i'm a history major and i actually wrote a paper on hitler's insanity. but it was from a historical/racial view point. so i guess i shouldn't have even responded huh? hahah...good luck with that
Lisa V
2008-02-11 20:42:01 UTC
Malignant narcissist, dur.



He was also likely a closet homosexual, which led to self-loathing, then narcissism as a defense mechanism.
íntuítívєstαr•*¨*`•☆★♐
2008-02-11 20:51:38 UTC
I would term him a socio-path with narcisstic tendencies and delusions of grandeur.
johnjanetl
2008-02-11 20:57:02 UTC
Just your average syphilis infected, schizophrenic, methamphetomine addicted, borderline personality, one balled guy, who blamed one race of people for all of his ailments.
2008-02-11 20:37:39 UTC
"Do your own freaking research you lazy ingrate."



Don't forget to cite this website.
2008-02-11 20:36:06 UTC
a
2008-02-11 20:41:45 UTC
he probably cried too much when he was a baby or ate too much sour kraut
2008-02-11 20:37:14 UTC
Crazy!!! He is crazy!
Fly...
2008-02-11 20:50:29 UTC
How can you even ask for proof????????


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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