Personality Disorder of Hannibal Lecter Essay Example

Personality Disorder of Hannibal Lecter Paper What Personality Disorder Does Hannibal Lecter Have in The Silence of the Lambs? The movie that I decided to choose was The Silence of the Lambs. I have seen this movie quite a few times, and I still love it every time that I see it. Serial killers have always peaked my interest. The movie has three main characters in it: Hannibal Lector, Clarise Starling, and â€Å"Buffalo Bob. † Clarisse goes to Lector for advice on how to catch the sociopath â€Å"Buffalo Bob†. Along the way Clarisse finds out more about herself and Lector, eventually even beginning to think like him. I feel that Hannibal Lector and â€Å"Buffalo Bob† possibly have antisocial personality disorder. A personality disorder is when a person has unmovable traits that impair their social and/or occupational functioning, but they are in touch with reality. A personality disorder usually begins before adulthood and persists through one’s lifespan, with very little change. A person with disorder is very hard to treat due to the fact they think they don’t have a problem, that it is the rest of the world with a problem. Antisocial personality disorder is where someone constantly disregards other’s rights, is charming, has no shame or remorse, doesn’t have guilt, can’t form passionate relationships, blunt and insensitive, projects a bully image, makes other’s feel fear, don’t take responsibility for their actions, is a risk-taker, hard-nosed, puts their aggression unto others, and they fear losing control. Those that take the legal route tend to go into the military, police force, or business where they are often successful. For example, Lector was a renowned psychologist. We will write a custom essay sample on Personality Disorder of Hannibal Lecter specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Personality Disorder of Hannibal Lecter specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Personality Disorder of Hannibal Lecter specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Antisocial personality disorder is very hard to treat because the person with the disorder may not want, or think they need, treatment. Because of the fact that antisocial personality disorder is essentially a way of being, rather than a condition that is curable, people that are affected are most likely to need close, long term care and follow-up. There are a few different ways to treat this disorder which include psychotherapy, medications, and hospitalization. Psychotherapy is the process of treating a condition by talking about it with a therapist. The types of psychotherapy used may include: cognitive therapy, which helps to uncover bad thoughts/beliefs and replace them with good ones; Psychodynamic psychotherapy, which aims to raise awareness of unconscious thoughts and behaviors and by bringing them to the conscious mind, resolving them; psychoeducation which teaches every aspect of a condition, including treatments, coping strategies, and problem solving skills. This may be done in single sessions, group sessions, or sessions involving family or friends. Medications include antidepressants, improve depressed mood, anger, impulsivity, irritability or hopelessness; mood stabilizing, which help even out mood swings or reduce irritability, impulsivity and aggression; anti-anxiety meds, which help with anxiety, agitation or insomnia. But in some cases, they can increase impulsive behavior; anti-psychotic meds, which may be helpful if symptoms include losing touch with reality (psychosis) or, in some cases, anxiety or anger problems are present. Hospitalization occurs when nothing else has worked, and the person is severely troubled and may hurt themselves or others.