When a person believes they have turned into an animal, they suffer from a disorder called zoanthropy. You might worry that your sister has zoanthropy if she only talks in meows — but she`s probably pretending to be a cat. Results: Only 56 cases of clinical zoanthropy could be found in the international scientific literature. Given that specific studies in the past have revealed a relatively high number of cases, it can be concluded that the disorder is likely to be more common than suggested in the literature. These cases can be not only primary types based on mental or unclear causes, but also secondary types mediated by deviant somatosensory sensations. Treatment of the underlying condition (in most cases, a psychotic or mood disorder) has proven increasingly effective over time. Anthropos is sometimes explained as a combination of anēr and ōps (genitive ōpos) “eye, face”; literally “the one who has the face of a man”. The change from -d- to -th- is difficult to explain; Perhaps it is because of a lost dialectal variant or the misconception that there was an aspiration sign above the vowel in the second element (as if *-dhropo-), an error that could have resulted from the influence of common verbs such as horao “to see”. But Beekes writes: “As no IE explanation has been found, the word is probably of substratic origin.” Another term for zoanthropy is “clinical lycanthropy.” Whatever you call it, it is an extremely rare mental illness in which a person sincerely believes that they are about to become an animal, or that they already are. Zoonthropia is unusual but very serious and usually appears with psychosis when someone loses all contact with reality. The word comes from the Greek roots zoion, “animal”, and anthråpos, “man”.
Conclusion: Due to the possible simultaneous onset of zoanthropy and changes in coenthesis, i.e. the sensation of physical existence, psychiatrists should look for cases of clinical zoanthropy in clinical practice and avoid treating them in the same way as other delusions. All cases that occur should undergo additional somatic examinations – including EEG and neuroimaging – and treatment should be adjusted based on the results. Background: Clinical zoanthropy is a rare illusion in which a person thinks of himself as an animal. Have you ever imagined an animal? Do you think it would be cool to be a cat? Or maybe a lion? Pronounced [zoh-an-thruh-pee], zoanthropy is a word of Greek/Latin origin that refers to the illusion of a person who believes that he has turned into an animal. “Zoanthropy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zoanthropy. Retrieved 8 October 2022. Methods: Classical and scientific literature were searched as well as PubMed, Embase and Ovid.
before a vowel, anthrope, an element forming words meaning “concerning man or man”, from the Greek anthrōpos “man; Human” (including women), unlike the gods, from andra (genitive andros), the Attic form of the Greek anēr “man” (as opposed to a woman, god or boy), from the root PIE *ner- (2) “man”, also “strong, vital, strong”. the illusion that you have taken the form of an animal form of madness, in which a person imagines himself as another type of animal, 1845, from French zoanthrope or directly from the modern Latin zoanthropia, from the Greek zoion “animal” (from the root PIE *gwei- “to live”) + anthrōpos “man” (see anthropo-). Zō-an′thrō-pi, N. a form of mental deception in which a person believes to be an animal – the god pious Simon Browne (1680-1732) devoted himself to making a dictionary under this belief – “I do nothing,” he says, “it takes a rational soul: I make a dictionary.” – adj. Zōanthrop′ic. [Gr. zōon, an animal, anthrōpos, a man.]. You must – there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you`re looking for one that is only included in the full Merriam-Webster dictionary. Objective: To assess the clinical and scientific relevance of this conventional diagnostic category. Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America`s largest dictionary with: A kind of illusion in which the patient thinks he feels transformed into one of the inferior animals.
