Possibly most people know someone who bites their nails. They often do so in nervous or stressful situations, as a way to relax and decrease tension. Other people pull out, chew and even eat their own hair.

Others self-harm. Although it is not a frequent phenomenon, sometimes cases have been detected of individuals who, for various reasons, which may or may not involve the reduction of anxiety, decide to attack and consume parts of their own flesh, producing injuries of varying importance. We are talking about autocannibalism .

Cannibalism and self-cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of consuming and feeding on members of the same species . This practice has been observed in nature in various species, usually in the prolonged absence of other types of food or as a method of population control.

Cases of cannibalism have also been seen in human beings throughout history. In many cases, these practices have also resulted from a lack of food. It is known, for example, that during the Black Death epidemic that devastated Europe during the Middle Ages many graves were looted in order to consume the flesh of the dead. In other occasions these practices are linked to religious rituals, as in different African and South American tribes.

Some drugs or psychotic episodes can lead to an aggression that culminates in an attempt to feed on the opponent. There have also been cases where acts of cannibalism have resulted from sadistic paraphilias, in some cases accepted by the victims and even devouring their own organs.

Finally has come to be used intentionally as a way to terrorize and morally destroy a target population , both at the idea of being consumed and being forced to consume human flesh.

Feeding on one’s own meat

Thus, as mentioned, cannibalism refers to the consumption of meat from individuals of the same species. However, there are cases in which the cannibalistic act is directed towards the person who carries out the consumption.

Self-cannibalism differs from the practice of cannibalism in that as a rule the aim of the behaviour is not usually directed at the consumption of human flesh, but rather tends to be linked to an attempt to reduce the anxiety and internal tension of the person carrying it out or to temporarily free himself from feelings of self rejection or emotional suffering. Self-cannibalism is not recorded as a disorder in itself, being rather the result or manifestation of some kind of problem.

In what contexts does self-cannibalism appear?

As with other types of self-injurious behaviour, this type of behaviour is usually linked to the presence of severe cognitive and perceptive disorders . Subjects who practice them tend to have alterations of consciousness or a diminished cognitive capacity.

Some of the cases detected are often linked to serious cases of disorders that are associated with an impairment of cognitive ability and consciousness. In situations that produce a high level of activation, agitation and impulsivity in the subject, self-injurious behavior (including self-cannibalism in the form of self-bite) occasionally appears, generally as a mechanism for controlling distress and internal tension.

It sometimes occurs in individuals with intellectual disabilities, some severe cases of neurodevelopmental disorders (self-injury has occurred in some cases of autism). Also, self-cannibalism can occur during psychotic breaks or in people who are intoxicated by psychodisleptic (hallucinogenic, for example) or psychoanalytic (excitatory) substances.

These behaviours have also been observed as a method of calming down some withdrawal syndromes . There have even been cases in some personality disorders, such as borderline personality.

Finally, this type of behaviour has been observed in some subjects who link self-harm and the consumption of their own organism to sexual pleasure, deriving from sadomasochistic paraphilias. An example of this can be found in the case of the Rottenburg cannibal, whose victim agreed to eat parts of his body before being devoured.

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome

In addition to appearing in situations and disorders such as those mentioned above, there is a medical syndrome in which acts of self-cannibalism are relatively frequent, which has earned it the popular name of the disease of self-cannibalism. This is the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.

This disorder of genetic origin, linked to a defect in a recessive gene on the X chromosome, causes the enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase . This tends to cause an overproduction of uric acid, dysfunctions on a neurological level that often lead to intellectual disability and behavioural alterations.

Within these behavioural alterations, the presence of constant self-harm stands out, including acts of self-cannibalism centred on the bite of body parts that can be reached, especially fingers and lips. It appears only in men, although women can be carriers and transmit it to their offspring.

Possible treatments

Since it is a symptom rather than a disorder, the treatment of autocannibalism will often be linked to the type of problem that causes it . It is necessary to take into account the reason why the self-injury is performed and the degree of awareness of the individual who performs it at the time of doing it.

At the psychological level, the use of different behaviour modification techniques can be useful. One of the techniques used for the treatment of self-injurious behavior such as autocannibalism is dialectical behavior therapy, which seeks to modify behavior while trying to change the subject’s relationship with the condition that causes this type of behavior.

Other types of therapies such as reinforcing conditioning by emitting incompatible behaviors could be helpful in varying the type of behavior in cases where self-cannibalism is a response to anxious situations.

If the self-cannibal act occurs for sexual reasons , the use of techniques focused on redirecting the desire towards another type of stimulation and diminishing the attractiveness of the self-cannibal behavior may be indicated . Although this type of treatment is not generally recommended, in very serious cases, aversive techniques of a chemical nature may be applied, causing the subject to reject the fact of self-harming and attempting to consume their own flesh.

If, for example, autocannibal practice results from substance use or a psychotic break, treatment should first be directed at controlling the break or intoxication in question and reducing its symptoms.