Pyrós . This Greek word refers to one of the four primary elements of nature for the Greeks, fire. Throughout history this element has presented an interesting dichotomy, being able to symbolize energy, dynamism, warmth, affection and passion, but also hate, destruction and madness.

Fire has therefore been an element of great fascination and respect since antiquity. However , some people have an excessive fixation on it , needing to provoke it in order to calm their tension and anxiety, calming their impulses regardless of the serious effects it may cause on the environment or other people or animals. These people suffer from the disorder known as pyromania.

Pyromania: An Impulse Control Disorder

Pyromania is an impulse control disorder , which is characterized by the presence of an uncontrollable need to perform a harmful or illegal act, regardless of its repercussions. In this type of disorder, a high level of tension suddenly appears, which they need to alleviate by committing the act in question, after which they feel a high level of well-being. This process is very reminiscent of that seen in anxiety disorders, dependence and other substance use disorders or obsessive compulsive disorder.

In the case of pyromania, the diagnosis is made in the presence of individuals who have deliberately set fires on more than one occasion, feeling tension before setting them and producing a high sense of well-being after the start of the fire or after seeing its consequences. A fire is not caused by the pursuit of economic, personal or social gain. These individuals present at all times a high degree of fascination for the observation of the flames .

What is and what is not pyromania

The fact that a human being causes a fire can have a number of causes. For example, unintentional fires can and do occur frequently due to uncivilized actions or carelessness such as leaving flammable materials, cigarette butts or bottles in vegetated areas. In this case we would not be dealing with a case of pyromania, since its diagnosis requires that the fire be intentional .

One of the most confusing labels that is often confused with pyromania is that of incendiary. Arsonists are those who, like pyromaniacs, deliberately cause a fire, but unlike the latter, they do so with a clear objective, pursuing a specific benefit or causing damage to another person or institution.

Fire production due to other mental disorders such as schizophrenia, mania, dementia or substance intoxication is also not considered pyromania, nor is fire produced by subjects with antisocial (or dissocial in children) personality disorder.

Profile of the pyromaniac

While all people are different from each other, with large individual differences that mark one’s identity, common patterns can often be observed between the different subjects. This is true at both the non-clinical and clinical levels.

In the case of individuals suffering from pyromania or arson, it is possible to consider the existence of a typical profile. Around 90% of the individuals who present pyromania are young men , who tend to suffer from emotional problems and usually have a history full of frustration on a personal level, often with a certain level of resentment due to it.

In this disorder, the presence of an unsociable personality prevails, as well as a lower than average IQ (although this is not true in all cases). These are subjects with a high level of frustration, a feeling of existential emptiness, a high sense of inferiority who present feelings of little control, power or worth, which they try to replace with the empowerment felt when they set the fire.

It is also frequent that these subjects come from unstructured families , in which they have suffered mistreatment and/or sexual abuse in childhood. In the same way, in many cases the complete absence of a father figure is observed.

On an occupational level, their great attraction to fire leads arsonists to try to get involved in work related to or from which their object of stimulation, fire, has access. Thus, they often try to join fire brigades, or even participate as volunteers in fire-fighting tasks. Many of them often end up helping to put out the fires they themselves cause, as a way of being able to observe the effects of the flames first-hand.

Pyromaniac behaviour is, together with the mistreatment and mutilation of animals and extremely violent actions and lack of empathy, possible indicators of psychopathy.

Etiology (causes) of the disorder

There are multiple possible causes of this disorder.

On a psychological level, it is considered that the presence of a high level of sensation-seeking , together with the need for power and attention derived from a lack of social contact and skills to create or maintain bonds with others may be the cause of pyromania. Arson has also been considered as a way of manifesting deep feelings such as anger in the face of a sense of inferiority. Finally, parental models in which violence, abuse and neglect of the child, or traumatic experiences such as sexual abuse in childhood are rampant, can also lead to this type of disorder.

At a neurobiological level, it has been correlated, like the rest of impulse disorders, with the presence of low levels of serotonin at a cerebral level, as well as a dysregulation in dopamine and noradrenaline. The presence of hypoglycemia has also been observed in many pyromaniac individuals.

Also the temporal lobe and the limbic system have some involvement in this disorder, due to impulse and emotion management. The frontal lobe and the orbitofrontal cortex are also involved, failing to inhibit behavior.

Possible treatments

Pyromania is a rare disorder. Its treatment has been predominantly focused on cognitive-behavioral therapy, although treatments have been carried out from other theoretical perspectives, such as psychodynamics.

The treatment in question is based on the promotion of impulse control and self-control through behaviour modification techniques, conflict resolution techniques, self-detection of the level of tension and the application of relaxation techniques such as breathing. These techniques promote that the individual is more capable of facing the problems, but for the treatment to be efficient, the patient’s empowerment must also be worked on, helping to work on self-image and self-esteem, as well as personal interactions.Working on empathy can also be useful.

It must be taken into account that the pyromaniac does not usually come to the consultation by himself, being generally taken to it by relatives of the patient or by a court order, since most of them do not usually show any remorse for their actions despite being aware of the danger they entail. It is also very important to carry out prevention tasks from childhood.

Bibliographic references:

  • American Psychatric Association. (2002). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Revised text. DSM-IV-TR. Masson. Barcelona.
  • Belloch, Sandín and Ramos (2008). Manual of Psychopathology. Madrid. MacGraw-Hill (vol. 1 and 2). Revised edition
  • Grant, J.E. & Won, K.S. (2007). Clinical characteristics and psychiatric comorbidity of pyromania. J Clin Psychiatry. 68 (11):1717-22
  • Santos, J.L; García, L.I.; Calderón, M.A.; Sanz, L.J.; de los Ríos, P.; Izquierdo, S.; Román, P.; Hernangómez, L.; Navas, E.; Ladrón, A and Álvarez-Cienfuegos, L. (2012). Clinical Psychology. Manual CEDE de Preparación PIR, 02. CEDE. Madrid.