How to Know if You Have Renfield's Syndrome

Last Updated: February 24, 2023

Throughout human history, people have consumed blood for nutritional and ritual purposes. However, if you have a strong psychological desire to drink blood, you may worry that you have another condition. Here are some questions to help you determine if you need medical help.

Steps

1
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I attracted to/aroused by the sight of blood?
- Do I have a sensory or aesthetic attraction to blood (ie, enjoy the smell, etc).
- Do I have sexual fantasies involving blood (not explicitly about injuring others)?
2
If you answered yes to these questions, you may have a blood fetish (ie, sexual attraction to blood). This is not pathological unless it's impairing your ability to function and enjoy life. However, be sure to read the "Warnings" and safety tips.

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3
Keep going if you answered no to the questions above.
- Do you fantasize about vampires or being a vampire?
- Do you enjoy vampire fiction?
- Does you attraction to blood center around vampirism and vampire imagery?
4
If you answered yes to these questions, you may have more of an attraction to the vampire subculture or vampire fetishism. Again, this is not pathological as long as it doesn't have a negative impact on your daily life.
5
If the questions above didn't apply to you, keep going.
- Do you cut yourself to drink blood?
- Do you injure animals (or plan to injure animals) in order to drink their blood?
- Have you ever injured someone or planned to injure someone to get their blood?
- Do you believe that you obtain special powers from drinking blood?
- Do you believe you need to ingest blood to survive?
6
If you answered yes to these questions, you want to seek help from a qualified psychiatrist, doctor, or therapist. Although clinical vampirism, or Renfield Syndrome, is not currently recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, it is a potentially damaging condition.

Warnings

Blood can carry a wide variety of diseases. This is true of both animal and human blood.

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USE COMMON SENSE. If a situation seems risky or makes you uncomfortable, you should extract yourself as quickly as possible.

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This article is not definitive. If you're in doubt, consult your doctor.

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Drawing blood without proper training is always risky.

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