Last time we talked about I feel like one of the most well known serial killers, here’s another. The next serial killer we are talking about today is Jeffrey Dahmer, also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or Milwaukee Monster. Dahmer was a serial killer and sex offender who raped, murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys from 1978 to 1991. For one of the reasons that made me pick Dahmer was the fact that while investigating his later murders the police found evidence of necrophilia, which is sexual intercourse or attraction towards corpses, and cannibalism, which is the act of practice of consuming another human’s organs. SO gross! But in a kind of fascinating way!
In order to know him entirely you need to know a little bit about he grew up. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 21, 1960 born to Lionel and Joyce Dahmer. He was described as an energetic and happy child until the age of 4 where he had to have a surgery in order to correct a double hernia, and he was described as not being the same afterwards. Noticeably different, he became increasingly withdrawn following the birth of his younger brother and the family’s frequent moves. By his early teens, he was disengaged, tense and largely friendless. Dahmer claims that his compulsions toward necrophilia and murder began around the age of 14, but it appears that the breakdown of his parents’ marriage and their divorce a few years later may have been the catalyst for turning these thoughts into actions. By the time of his first killing, Dahmer’s alcohol consumption had spun out of control. He dropped out of Ohio State University after one quarter term, and his recently remarried father insisted that he join the Army. Dahmer enlisted in late December 1978, and was posted to Germany shortly thereafter. His drinking problem continued, and in early 1981, the Army discharged him. Although German authorities would later investigate possible connections between Dahmer and murders that took place in the area during that time, it is not believed that he took any more victims while serving in the Armed Forces. Following his discharge, Dahmer returned home to Ohio. An arrest later that year for disorderly conduct prompted his father to send Dahmer to live with his grandmother in Wisconsin, but his alcohol problem continued and he was arrested the following summer for indecent exposure. He was arrested once again in 1986, when two boys accused him of masturbating in front of them. He received a one-year probationary sentence. And everything went downhill from there.
Now onto the next reason I find Jeffrey Dahmer’s situation so interesting. Dahmer was actually diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, and a psychotic disorder, but was found to be find legally sane at trial. Borderline personality disorder is a mental health disorder that impacts the way you think and feel about yourself and others, causing problems functioning in everyday life, it includes self-image issues, difficulty managing emotions and behavior, and a pattern of unstable relationships. Schizotypal personality disorder or schizotypal disorder is a mental disorder characterized by severe social anxiety, thought disorder, paranoid ideation, derealization, transient (or not longing) psychosis, and often unconventional beliefs. People with this disorder feel extreme discomfort with maintaining close relationships with people and avoid forming them, mainly because the subject thinks their peers harbor negative thoughts towards them. Lastly, psychotic disorders are severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and perceptions. Also throughout his trials it was thought that he had anti personality disorder as presented throughout his childhood and through his killings. They thought he did not know right from wrong. Dahmer attempted to make his victims like zombies, that would be unconscious and unresponsiveness but still breathing, which was unsuccessful and ultimately led to his victims deaths. The more he failed the more, the more he attempted it. He had many of the red flag signs in his early childhood which was later accompanied by a young teen drinking problem. People who analyzed Dahmer more ultimately concluded or theorized that due to his childhood, drinking problems, coming out as homosexual when it wasn’t accepted and possibly due to the surgery he had when he was younger he shouldn’t have been held entirely responsible for his actions, but he was. And people also felt like it could have been prevented as well. Maybe if he was accepted when he came out or if he made friends in school and wasn’t bullied he wouldn’t have ended murdering 17 people (and those are the ones that are known about).
I have obviously heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, and knew he was infamous for his cannibalism, but knew hardly nothing else. This blog was super interesting!! I LOVE criminal minds and stuff like that, so I am always so fascinated to hear a little bit more about their personalities and personal life. So this was awesome!! I cant wait to keep reading your posts!
As much as I appreciate understanding the minds of serial killers, and the overall development that takes place, I don’t “love” it… it’s not something to “embrace happily” because it truly is sad, like any sickness or disease. I just feel your enthusiasm is a bit insensitive / off putting…
100% agree
Offensive? This has nothing to do with you. What are you offended about Bri and llalla?
With any improvement of any health issue be it physical or mental, there has to be interest, curiosity, intensity. This is mere interest in him and his situation. It is the curiosity and excitement of studying someone to come up with a conclusion that could perhaps assist in helping find the solution. This is how people grow and make good out of bad. By figuring it out. Offensiveness is ridiculous.
To the owner of this blog. I am fascinated by the brain. My father is both a psychiatrist and a neurologist and his work always fascinated me.
I watched Dahmer’s movie on Netflix. In it’s truth it was appauling, mind blowing, sickening and overall heartbreaking and sad. Dahmer obviously did not want to be this person. You see where he fought it but could not.
Earlier today I heard something on TikTok that really blew my mind as it is so true.
We always ask ourselves, “Why?” “Why did she do this?” “Why did he cause such harm.” Things like that. This person on Tik Tok was a paramedic. She said that the worst case she ever dealt with was the homicide of two young children. She asked her boss, “How can someone do something like this?” And her boss responded with, “The day you can figure it out you become one of them.” And it is true isn’t it? The fact that we cannot comprehend the nature of such crimes is our sanity.
Your blog is great! Keep up with it. And don’t let the nah sayers get you down. They are rampant! ; )
I agree
Ugh, here comes all the Netflix fangirls
Thank you for sharing all of your thoughts everyone. And yes, the fact that we ask why and do not really know is separate to the spectrum of mental health and mental illness.
With respect to excitement for knowledge and treatment outcomes that give us the ability to overcome and understand our own shortcomings that build greater peace and stability in our lives and families, and social responsibility and awareness and respect for children and families throughout the world.
The excitement/obsession that feeds into making a serial killer to a super Hero is the kind of thing we need to avoid in order to live our healthiest life.
Well written, Adriana.
Perfect response, you’re exactly right. The interest is how this can be mitigated, if not eventually completely resolved.
I 100% agree. Jeff was Trialled as sane and was sentenced based on his sanity (he was obviously not sane) but he wasn’t crazy. He was sick had fantasies just as everyone else does although his fantasies come from a different stem, Jeffrey obviously had his own issues as does a lot of people and the fact that people class this man as a “monster” is completely disgraceful and honestly sad. A man who had no control over his thoughts and mind should not be trialled as sane, nor locked up in prison he should be put in a mental institute where he is at least safe, and scientists can study his brain. To be able to study his brain and look at the different things in his brain, they may be able to help people like this in the future. Although it is unlikely, they could have even helped Jeffrey to simply have him in a safe place where he can receive some help would have been a better option. This man is not a monster although he is a sick man with an out-of-control mind which I honestly wish I could have studied and seen. He would be one person I would want to meet to prove he is not evil yet misunderstood and afraid of being left alone.
Parents make excuses, rather than take responsibility for the problems they have sadly heaped on their children. Childhood is where it starts and the outcome is caused by nature and nurture. The parents did not create a monster by design or misdeed, but by an amalgamation of misfortunes. Jeffrey was a very sad person, demonised by his own nature and psyche. He was disturbed by biology and chemistry: life, other people, relationships, chemicals.
I completely agree with you and KD. If dahmer could’ve gotten help early enough (childhood or even when his dad tried to get him help when he was in jail the first time) he might’ve been able to live a somewhat healthier life. His parents, teachers, etc failed him drastically, and i feel so bad for his father who realized when it was basically too late. I also do not believe he was a monster and truly feel bad for everyone involved in the Dahmer case, including him. He needed to be helped, not demonized. So many of his actions during the murders stemmed from not wanting to be alone and it’s sad. it’s sad that’s people can feel so much sadness and pain it leads them to do such awful and disturbing things. Hurt people, hurt others. Healed people, heal others. His awareness over what he did/felt also indicated to me that he could’ve been helped. He was so confused in his own head, he needed a heathy outlet and was never taught how to. I really really believe he had BPD with some other things. DBT probably could’ve helped him cope with his feelings at least a little. I just can’t help but think that he could’ve been such a smart successful person if he had just had the right upbringing. His upbringing set him up for failure not success and don’t even get me started on his mother. the drugs she consumed during the pregnancy, leaving him in his crib to just cry for hours, etc. she endangered her child before he was even born and severely emotionally abused him. she was the monster in my eyes. She left him constantly feeling alone and empty and never ever took any responsibility. Who else raised him? Kids don’t become a certain way for no reason. there’s always a cause and effect. I would not have been surprised if she also had BPD and since she ever got treated or diagnosed it just got worse and worse. People with BPD just want to be loved. I hope we can all learn from his case. Becoming “insane” is possible for anyone, if there’s enough abuse, trauma etc, it can happen to anyone. Our brains can only take so much. This case has always stuck out more to me. Maybe it’s bc I have BPD as well (on the less severe side of the scale), idk, but I just wished we stopped seeing people as crazy and instead people who need help. People aren’t truly as cruel as we think they are. The horrible things people do usually comes from deep sadness and pain who don’t know how to properly cope. If we could all work on our emotional intelligence, the world would be such a better place. There’s a lack of understanding and so much ignorance when it comes to us humans. If only we as a society could all step out of our own head and emotions and think of others.
well said.
“In it’s truth it was appauling”. Fixed it for you, ye offspring of a neurologist: In its [no apostrophe], [comma] it was appalling [spelling corrected]. You might want to pay attention to that tiny red-dotted underlining when you type.
If you so agree with “The day you can figure it out you become one of them,” then why are you so avid with “curiosity and excitement of studying” him?
Here’s hoping your psychiatrist parent doesn’t work too hard at his job and/or never has treat such an individual.
Where do you see either Bri or Llalla express being “offended” by the comment from agp5274?
Yes I feel very compelled to analyze this man I hit on most of his abnormal bxs.
The movie was well directed and did a great job with storytelling
Jeff was normal to most until the switch snapped and he did not want them to go so he killed them and kept them with him it’s an unfortunate and unbelievable story of a tormented man full of pain
I hold Jeffreys mother accountable because she was never really there for him. It was said she never held him and bonded with him as a baby. She also was so busy being a druggie taking 26 different kind of drugs she wasn’t capable of being a good mother. While she was pregnant with him, she was polluting his system with medications she didn’t even need. It seemed to me she was a drama queen, and it was all about her. Then Lionel his dad was never there he worked a lot I understand he was trying to make a living for the family-but your child comes before rest and Jeffs mother put a restraining order on him, so he didn’t come to the house. If that had been me, I would have said forget that restraining order I ‘m going to go get my son and he will live with me.
It all boils down to his parents are the reason he was the way he was-THEY WERE NOT FIT TO BE PARENTS AND SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE TRIED TO LEGALLY TAKE JEFF AWAY. His mother leaving him alone when he was 18 years old-She should have known that was wrong but again a real drama queen self-centered. Anyway, it’s all done now. Jeff is gone and hopefully to a better place-God does forgive we all know that.
I hope all the victims’ families have healed and I hope that people who are parents will start taking the time to be with their kids spending quality time and teaching them how to be good people. I don’t condone what he did but I don’t consider him a monster either just a misunderstood person who had parents that were self-centered and not worthy to be parents of Jeff or any child.
you took that comment personally, because your conviction, shame and guilt with obsessing over a murderer instead of the victim. you told him to not be offended yet you were… maybe because you have similar disorder like jeffery
Why are you getting offended over this post? It’s the story that pulls you in and gets you hooked that make people want to hear about these things. Why do people watch scary movies or criminal documentaries. It’s not just because they want to learn and study it. You can watch something and acknowledge that yes, the killing is sad and all, but still be hooked on the story. Afterall, you have to choose to get offended over something. I think this is a silly thing to be offended by.
Fr. They typed out a whole essay and everything. People can’t have opinions nowadays…
Lmao you don’t understand how blatantly ironic and hypocritical this comment is.
*face palm*
@Luna: What Ben Sherman said below — *face palm* included.
This situation is extremely sad. He definitely did need help but I also understand the pain he caused his victims and their families. He decapitated and posed his victims. Even after they were dead he didn’t stop. It would be nice if the entire world would be healthy and happy but that’s not realistic. There is good and there is evil. Jeffery Dahmer was definitely evil. Jeffery Dahmer knew what he was doing was wrong. He made a choice for evil. The only reason why he confessed was because he was caught. If he didn’t get caught he still be causing excruciating pain to others. Sometimes all the hope and love in the world won’t change a person and you have to accept them for who they are and not what you want them to be. In this case Jeffery Dahmer is a monster. He changed people’s lives for ever, even after he was caught. His behavior caused ripple affects of emotional agony. Looking at the best in people is a good way to look at things but not to the point of being foolish. Monsters are real ,the quicker you understand that the quicker you can protect yourself from being victimized by one. Once you meet a monster your whole entire view, feeling, the way you look at other people will change permanently. Gaurd your heart, accept people for who they are and not what the can be (good or bad) and protect yourself. It’s sad but calling Jeffery Dahmer a monster is just describing who he was as a person, a monster.
Thank you. Well said.
Rebecca, I agree with you to a point. Some people can be helped (and change for the better). Some can’t/won’t. I agree there definitely is good and evil and choices. I just pray I never am tested to the point of making such evil choices.
I think that dahmer was a broken person I’m a rational physcologist but also I’m a Scorpio rising I can see through people and the eyes are the window to the soul he needed help and he wasn’t fully physcopathic because he knew he had to be punished
People love getting offended 🤣 totally missing the point, hilarious
To glorify psychopaths and find it awesome is pathetic I work with rapists, murders and they all have some personality disorder or lack of empathy. ALso, are just smart and cunning. The pictures of the brain are interesting and the impact of his drug addicted mother also contributed to his flat mood and inability to relate to people. Why the fuck do we glorify with movies and interviews. They have become celebrities and our society is already is the shithole with social media.
All people have the capacity to act like animals if the situation arrises.
Thank you for sharing your experience and professional perspective. While I agree society should avoid promoting serial killers, I believe this series highlights humanity’s biases toward the LGBTQ+ community; during the AIDS epidemic; through poor policing, and in lower-income communities. For over a decade Dahmer existed in plain-site where efforts to protect the gay public seemed of little concern. Sure, we can say it was the times and disregard these biases but consider this in 1965 the EEOC implemented diversity programs for such a taskforce. So, what was the excuse? Food for thought.
I definitely agree. Dahmers case calls out a lot of problems in our society like unacceptenceof LGBTQ+ people, race problems, the police, and so on.
It’s not glorifying, it’s bringing awareness to serious issues society purposely puts off because it either doesn’t benefit you or isn’t political.
This is an issue that deserves the attention most social issues repeatedly and overwhelmingly get too much of.
Shut up you sensitive bitch
Lolol says the one mashing their keyboard with emotion😂😂😂😂.
Yo Annalise… STFU please.
@sophia c.
You’ve shared two opinions in this thread that somewhat contradict one another. Please re read. If you can’t see I will point it out, but you can’t sit on the fence and say he wasn’t a monster, but agree with the other commenter who said that he definitely knew what he was doing and despite (as you put it), his community failing him, he still had conscious ability to stop. He said himself he wouldn’t have if he hadn’t gotten got.
Soo he’s not insane(medically), but he’s not insane. So that makes him guilty and conscious of sound mind and reason to go to jail. The biases and lack of policing and racism of this whole real life tragedy are what is most sickening and the police and county of this time and age should be ashamed and crucified.
Hell? No doubt.
Agreed.
Btw, my “Agreed” comment is in response to Bri.
its totally exciting. joe average is nobody. not even remotely interesting. now the monsters? thats a teuly exciting glympse into human nature. just much as an Einstein or or Tesla. i think those who ask ” how” are postering socially to pretend they “cant understand” and wish to project that THEY are ” good” not like THOSE types of monsters. doesnt take much to look at ww2 or vietnam where normal fine decent lads working on family farms, were easily turned into killers with a few weeks of training. the truth is, we all have the full range and capacity along a spectrum from diabolical to altruistic. and its really a matter of circumstance and thinking processes which are ever evolving. everone starts out innocent. most of us would rather avoid war or turning our lives into waking nightmares. yet we love horror movies and war movies and boxing, ufc. violence makes a dark part of us all happy. sheadenfreude is a thing too. what happens is, most of us form rlationships and love at least a few others. most of us enjoy many moments in life and sharing those moments; so we have incentive to remain decent. what of those who already feel completely separated from the rest of humanity? who for some reason feel apart and incapable of belonging? what have they to lose? if you do not feel loved or liked by at least some othee human beings, then theres no love lost the other way either. if a dahmer feels like no one likes or loves him, and he cant feel any love towards the rest of humanity, then the rest of humanity are just things to them. fish in a pond, or a different colour uniform in a battle field. and the most salt of the earth good people can be trained and will willingly shoot and kill others in just a few weeks, anyone can. jeffrey? realized he had adifferent uniform. did not love anyone more than they loved him. so he began experimenting. if you have a good life, do not invite evil into it, bc evil will arrive. if your life is already a lonely nighhmare, there is nothing to lose.
Dude was bat shit nuts.
period.
Yea that was proven in his diagnosis lol
Nah, let’s not use diagnoses to justify the murder of 17 victims
Nah, let’s not use his diagnoses to justify the murder of 17 people.
So, what shall we do then. His diagnosis is definitely not an excuse although it does make you wonder. Was it really him or his sickness? If he wasn’t sick and if he didn’t have mental health issues like these, would he have done the things he did? Probably not right. He didn’t “want” to do these things although the fantasies made it impossible for him not to. The thoughts that forced him to do this are just like the thoughts other criminals have but telling them to do different things, like steal a car or rob that lady on the street.
Saying the illness isn’t a cause is the equivalent to saying nobody can trust a healthy person, you are saying even you are likely to do such catastrophic things by saying the illness isn’t the issue.
Nah, let’s not use these diagnoses to justify the murder of 17 people.
Hi yes the man was not well in the least. I was very surprised that he was found sane. I totally disagree with that. He had very unhealthy feelings. Nothing to do woth his being gay or as some suggest evil. He was not of sound mind a very sick individual.
I totally agree with you.
I found this:
“Clinical observations at ASH have suggested 4 possible subtypes of psychopathy: narcissistic, borderline, sadistic, and antisocial.”
I think it’s possible Dahmer was a sadistic psychopath. Little is said about his psychopathic tendencies, but he talks about his need to control his victims “at all costs” on the Netflix documentary on the Jeffery Dahmer tapes. Nothing is explained why his surgery at an early age for a double hernia repair could have caused his mental disorders. Did he experience an issue during the surgery? They stated in the documentary he would satisfy himself using body parts. Highly sadistic. We may never know the extent of his mental illness. My personal opinion is he was mentally ill.
The brains of psychopaths and borderline patients are very different they’ve found. The amygdalas of BPD patients are active while they are not in psychopaths.
Borderlines are secondary psychopaths, so psychopaths with emotions. Tbh he didn’t seem so bpd in the interviews
BPD consists of Unstable relationships, fear of abandonment , promiscuity, adventure seeking (If I remember correctly), etc.
LOL WHAT?! secondary psychopaths? get out of here with your misinfo
do you even know anything about this disorder? you have a brain dont you? maybe learn to use it? damn.
That was a quite rude comment Ted Kaczynski!
Your a cannibal huh? just kidding try again! lol sorry. I love seeing the minds of Jeffery Dahmer’s case . Its really cool!
I am a Knee gar
By Rodney Lee
This week’s post is SO INTERESTING. Dahmer is a severely ill person, but his story is so interesting, and you wrote about it very well! I really love your topic, but slightly more analysis into the brain scans would be awesome for people who love the brain like I do. Very, very well done!!
I agree. I have been interested in Brain development even post Alcohol/ Drug Recovery. Not all teenage Alcoholics become cannabalistic sociopathic murderers or sexual predators. When we have brain tissue that is able to learn and unlearn post Alcohol/ drug recovery and are willing to do whatever it takes to become a new individual, which by the way takes years, then most of the harm to self and others can be dissolved from that individual. I hope that helped someone out here.
I love your analysis. Like you said, not all teenagers with severe alcohol problems, and even troubled childhoods, become what he did. The brain is the most least understood organ in the body, and perhaps always will be.
I have actually never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, but I definitely agree with you that all of this is so disgusting but also so interesting at the same time. I’m sure his surgery, his family issues, being in the army, his insecurities, and drinking problem definitely had a lot of effects on causing him to do these actions. Great job on writing this! It’s so fascinating to me!
This subject is very interesting! It is very hard to go into depth to figure out why crazy people do crazy things but you do a great job of emphasizing there are a variety of factors and also introducing the background history of Dahmer. You seem very interested in the topic which makes it a lot easier to read and the supporting details are very helpful especially because I am not too familiar with this subject or what investigators look into while looking into situations like this.
I just cannot stress enough the importance of parenting. The importance of recognizing early warning signs. Dahmer was sick, beginning from childhood due to numerous factors, and was a collective result of them. Parental neglect and heredity (look into his mother’s mental illness, and his father’s scientific intelligence); look into his development as a child and experiences (he was molested, he became an alcoholic as a child, etc.)…. All of these things molded him. It’s funny how much people separate themselves CONCEPTUALLY of who they are from the PRODUCTS that created them. We are no different, we are ALL products in some form or another of our physical composition and experiences as growing children, into adulthood. Some are mentally incapacitated, while others are capable of adapting, learning, and changing. There are other “Dahmers” out there, and we need to understand that these dispositions aren’t a choice, and WE must do all that we can to HELP people with these dispositions. That means that YOU need to be a GOOD PARENT if you decide to have kids (obviously there isn’t perfection, but reasonable parents don’t generally produce killers!), YOU need to keep an eye out for any kind of warning signs or signals- be it your child, someone elses, someone you know, etc. YOU can help PREVENT both the creation AND manifestation / progression of these humans!! I’m tired of reading the backgrounds of serial killers and finding THE SAME PREVENTABLE FACTORS OVER AND OVER AND OVER! We know so much more about the mind now than just 20 years ago, so please, let us use this knowledge! And as a side note, I find it disturbing how people are so “interested” in serial killers, but they’re mostly led by the gruesome details of the crimes committed— not the actual “why” and problem solving mindset… it just shows how little people understand (or care) about the mind and it’s cause effect relationship, and how they just want to fulfill their own curious desires. Those victims were PEOPLE, who had loved ones and futures. Have some empathy, or at least, respect.
Thanks for this. As a psychologist myself I can only say I fully agree with all you said. Just one thing I want to add. People should never forget whilst they like to judge that it could have been very well them that ended up doing horrible things. Nobody chooses to be like this. Nobody gets born inherently evil (even if there are some predispositions, you still haven’t chosen this – and empathy in society for being different could have prevented a lot of escalations). Don’t feed on that like vultures.
You don’t know that no one chooses this and no one is born inherently evil. There is nothing in science, or Psychiatry that proves your claim.
If you think about it, and want to get philosophical, you could also talk about free will. If the world is deterministic, then really he was thrown into this world without a choice, and at that moment the particles in the universe were on a trajectory that would eventually bring upon every event that happened to him in his life, and he is technically just unlucky for being born into this body in the first place. When played back, he would have killed all those people every time over, since the chain of events that led up to his birth and lifespan are all deterministic and therefore pre-determined.
So, we can put this on the parents, but at the end of the day, talk of their actions were predetermined as well, etc.
Just something to think about, lol.
… yes… if we all adopted your belief that free will doesn’t exist?
Get your head out of your ass Sean.
Just cause you took grade 12 philosophy doesn’t mean you can speak like a Marxus, or stoic.
I came to this blog after watching the Netflix Series Dahmer, in an attempt to understand the psychological disorders that led him to commit these crimes. I had thoughts that antisocial and borderline personality disorders played a big part. I think that the surgery was traumatic and his parents didn’t know how to handle him. Coupled with their own issues and the frequent chaos in the home, he was doomed. Childhood trauma can really mess a person up and the fact that there were so many points where adults in his life failed him, they carry a large part of the burden. Unfortunately, there was still a huge stigma surrounding mental health and homosexuality at the time. I feel sorry for Dahmer as a child. His parents neglected and abandoned him. I think he would have never become a killer if he had a stable childhood. I don’t think he knew he could have chosen a better path. I think that his thoughts of being bad inside were so embedded in him that it would have taken YEARS AND YEARS of therapy to break that down.
At the same time, his victims never had a chance. He got away with killing for so long because of the inherent bias and systemic racism embodied by people of authority.
Society failed them all….
Not everyone who has neglectful or abusive upbringings ends up as a killer. His home life was chaotic. His sexual abuse was from someone outside of the home! He clearly witnessed emotional or verbal domestic violence, his Father unwittingly encouraged depraved curiosities sbout roadkill but he was not physically or sexually abused. He was neglected and not shown enough affection but thousands of others have had similar or worse ipbringings and did not kill, dismember, cannibalise or commit necraphilia to 17 young men or boys!! His parents were not the best parents but they werent the worst either and they loved him despite all of the horrible things he did! He made choices in his life which were horrendous and unforgivable. He snd he slone is responsible for that and should be accountable. He was not insane, he knew what he was doing was wrong, he made excuses up sbout the smells emanating from his apartment. He hid the remains. He got satisfaction from his depraved behaviours and in the end was compelled to act on his fantasies and thoughts! The fact he knew the difference between right and wrong however displays he was not mentally ill!
I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. Dahmer was diagnosed with 3 major psychological disorders. People keep saying that this is justifying his behavior. Clinically speaking it absolutely does. It doesn’t mean it’s ok. I have a buddy who has severe BPD along with a long list of diagnosis and these people don’t think the way we do. Derealization and psychosis leads to murder. Alcoholism and mental health is a complex issue because alcohol has proven to cause impulsive behavior. But you take away consequences and you don’t have a spiritual belief, it makes you a dangerous person. First murder accident, got away with it. Getting away with murder is something not many people can comprehend. Then you do it again. I’m sure at some point you feel like a god. Insert an extreme desire to connect with someone like fk. I’m having a hard time even comprehending the satisfaction and fulfillment. Accidental death and covering your ass, fine. I’m rambling now but it’s been proven that desensitizing life at an early age can be problematic. No one happily watches an animal die. It’s not instinctual to make that shit a hobby. Absolutely his child hood was the cause which lead to mental health problems which led to the most insane life imaginable. Last point. There’s been mass murders. Sure child hood trauma and a sense of playing god was a factor. But eating people. Like come on.
Borderline people are not necessarily murderers. I am one and I have empathy. I wish people would stop speaking about things they don’t know. Our brains are not even the same as psychopaths.
Yeah they sure did.
Two things that were not mentioned was the affects on children of mothers who suffer from PPD. Jeffrey’s mother had sever PPD and suicide attempts paired with no help or support. Without blame or fault from his mother I think this is a contributing factor. This could be why he couldn’t connect with others in the right way? The other things worth mentioning are his father teaching him at an early age to dissect animals. This is what really started it all in my opinion. Didn’t Jeffrey have a sexual attraction to the shininess of blood and organs? He’s one of the few serial killers that said he knew that what he was doing was wrong, that he was different and he didn’t blame his parents. he also said he was sane when he committed those crimes. Another thing to mention is he worshipped the devil. It’s too bad they didn’t get to study his brain. We will never really know if the anesthesia was part of it or not. There could have been some brain injury. I have absolutely no sympathy for him as he was a scary and dangerous person. I don’t think his alcoholism caused him to the crimes but was maybe to grease the wheels and make it easier to commit them or to help cope with nerves after commuting them.
I’ll do a google search, but I’m curious on the satanism. I try not to go down that rabbit hole but there’s not much on his practice. Which dismisses my thought on everything unfortunately lining up the way they did. If you insert the factor of a demonic god….. you have a totally different person. You either have a traumatized man that became addicted to his abandonment issues. Or you have a intelectual man who had a motive. Sadly that fascinates me. So complex because the average person can even fathom death or murder. Here we have a man who made cannibalism a hobby. So dark. Fkkkkkkk
I’ll keep this short. My son suffers from bi polar 1 and schizoid affective disorder. Our mental health system really has no idea how to properly medicate and is pretty much a huge failure. It is a frightening roller coaster and no doctor knows what to do. It is so tragic and scary to watch it happen. The brain is very complicated and they are nowhere near being able help most mentally ill people. Until they do figure out the brain, these tragedies will continue to happen.
You make choices based on the brain you have and the way it functions.
He had several disorders including psychosis which quite often leads to murders etc. scans have been done on the brains of serial killers and there are several defective areas involved which affect a whole host of normal cognitive faculties. It’s not just upbringing, genetics also plays a part, sadly, he was just unfortunate that his genetics and his upbringing combined led him to become a very psychologically unwell person.
He may have known by law what was right and wrong but in his own mind, will not have seen it in that way and also may not have been able to control his compulsions due to their overwhelming nature.
Too many people are quick to just say, he should have known better without even considering what was going on in the persons mind.
Effectively, he and other serial killers are just defective humans that need to be helped, sectioned and studied to try and better understand how to mitigate future persons from becoming like them.
I feel great empathy for his victims and families but also empathy for him. You don’t get to choose your genetics, upbringing or brain. It’s a shame that some people are defective but that’s nature I guess. I see it as, some dogs are very friendly, but some are just pre disposed to bite, some can be trained back to normality, and for others there’s no hope which is sad really.
Matt, I don’t think you understand mental health issues. You say, ‘He had several disorders including psychosis which quite often leads to murders etc.’. Psychosis does not ‘often’ lead to murders. No academic papers have proven a distinctive link between psychosis and homicide. Please don’t spread such prejudice. In a worst-case scenario, untreated disorders lead to suicide, not homicide. And another thing, there is no such thing as a ‘defective’ human or person. That isn’t very respectful, honestly.
I agree that in such extreme court cases and crimes, you should look at the whole picture and try to understand the perpetrator’s motives and ways of thinking. But to ensure that somebody cannot carry out such crimes over years, there needs to be a change within society and, most notably, the police force. You can study serial killers as much as you want, but that won’t change anything in the mind of a police officer who believes the word of a white registered sex offender who’s on probation, over a black woman, with no criminal record.
One thing that I ponder is what if a female went through the exact life experiences that Dahmer did, how would that affect her life and the choices she might make?
Jeff Dahmer had the same illness as me, BPD.
I was similar as a child, abandoned, bulied at school and was put away at age 8 for being very shy, inward and scared of people. I often wet the bed.
so yes, I sympathise with him, does that make me sick? I don’t think so.
People, even doctors don’t know what to do.
I have always got paranoid that people talk behind my back, but they did and I saw it, felt it.
I have always just wanted people to understand me, to like me, that I was shy and nervous, still am I suppose, get paranoid still and have failed relationships, not wanting people to leave me.
I’m sorry you’ve been through those things, but please do not use it as a way to empathize with a literal serial killer. It’s only creating more stigma to our disorder and people will understand us even less based on what you’ve described it as
Thank you. Imagine being a victim’s family member and hearing that a Netflix series came out about Dahmer. Having to relive it all over again. And the internet fangirls…
dont watch it then. its completely there choice to watch it.
From a review in the Washington Post:
“Netflix series “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” is just the latest in a libidinous true crime canon that emphasizes spectacle and gore, while undermining or even diminishing the lived experiences of Dahmer’s victims.”
It’s funny when you watch other documentaries the dad comes across as being a loving supportive dad. Not so! I can’t stand him right now. He truly failed as a parent as did his biological mother. The step mom seemed very descent. His father was absent both physically and emotionally for Jeffrey growing up through his 20’s and very judgemental. It appears that he became supportive of his son fully after he was caught, imo to little, to late.
I came upond this site because I’m at episode six and he just murdered Tony. Everything was fine but he couldn’t deal with his intense fears of abandonment. I thought to myself could he possibly have BPD, I never heard this about him so I googled it. And bang, this is one of the first couple hits I got. The reason I know is because I have BPD and the worse part is my intense fear of abandonment. I too had a horrible childhood but in a different way. I was brutally bullied in my neighborhood and at school because I was overweight. It was physically, verbally and emotionally. I had no friends and learned not to trust anyone. I’m 53 years old now, I’ve had a 21 year marriage and now an 11 year marriage. But, I still have problems making friends because my lack of trust and I just always think that everybody doesn’t like me. That shit definitely follows you into adulthood. My BPD wasn’t diagnosed until 8 years ago when I experienced something very traumatic and I attempted suicide, I’ve actually had multiple attempt. So, I’m destructive only to myself. I’ve been lucky to have the best mental health care, it’s known as such in the US. They’ve saved my life teaching me skills to manage my emotions. Way back then it wasn’t as available. But there is still such stigma surrounding mental health disorders, especially BPD that it angers me. It’s said Princess Diana had BPD. It doesn’t make you a monster, it’s an illness that needs to be managed just like any other physical illness. We are not bat shit crazy as one previous poster stated. We are not broken nor unfixable. Maybe people should take the time to get to know someone with a mental health issue. I surmise that everyone experiences it at least once in their lifetime such as anxiety or depression. It’s the silent illness. I’m just very sensitive to this subject because now it’s associated with a well known serial killer, great, more stigma. Think before you judge and speak. I’m not excusing what Jeffrey did, it was horrendous. But, I can find compassion and empathy for his lifetime of struggles.
Exactly! People make assumptions so easily without actually doing their research. I also have BPD and people fail to acknowledge that the vast majority of people with borderline hurt themselves, not others. 70% attempt suicide in their lifetime and 10% unfortunately do. Thats not to say their isnt hope because their definitely is and most people with it go into remission at some point after treatment. I also hate that it’s now being associated with a serial killer and not explaining what it’s truly like.
I totally agree, Linda and this is what I was getting at. I was bullied a lot, even into adulthood, I am 54.
I am nervous around people and think they don’t like me, I get funny looks which makes me paranoid.
They just don’t understand what it’s like, you don’t feel worthy to fit in with anyone.
I feel like that and I don’t have BPD. I think it’s relatively rare for someone to think that everybody likes them.
I’m from Lincoln, MT, so not too crazy about your screen name.
Dahmer stated he believes he was born this way….he felt this his whole life.
Every person is unique, no two people are the same not even twins. You are born with your own body mind and spirit.
Other factors such as parents, environment and social aspects shape you but you are who you are.
Learning from people like Dahmer can help to also learn early warning signs, early intervention technics and treatment.
The brain scan shows the brain of a psychopath and Dahmer wasn’t diagnosed with psychopathy. The driving force was his BPD and extreme paraphilia. People keep clumping in ALL killers with psychopathy and he wasn’t a psychopath. The majority of psychopaths are frauds and they also choose careers that offer power and control over others such as CEO, surgeon, police officer or lawyer. Dahmer was socially awkward with minimal friends and he was pretty honest. Huge difference between him and Ted Bundy personality wise. If two people have an interest in necrophilia it doesn’t make them any more similar personality wise then if two people have an interest in working out or true crime documentaries. It was a paraphilia and an interest nothing to do with his personality
The reason he was prosecuted is because he knew that what he was doing was wrong, he kept it hidden and continued killing until he got caught. There are many people in this world who have really difficult upbringings and lives and they don’t go around killing people. The difference with someone who claims the insanity defence is that they didn’t know what they were doing at the time. They will often get caught soon after the event, receive treatment and be horrified that they killed someone when the treatment takes effect. These people are often sentenced to an unknown period of custody in a secure mental health facility. It is not a get of jail free card. They could spend the rest of their life in a mental health facility. Most aren’t that nice at all. As for Dhama and these so called disorders, I don’t believe that was all that was wrong with him. Regardless, he committed crime after crime and tried to hide what he did. He deserved his punishment. Whatever his illnesses, they’re not the reflection of people who are diagnosed with these conditions. RIP to those that lost their life and the loved ones left grieving
There is nothing right or wrong unless you establish it in your mind. Unless your conscious you just suffer mental diarrhea. The difference between dharma and not beeing like him is just the level of fear and the longing of what to achieve for pleasentness. Nature doesn’t think of good or bad. If mankind disappears in a black hole by tomorrow the universe doesn’t recognize maybe at all. So from our smallminded instable perception its of no interest how the things look like.
Dharma didn’t care about causes! on the contrary he tried to fulfill his seek for fulfillment in manifest everything to the police what he consciously did. But without success. Not nourished Spirituality was the only reason which he shares with every human beeing on the planet. You seek it your mind becomes peaceful. You want to nail it with physicalit in the outside you become a case! That’s the reason for the longing for drugs in our mindsick unknowingly spirituality seeking civilization. Because the information is on purpouse contaminated by industry power and money. Conscious People don’t need any industry bullshit. Pharma, weapons and alcohol the 3 biggest industries just 4 is food…. what a Dilemma.
Its all clear was he did it. It overcertainly doesnt Need any selfloving narcisstic Psychiatrist to judge by opinion without unverständig! „. All intersting is said in the First 5 minutes of the Movie. Dharma said „There is an emptiness inside me. And After killing and disposing sbdy didnt give long lasting pleasure or any fullfillment. And i felt the compulsion to do that the next 3 years.
Emptiness on mind Causes compulsions. Thats what society is suffering in the unnatural industrial profitoriented Technical illusion Fake News world. Instead of turning inward nurishing our demand of completion whats created spirtually within us to peace our minds, we search for the shortest detour to pleasentness. The problem begins when the unfullfilled desire of walking the path of spirituality (what every human beeing has within) what’s causing the compulsivness is not nourished (because in the Fake News World it’s always is hiding this secret — it’s not part of education because financial leaders don’t need conscious people — they don’t follow foolishness) an unstable mind settles and jumps like a monkey from there to there not taking any orders from the Individuum any more. Leaving the Individuum to insanity until it walks the path of turning inwards. Than consciosness may arise. A conscious individduum needs no law. It knows what to do! Paradoxic Dharma was more conscious of life than 90% of all western miscivilized compulsive reacting people. Proof = if you are doing things consciously you can remember everything you did. Compulsivly nearly nothing is remembered. Unfortunately Jeffrey Dharma didn’t have anyone showing him the way to spirituality when he felt that he wants to be complete. Only thing happened was the misinterpretation of feeling pleasure is the way to completion. He didn’t know the existence of this cycle. As 90% percent of mankind are unaware… Especially dogmatizing Experts. If you really want to get rid of the truth just get some experts theyˋll mess up and nobody will know anything — they are really capable cause of their university approved narcisstic ignorance and arrogance delusion of mind. (Doctors, Scientists, Virologists, Lawyers etc)
In truth I believe everyone has had some deviant thoughts at one point or another. The difference is most of us don’t act on them. And would hardly tell a soul of them. And I think under the right given circumstances anyone can do pretty stomach sickening things. I do believe nature versus nurture plays a role. And I believe if someone, anyone would’ve helped him he’d not have done what he did. It doesn’t always have to be abuse and abuse isn’t just physical. Neglect and abandonment are just as bad. I honestly don’t know if anyone could’ve had the life he had and how they’d turn out to be. Maybe it truly does come down to what your made of even from birth. Or maybe that’s just a quick self righteous answer to keep from feeling anyone given certain circumstances has potential to do horrific things.
Uh, let’s see: 1) My parents divorced when I was 5, my mother and 3 siblings escaping our abusive, alcoholic father literally under cover of darkness and with a police escort, to spend that first night away on the floor at my godmother’s house.
2) I am a homosexual who also grew up in *much* less tolerant times (having been born one year after JD).
3) I have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.
4) I have never sexually assaulted or abused anyone, live or dead.
5) I have never eaten another human (and only rarely have eaten another mammal since the ’80s).
6) I have never murdered anyone.
Came here after watching the child pornography apologist film “Ash.”
Curious that this blog is titled “Beautiful Minds,” and then you proceed to get “inside the mind of Jeffrey Dahmer.” Not beautiful.
@Heron (12/28/22) Why was I expecting a “a rational physcologist” to be able to correctly spell the name of their porfeshen?
For a more scientific, less sensational look at serial killers, try the 2014 ScientificAmerican.com article “5 Myths about Serial Killers and Why They Persist,” including “Myth #3: All Serial Killers Are Isolated and Dysfunctional Loners.”
No hablo ingles
dolor desgastado
I am a Knee gar
By Rodney Lee
“Wanking is also knicker ooring”
By Rodney Lee
I was just bored on the beach when I looked up things about sharks. Shark attacks, shark pictures and the amount of sharks killed by humans. Look it up it’s sad. Then I decided to look up things about good old Jeffrey, I know random. Hey I’m a random guy. I came across this website and began to read it all. I learned a lot today, and realized how sick and twisted this world has become because of sin. But the one thing I didn’t hear about Jeffery Dahmer is that he actually became Christian. While he wa sin prison he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior and even got baptized. I don’t know why I am saying this, but I guess it’s just crazy that I’ll see him one day for myself. It’s proof that God can change the most messed up people through his almighty power.
Lots of people have difficult childhoods but virtually none end up as mass murdering necrophiliac cannibals. Blaming the mother is ridiculous. Dahmer clearly had a severe personality disorder and to say he is not a psychopath seems a bit odd. Only a psychopath could do what he did. I watched the actual media interviews and while he comes across as quite a persuasive, mild mannered and pleasant person who evokes sympathy, this still does not rule out psychopathy. It is not clear as to what could have prevented this except for expert policing. The main problem is that nobody thought to ask why all these people disappeared.