Good evening! How are we feeling today? Oh wait, I obliviously can’t see that because I’m the writer but welcome back! Since the last blog, I decided to watch the horrifying “drama series” (more like a horror documentary)- The Jeffrey Dahmer story. It piqued my interest therefore, this week, we are going to dive into the mind of the Milwaukee Monster. Before we begin, please keep in mind as much as I joke, I am not an ACTUAL psychologist; I know shocking. I have a broad knowledge of the topic and can relate it to things but by no means an expert. Bear with me. Let us begin Jeff was born on May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Lionel and Joyce Dahmer. He was a happy child until the age of 4 when he acquired surgery to remove a hernia; after that, he was: friendless, antisocial, emotionless, etc. Growing up, Jeff’s parents constantly fought and threatened to get a divorce. Pause. Readers, if you ever become a parent (or if you are one), the D word is something you do not throw around kids.

In the mind of a psychologist, the mere idea of divorce makes you think: no wonder this kid was a lunatic. Various studies have shown that children who experience especially rough divorces resort to disruptive behaviors(such as drug use or crime) and are more likely to suffer mentally. I hate to say it, but I just described Jeffy boy. Before you panic, do not automatically assume just because you have experienced divorce in your family means you’re a psycho. There is far more to it than that; however, nurture paired with nature can breed such mentally disturbed people. Anyways let’s continue before I shriek in fear. As previously stated, Jeffrey did not have any friends going up. My loyal readers know where I’m going with this. Oh, you don’t? Sorry. He had no affiliation need! Since he had no one to care for, it was easier for him not to feel distressed about the people he slaughtered. This is a sign of antisocial personality disorder. It’s scary to ponder how a lack of friendship can drive someone crazy. Lesson one, be kind to others. Jeffrey is a fascinating case psychologically. I say this because he also had a schizotypal and borderline personality disorder; direct opposites of one another.

Allow me to explain. Dahmer never had a close relationship with anyone, acted weirdly, and was very heavy in superstitious beliefs. I hate to do it but let me explain what I meant by abnormal. For one, Dahmer was a devil worshipper and a necrophiliac. That is all I am going to say because he was BEYOND strange but that just highlights how weird he was. These points I just described involved schizotypal personality disorder. Now, let’s get into a borderline personality disorder. Dahmer was a sensitive guy (to an extent). Anytime one of his victims wanted to leave he asked a particular question: “why does everyone always want to leave me?”. Well Jeff I could help you answer that but you know, I’m blogging. This showcases his lack of affiliation need and parental love had driven him to a place of insecurity and led to his yearning for love or whatever he wanted. Building upon that statement, he was very quick to anger. He would do anything to make them stay and if they refused he became extremely violent and ended up attacking them. Jeff was an interesting case and goes to show how important upbringing and affiliation need is. Humans are dangerous creatures and too much stress on the brain can make us INSANE. To my readers out there, the lesson this week is to be kind. We will never know but what if Jeffrey had one friend who he could rely on and who helped him heal from his pain, would he be who we see now? We will never know. See you next time on, The Psych Era.