Diagnosis of Adolph Hitler

Diagnosis of Adolph Hitler
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Abstract
Adolf Hitler lived between the years 1889 and 1945. Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria. Alternation in the personality of Hitler commenced in 1900 when his brother died; as a result, he became detached and introverted. Hitler moved away from home and depended on orphan funds and selling of postcards to survive. After the First World War, Hitler still serving as soldier joined the Germany People’s Party which later transformed to NSDAP or Nazi. In 1932, Hitler ran for the presidency but came second; consequently, made the chancellor of Germany. Hitler made his way to becoming the leader of Germany by forming a de facto legal dictatorship when he suspended fundamental rights. This diagnosis uses the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in identifying the psychological conditions of Hitler. Hitler may have had Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Schizophrenia, paranoid personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder among other associated conditions. Treatment for the conditions that might have led Hitler to do the ‘monstrous acts’ involve both behavioral and medication.
Keywords: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Schizophrenia, Paranoid Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder

Diagnosis of Adolph Hitler
Introduction
Adolf Hitler lived between the years 1889 and 1945. Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria. In between his life, Hitler rose from nobody to the Nazi leader who is responsible for starting World War II in addition to commissioning the Holocaust (Rosenbaum, 1998).

In a family of six children, Hitler was the fourth, but he had more controversy than all the rest. Hitler often clashed with his father over the interests he chose to pursue. The father of Hitler forbade him from pursuing fine art as a career. Alternation in the personality of Hitler commenced in 1900 when his brother died; as a result, he became detached and introverted (Rosenbaum, 1998). In 1903 Hitler’s father passed away followed by his mother in 1907. Hitler moved away from home and depended on orphan funds and selling of postcards to survive. It is at this time of straining that Hitler developed anti-Semitism before moving to Germany where he was a Germany troop in World War I (Rosenbaum, 1998). While serving in the First World War Hitler was attacked by mustard gas which led to his hospitalization at Pasewalk Hospital (Pinkston, 2001).
After the First World War, Hitler still serving as soldier joined the Germany People’s Party which later transformed to NSDAP or Nazi. Having gained popularity under Nazi, Hitler staged a coup on the government and failed (Rosenbaum, 1998). Hitler got imprisoned for charges of high treason for nine months. While incarcerated Hitler wrote the book ‘Mein Kampf.’ The manuscript primarily composed of propaganda and a new order for Germany sold more than five million copies. In the book, Hitler did not stop to express his Anti-Semitic views (Hitler, 2015). Hitler voiced betrayal due to the outcome of World War 1 and promised to revenge when he got out of prison.
In 1932, Hitler ran for the presidency but came second; to cool political temperatures, the president made Hitler the chancellor of Germany. Hitler made his way to becoming the leader of Germany by forming a de facto legal dictatorship when he suspended fundamental rights (Rosenbaum, 1998). Hitler engaged in a systematic accumulation of power through his allies that later abolished the office of the president and merged the power of the president and those of the chancellor. Soon after becoming the sole supreme leader in Germany, Hitler withdrew his country from the League of Nations (Rosenbaum, 1998). During his reign, Hitler punished any opposition to his rule. Hitler imposed dietary restrictions on him to match those of the Aryan race, which he considered to be superior (Rosenbaum, 1998).
In the spirit of purity, Hitler wanted a Jew-free Germany. The government of Hitler sponsored Anti-Semitic policies all over the country (Rosenbaum, 1998). In another cleansing effort, Hitler sent same-sex lovers and people with disabilities to concentration camps where they were left to die. Getting rid of the Jews is now referred to as the Holocaust.
In a quest to establish the dominance of Germany, Hitler ignited World War II. After the invasion of Poland, Hitler had no qualms on what was coming; he continued to his delusional expansion to Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France (Rosenbaum, 1998). The aspirations of Hitler never lasted as he soon went back on his promise not to invade the Soviet Union. The Soviets pushed Germany soldiers into West Europe where the Germans met with the Allies; sensing defeat, Germany surrendered soon after. Before surrender, Hitler and his wife committed suicide to avoid execution as that had already happened to the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini (Rosenbaum, 1998).
The above highlighted periods and actions in the life of Hitler, point at the personality Hitler embodied. The above scenarios can give a glimpse at the person Hitler was and what was his mental state (Murray, 1943). Hitler easily attracts the title ‘madman,’ but it is through psychology that one can tell the extent of Hitler’s madness. However, it is a psychology error to render diagnosis to a person in his absence. Conducting psychological analysis based on posterior information goes against the need to have the primary means of diagnosis, conducting a psychiatric examination, and doing a direct test on the patient. There are several mental illnesses attributed to Hitler due to the flawed examination process employed by Hitler psychiatrists and researchers. There is no definitive list of the exact number of psychological disorders that Hitler suffered (Murray, 1943). This diagnosis uses the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in identifying the mental state of Hitler.
Primary Diagnosis
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Hitler had emotional issues, troubled dreams, anxiety, anger, and irrational views. While at Pasewalk hospital and after leaving the facility, Hitler became paranoid, antisocial, narcissistic, and developed a sadistic temperament. All these were sure signs of a posttraumatic disorder. The mustard gas during World War One had damaged the personality of Hitler (Coolidge, Davis & Segal, 2007). Apart from the incident of Hitler and the mustard gas, there are other human incidents with the mustard gas that qualify the gas as a traumatic stressor (Pinkston, 2001). Hitler served in the military at the Russian front; all that went down may have contributed to the development of PTSD (Coolidge, Davis & Segal, 2007). In 2003, Theodore Dorpat observed that Hitler did not only suffer PTSD from the war but also from his troubled childhood (Coolidge, Davis & Segal, 2007). The father of Hitler had died while the mother neglected all her duties due to depression. After living home, Hitler had to live in the streets. At a young age shocked by losing both parents, Hitler did not have a rosy childhood. Children who get bereaved suddenly, they get exposed to developing PTSD as compared to those with one surviving parent.
Schizophrenia
Hitler might have had schizophrenia. Schizophrenia affects the thinking, feeling, and actions of a person. People with schizophrenia have difficulty distinguishing imaginary and reality. Schizophrenia as a disorder runs in families, and a person develops the tendency to become a victim through heredity. Hitler’s family had a history of mental disorders (Hyland, Boduszek & Kielkiewicz, 2011). Hitler was under medication most of the time in adulthood years. Excessive intake of drugs as prescribed by his doctor might have interfered with the chemical and neurotransmitters in the brain. Dr. Thomas Morell gave mixed medications packaged as ‘vitamin boosters,’ on a daily basis to Hitler (Coolidge, Davis & Segal, 2007). A look at the number of drugs Hitler consumed each day may have made the man a person with schizophrenia. The earlier life of Hitler may have contributed to his delusions of persecution. The father of Hitler never approved of his ‘talents,’ that of pursuing creative arts as a career (Hyland, Boduszek & Kielkiewicz, 2011). Hitler feared persecution from the Jewish. Hitler believed the Jewish were cancer that had no room in the society. Apart from being delusional, Hitler was fond of grandiosity. Hitler did not stop to think of how great he was born to become (Hyland, Boduszek & Kielkiewicz, 2011). Every moment in Hitler’s life was all about immense success and recognition. According to DSM-V criteria for determining schizophrenia, preoccupation with persecutory and grandiose ideas predisposes one to commit suicide, which is what Hitler did at the very end of his life (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Excessive distrust and suspicion characterized the life of Hitler as it does for persons with a paranoid personality disorder. Hitler interpreted the actions of those around him as threatening and demeaning. Soon after leaving Pasewalk, Hitler exhibited unjustified suspicion that led to misinterpretation of people’s reactions. Shortly after becoming the chancellor of Germany, Hitler did not spare those who opposed him; they were killed or maimed (Hyland, Boduszek & Kielkiewicz, 2011). Since Hitler had ambitions of becoming the supreme leader of Germany, he systematically engaged in actions of usurping the president’s power as he was a threat to his dreams. Hitler was a person who did not have a social life typical of people with paranoid personality disorder. Other Paranoid Personality Disorder symptoms present in Hitler are poor self-image, detachment, hostility, suspicion, and social isolation (Coolidge, Davis & Segal, 2007). Hitler did associate himself with the Aryan tribe despite having come from Austria, and he was not a native of Germany. Hitler changed his dietary needs to match those of the Aryan tribe; he did not love who he was as an Austria native. The highlighted episodes and actions render Hitler a patient with the paranoid personality disorder as per the DSM-V criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Antisocial Personality Disorder
The significant acts that Hitler got involved in are all lame. The lack of humanity in his deeds renders Hitler, a psychopath. Psychopathy consists of the lack of empathy, conscience, and social responsibility. When comparing Hitler to other dictators that graced the face of the earth, many traits point to the conclusion that they were psychopaths (Hyland, Boduszek & Kielkiewicz, 2011). In the anthology The Dictators and Disciples, Gustav Bychowski made the same determination after comparing Julius Caesar, Hitler, and Josef Stalin, among many others. Hitler did manage to almost eliminate the Jews (Coolidge, Davis & Segal, 2007). The physically disabled attracted wrath from Hitler opposed to pity. Hitler ordered for the boycott of Jewish products and denial of jobs for any person associated with the Jews. The Holocaust is the brainchild of Hitler (Hyland, Boduszek & Kielkiewicz, 2011). For a man to do the things that Hitler did and still not be a psychopath is impossible. Psychopaths lack empathy and are callous. Like many other mental disorders, a sociopath possesses a grandiose sense of self-worth (Hyland, Boduszek & Kielkiewicz, 2011). While in prison when writing his book, Hitler promised the Germany that he was going to deliver a new great Germany (Hitler, 2015).
Differential Diagnosis
PTSD/ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder
Posttraumatic stress disorder is a form of anxiety just like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder. All three mental disorders exhibit apprehension and worry (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Prolonged reaction to stressful situations through fear and anxiety leads to the development of the three highlighted disorders depending on severity. Violent assaults on self, disasters, accidents and military engagement are the top causes of PTSD. On the other hand, OCD traps people in repetitive and irrational conduct that becomes impossible to abandon (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Also, panic disorder exposes one to repeated fears that must get accompanied by physical symptoms. In this diagnosis, it is impossible to determine if Hitler had any chest pain, heart palpitations, vertigo among other symptoms (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Looking at the life of Hitler, there was anxiety, and the correct type of tension was PTSD and not the panic disorder or OCD. The later forms of fear do not comprehensively describe Hitler.
Schizophrenia /Brief Psychotic Disorder/ Psychosis
Schizophrenia and brief psychotic disorder share the same traits only the duration varies. Brief Psychotic Disorder embodies short and sudden psychotic behaviors (Murray, 1943). Brief psychotic symptoms can last for one day to a month. The severity of brief psychotic disorders is just the same as that of schizophrenia. Life changing event in one’s life can occasion brief psychotic disorder. Hitler did not suffer brief psychotic disorder; he had schizophrenia. The length of the hallucinations and false beliefs in the life of Hitler were not temporary for they defined who he was. Hitler could not have possibly been a victim of brief psychotic disorder for the symptoms presented lasted the entire life of Hitler as opposed to temporary for this disorder. Also, it is possible to have diagnosed Hitler with psychosis. Psychosis is a syndrome that harbors symptoms of several mental disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Just like schizophrenia, hallucinations and delusions are the major symptoms of psychosis. Schizophrenia causes psychosis. However, it is not only schizophrenia that can cause psychosis (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Some of the other mental illnesses that lead to the occurrence of psychosis are dementia, borderline personality disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder. Since psychosis is a syndrome, proper evaluation of the life of Hiller rendered led to the making of the conclusion that he could not have psychosis or brief psychotic disorder but schizophrenia.
Paranoid Personality Disorder/ Histrionic Personality Disorder/Avoidant Personality Disorder
Histrionic personality disorder forces a person to seek attention while revealing pervasive patterns of emotions. Histrionic Personality Disorder patients may use their appearance; act extraordinarily or in a provocative way just to attract focus (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Hitler might have worked in strange ways but garnering attention was not his mission as he already had the belief that he was the chosen leader of Germany. Paranoid, histrionic, and avoidant personality disorders share a biologic vulnerability. Avoidant personality disorder involves the avoidance of social interactions due to fear, rejection, or any other perceived negative responses to one’s engagement in social activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Hitler may have kept cards close to his chest only because he was paranoid and not avoidant. When conducting the diagnosis of Hitler, it is possible to come up with various personality disorders, but paranoid personality disorder embodies many of Hitler’s actions. The other two complications might have been present in Hitler, but they just made a small piece if the ‘Hitler pie.’
Antisocial Personality Disorder/Narcissistic Personality Disorder/ Borderline Disorder
Just as the antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder embodies grandiosity, lack of empathy, and need for admiration. Antisocial personality disorder occurs earlier in a person’s life while narcissistic disorder emerges during earlier adulthood (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Hitler believed he was unique and superior when he disagreed with his father over the desire to pursue fine art as a career. Hitler later dropped out of school to pursue his dream as he did not believe in the system (Rosenbaum, 1998). All these earlier signs point to antisocial disorder and not narcissistic disorder due to the time of occurrence. Borderline personality disorder takes nay of the forms of mood instability, strained interpersonal relationships, self-injury, and suicidal tendencies. Some of the outlined symptoms are present in antisocial personality disorder, but they do not adequately describe Hitler. Borderline personality disorder symptoms are short-lived as they last a couple of hours to a few days. Hitler could have shown traits of narcissistic personality disorder and borderline disorder, but they do not adequately cover the nature of Hitler as the antisocial personality disorder.
Treatment Plan
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
For PTSD the primary treatment is psychotherapy, but also medications can help regulate the disorder. When behavioral methods and drugs are combined, PTSD management becomes possible. Psychotherapy is the act of talking to the patient. Talk therapies come in the forms of cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, and eye movement desensitization and processing (EMDR). Through cognitive treatment, a patient is made aware of the behaviors that hinder their response. Cognitive therapy works together with exposure therapy. Exposure therapy exposes the patient to the dreaded situations; repeated exposure helps a patient cope with the traumatic experience. Traumatic events get reenacted through virtual reality programs. When exposure therapy gets combined with acts of guided eye movement, the method that becomes of the two is EMDR. The aim of EMDR is same as that of exposure therapy. Apart from behavioral treatment, the patient can take prescribed antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and prazosin (American Psychiatric Association, 2006). Antidepressants cool down the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Anti-anxiety medications help relieve severe anxiety associated conditions. Any of the highlighted solutions could have aided in treating Hitler’s PTSD.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a lifelong condition whose treatment does not stop until the end of one’s life. Subsiding of symptoms does not mean the patient is no longer a schizophrenia patient. In some cases of schizophrenia, hospitalization is necessary. Medication is the recommended form of treatment for people with schizophrenia. Psychotic drugs are the preferred medication. Once psychosis wanes, the patient can get reintegrated to society through individual therapy and social skills training (American Psychiatric Association, 2006).
Paranoid Personality Disorder
People who get diagnosed with paranoid may prove challenging to treat as they will even doubt the doctor. The paranoid personality disorder may get to chronic levels if not treated. Medications and therapy are the preferred treatment modes (American Psychiatric Association, 2006). Anti-psychotic treatment such as thioridazine and haloperidol help treat particular symptoms of the disorder. Whole administration of medication is not encouraged as they may heighten the sense of the patient, consequently lead to withdrawal from medication. Long-term used of medicines for people with the paranoid personality disorder is harmful and not recommended (American Psychiatric Association, 2006). Psychotherapy is the proven way of treating paranoid personality disorder. Consistent therapy is necessary; as paranoid personality disorder patients experience its symptoms their entire life.
Antisocial Personality Disorder
People who get diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder are likely to dispute the need for treatment. Successful handling of antisocial personality disorder, psychotherapy and medications get utilized (American Psychiatric Association, 2006). However, medications are not an option as there is no approved medication by the Food and Drug Administration. Medicines that doctors prescribe for people with this condition are those of associated conditions, such as anxiety and depression. Talk therapy used for this disorder aim at anger and violence management (American Psychiatric Association, 2006).
Conclusion
Hitler may have been born in a family with mental disorders, but his entire life is a recipe for the psychological conditions that he possibly had during his life. The killing of the Jews and the disabled, having grandiose ideas about himself and Germany, and later committing suicide; they all tell a story of a person who may have suffered from PTSD, Schizophrenia, paranoid personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder among other associated conditions. Treatment for the conditions that might have led Hitler to do the ‘monstrous acts’ involve both behavioral and medication.

References
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Hitler, A. (2015). Mein Kampf: English Edition. MVR.
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