Haltlose personality disorder

Haltlose personality disorder is a mental illness manifesting as selfishness, blaming others for the actions they have committed, lacking direction in life and a lack of insight and self-control.Boumendjel, May Doria. "Diagnostic de la comorbidité du Trouble de Déficit Attentionnel et d’Hyperactivité (TDAH) chez les patients bipolaires adultes." Psychiatrie et santé mentale. 2014.BVwG of Austria, W200-2007445-1, heard by judge Ulrike Scherz, Dr. Clemens Kuzminski, Michael Svoboda, March 14, 2014 - referencing the earlier 1966 case. 
Overview
Patients of the Haltlose personality disorder are unable to learn from experience or mistakes in life as they lack any sense of past or future, and are not able to genuinely care about other people.Psychopathy – Signs in men and Women, 2019 People with Haltlose are also called an unstable psychopath.

Research
It is studied in psychiatry, sociology and criminologyRothmaler, Christiane. "Von "Haltlosen Psychopathinnen" und "Konstitutionellen Sittlichkeitsverbrechern". Die kriminalbiologische Untersuchungs- und Sammelstelle der Hamburgischen Gefangenenanstalten 1926 bis 1945",  Edited by Heidrun Kaupen-Haas et al. Frankfurt/Main 1999: 257-303Birnbaum, NA, "Kriminal≈Psychopathologie und Psychobiologische Verbrecherkunde", Page 137Kriminologie, Gerhard Ledig, Page 37 - and is one of the most common types of psychopathy to end up committing crimes, including violence and murder. Dr. Iustinian Turcu, Psychology, "Tulburarile de Personalitate, section "Tulburarea de Personalitate de Tip Haltlose"Weichbrodt, Dr. R., Abhandlungen aus der Neurologie Psychiatrie Psychologie und ihren Grenzgebieten, Chapter "Der Selbstmord" page 34 and elsewhere, Berlin 1923 Healthier individuals may still focus on either vengeance or sadism.Elemente der Exakten Triebpsychiatrie, "Klinische Psychologie Experimentelle Syndromatik" , Page 190-191 Parents with Haltlose make up the majority of those who sexually abuse their own children.

The disorder overlaps with anti-social personality disorderSieverts, Rudolf. Schneider, Hans J. "Aberglausse – Kriminalbiologie", 2011. Page 517 and borderline personality disorder (BPD). In some countries, doctors diagnose BPD to describe two sets of behaviors, but doctors in other countries diagnose the one group as BPD and the other group as Haltlose, or some people might have both. 

Those with Haltlose tend to have other mental illnesses, such as histrionic personality disorderDiagnosis and Drug Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders", page 154-169 narcissistic personality disorder or fantasy prone personality.

Diagnostics
Psychiatrists sometimes misdiagnose this disorder as bipolar disorder.International Advocacy, Personality Disorders Webinar, July 21, 2020 It can also look like epilepsy if combined with alcoholism. It can be very difficult for a doctor to help them become better since they tend to lie to doctors because they are afraid, and their pathological lying can be convincing even though they view it similar to a child and often believe they should be rewarded for having taken the time to invent such a good lie.Kielholz, Arthur, Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse XIX 1933 Heft 4, "Weh'dem der lugt! Beitrag zum problem der pseudologia phantastica"
Management
Of all the different types of psychiatric patients, those with Haltlose personality disorder have some of the worst results. The Haltlose will usually need boundaries and controls set by those around them,Tolle, R. "Katamnestische Untersuchungen zur Biographie Abnormer Personlichkeiten", Berlin, 1966 and "optimistic" professionals suggest that marriage to a spouse willing to curtail their behaviors may be sufficient to avoid professional involvement. Their symptoms get worse if they are given independence, whether at home, work or in a prison or hospital.

Those with Haltlose personality disorder tend to stop showing their symptoms almost immediately if they are in a controlled environment, like the army or a psychiatric hospital or prison.Huber, Gerd. "Psychiatrie: Lehrbuch für Studium und Weiterbildung", Page 444+

Causes
The name is based on a German word, "Haltlos", which means "without stability". In this context it is used for an irresponsible and unstable lifestyle. It appears in the ICD-10 book, but not in the DSM-V book.

Like other personality disorders, nobody is certain what causes it. There appears to be both genetic and environmental causes. Although it is difficult to identify in children, it is typically easy to diagnose by adolescence. It is believed to be caused by the mother, not the father, both from her own health and also from how she treated the child when they were young.Frankenstein, Carl. "Varieties of Juvenile Delinquency", pp. 115, 158 and elsewhere
Signs
It is equally common in males and females, and doctors must be careful not to wrongly identify a child as Haltlose since many of the symptoms are actually normal for children,such as selfishness, lack of planning and feigning emotions they see others having, and they only suggest a mental illness if they continue at later ages.

Professionals disagree on whether the Haltlose are actually unable to understand the difference between good and evil, or if they understand but do not care, or if they deliberately choose evil instead of good.

Effects

People with Haltlose personality disorder have "primitive reactions" to things, and their largest focus is simply on their own survival.British Journal of Psychiatry, Special Publication, Issues 9-11, Page 30Psychiatrie der Brandstiftung: Eine psychopathologische Studie anhand von Gutachten [1 ed., 2005 They frequently struggle with addictions, such as with drugs or alcohol, and are one of two types of personality disorders that commit the most crimes.Waltisbühl, Rudolf. "Die Bekämpfung des Landstreicher und Landfahrertums in der Schweiz" (1944), PP 69, 109 They also tend to have abnormal sexual habits, such as BDSM or increased masturbation.Kraepelin, E. (1912). Psychiatry: A textbook for students and physicians (7th ed.) (A. R. Diefendorf, Trans.). London: Macmillan. (Original work published 1903–1904)

They do struggle with addictions, most commonly with alcoholism.Kankeleit, Dr. "Alkohol und Geisteskrankheiten", Hamburg, 1926 They often consume drugs, coffee, tea or medicines in larger quantities than normal. Because they spend so much money, they usually have large debts they cannot pay - and either ask family to pay, ignore, or attempt crime (theft, prostitution, etc) to pay their debts. However many professionals suggest that parents and spouses do not pay such debts, and instead let the Haltlose person's bad decisions lead them to institutionalization where they will be healthier and have more guidance.D. Curran and E. Guttman, Psychological Medicine: A Short Introduction to Psychiatry with an
Appendix: War-Time Psychiatry (E. and S. Livingstone, Edinburgh, 1943), p.61

Although they often threaten or pretend to commit suicide, suicide pacts or murder suicide, they do not commonly actually do it since they are easily distracted and made happy again. Often their reason for pretending is because they are scared of an approaching consequence for their actions, of even because they like the "excitement" of police and hospitals becoming involved. Lobotomy was tested as a possible means to limit their chaotic thinking.

It can be very difficult for people to understand them, because they can have "a number of endearing qualities" such as appearing naturally charming, plausible, likable or emotionally warm, but they are actually using those as tools to "conquer" the people watching them.

Usually, they do not like science or religion as they control and limit the answers. Often, they are very good at arts like acting in theatres: their lack of memory means that they can easily play new characters and feel very similar to the character they are playing.

Family forming
Some have said that Haltlose patient should be sterilized to prevent them from having children since they are not able to make decisions that would be good for anyone except themselvesKnaack, Kirsten. Die Hilfschul: 8. Aktueller wissenschaftlicher Rassismus in der Neuen Rechten am Beispiel der Zeitschrift "Neue Anthropologie"Halmi, Alice. "Kontinuitäten der (Zwangs-)Psychiatrie. Eine kritische Betrachtung", 2008 and they can become "family tyrants" while pretending to be victims.Kraepelin, Emil, Psychiatrie : ein Lehrbuch für Studierende und Ärzteby, 1915. Page 1794, 1996+ and elsewhere Sometimes, governments have even refused them marriage licenses, out of fear that marriage would lead to them having children.Wetzell, Richard F. "Inventing the Criminal: A History of German Criminology", page 151-152, 276
Risks
Even when they are not "true" pedophiles, the Haltlose demonstrate an increased risk of sexually molesting children,Markus T. Gastpar, Siegfried Kasper, Michael Linden, "Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie", 2013, pg 226Exner, Dr. Franz. "Kriminologie", Heidelberg, 1949. with as many as 90% of incestuous adult-child molestors being Haltlose. Mothers with Haltlose may push their young daughters to engage in sex with men that the mother wishes she could have herself. They also like to have sex with their own partners in front of the children, rather than hiding the details of their sex life.

Because they can have an "explosive" temper,Luxenburger, Dr. Hans. "Die Schizophrenie und ihr Erbkreis", pp 791, 1051, 1092, 1113, 1121, 1143, 1257 of the "Handbuch der Erbbiologie des Menschen", 1939 domestic violence is common, beatings, death threats, smashing household objects.

Examples

Willy Roloff was a smart Pomeranian serial killer with Haltlose personality disorder, who was executed by guillotine in 1937 after his appeal for mercy to Adolf Hitler was denied.Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger, July 10, 1937, Evening EditionBerliner Volkszeitung, July 6, 1937 evening edition

The philosopher Max Scheler had an adult son who was diagnosed as both a Haltlose and Gemutlose psychopath. He was guilty of many crimes over twenty years, and was eventually sent to a concentration camp where it is assumed that he died.

Problems and solutions
At some times, they will look very positive and responsible and talk about large plans that they intend to accomplish, but they are actually very depressed and cynical most of the time because they are unable to make their plans work since they cannot learn from their mistakes, and they do not have a good sense of time. They will very quickly change from acting very confident and brave, to very sad, angry or afraid when their plans do not work.

A major source of the problem is that they are not able to remember the past, or think about the future - so every decision is decided only on the basis of the present time. Similarly, if asked to describe themselves, they cannot accurately describe things they felt in the past, because they only know the story they are telling right now.

Because they are not capable of planning for the future, and make very bad choices, doctors often decide they need leaders and controls to guide them in every aspect of life. This means they can be very successful when they are in a hospital, prison or school with very strict rules and leadership - because their intelligence is normal, it is just their personality disorder that leads them to trouble.

Some professionals say the haltlose do not understand warnings, so only punishments work to stop them from doing bad things.Mezger, Edmund. "Probleme der strafrechtlichen Zurechnungsfähigkeit", 1949. Page 4 But other professionals say that they do not learn any long-term lessons from punishment.

When they feel guilty about something, they become overwhelmed with the fear that there will be consequences or punishment, so they often exaggerate or invent untruthful stories to blame other people, and will pretend that they are a victim or being exploited or held prisoner.Adler, Herman M., "s:Psychiatric Contribution to the Study of Delinquency", 1917

They will often pretend to be embarrassed, experience regret or to be submissive, even though these things are not usually real for haltlose personalities. This makes it "troublesome" for doctors trying to help them.

When they feel guilty about doing something that has not been noticed yet, they become overwhelmed with the fear that there will be consequences or punishment, so they often begin to exaggerate or invent untruthful stories to blame other people, and will pretend that they are a victim or being exploited or held prisoner. Once caught, the less intelligent haltlose will respond by claiming that their childhood was not good and that current friends or relatives have misled them and caused them to do these bad things. The more intelligent haltlose will instead invent elaborate stories with a lot of false details to misdirect attention from what they have done.

Sources

Category:Borderline personality disorder
Category:Personality disorders