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A disturbing case report conducted by researchers in Turkey details the strange case of a young man who believed that he was a vampire. The researchers say that he has multiple personalities an addiction to drinking blood, making him the first person to suffer from dissociative identity disorder and vampirism.

According to Live Science, the doctors said that the unnamed man had a number of tragic experiences leading up to his phase as a vampire. During his childhood, his mother would have episodes during which she would attack him, though the man said that he could not remember any of his childhood between the ages of five and 11. As an adult, his four-month-old daughter fell ill and died. He witnessed his uncle's murder. He also was witness to a violent slaying committed to a friend, in which his friend cut off the victim's penis and head.

At first, the 23-year-old married man entered into his addiction by slicing open his arms, belly and chest. After doing so, he would collect the blood in a cup and drink it. However, these acts failed to sustain his thirst for blood, which doctors described as being as compulsive as breathing, so he turned to other places. He would have his father deliver him the substance from blood banks. The man was also arrested multiple times for stabbing and biting other people in an effort to obtain their blood. Doctors said that he often switched personalities during the bloody acts, which meant that he became unable or uncaring about who the victim was after a period of time.

Sources saw the man talking to himself. He also said that he was tortured by an invisible companion, who forced him to carry out these acts and tried to convince him to commit suicide. Sometimes, he could not remember significant portions of his day, and would arrive at places without any recollection of how he ended up there.

The man was eventually diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and alcohol abuse. It is not clear whether his vampirism phase ended, or whether it caused any ill health effects. When humans ingest blood, it can put them at risk for diseases like hepatitis and HIV or an iron overdose.

Though doctors believe that their case study profiles the first report of a person suffering from vampirism and dissociative identity disorder, the man is hardly the only person who classifies himself as a vampire. Three years ago, ABC News reported about various people who believe that they are vampires, though the report said that these real-life vampires normally feed on loved ones.

The study was published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.