5. Ernst Lanzer (“Rat Man”)
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This patient’s fate came to light thanks to treatment he received from the legendary Sigmund Freud, the man who is regarded as the father of modern psychoanalysis. Lanzer was seen for the first time by Freud in 1907 and ended up becoming one of the most noted OCD patients in history. At the time he was suffering from irrational and intense fear of a female friend. In addition, he also harbored a bizarre fear that his father would be tortured using a method that was supposedly devised by the Chinese and involved a rat. Other obsessive thoughts also invaded Lanzer’s mind such as the idea of cutting his own throat with a razor. Despite Freud’s exaggerated claims to have “cured” Lanzer, it was later revealed that he continued to suffer from OCD-like symptoms after treatment.
