Psychology is a subject that has fascinated me for a long time. Millions worldwide suffer from some form of mental illness, and any disorder can be scary for the sufferer. Some disorders are lesser-known, rare and sometimes downright terrifying. Imagine believing that you’re dead. Convincing yourself that your partner is an imposter? Or even thinking that you’re a cow? This piece is going to cover some of the more unusual disorders!
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1 - Capgras Delusion
This disorder is named after French psychiatrist Joseph Capgras, who was fascinated with the illusion of doubles and discovered the illness in 1923. This cruel disorder convinces people that those around them are ‘imposters’ and that doubles have replaced their friends & family; there are also reports of time appearing warped. It occurs more often in women, and causes can be paranoid schizophrenia, brain injuries or dementia.
2 - Cotard Delusion
This disorder was named after French neurologist Jules Cotard, who came across the condition in 1880 and is also known as Walking Corpse Syndrome. The sufferer genuinely believes that they are dead, that they don’t exist, or that their body is decomposing. Sometimes, they think themselves to be a zombie or a ghost. It is, understandably, incredibly depressing. Some sufferers have starved to death as they don’t believe they need to eat because they’re already dead. It is scarce and can be connected to those with psychosis, clinical depression, brain tumours or migraines.
“[The patient's] symptoms occurred in the context of more general feelings of unreality and [of] being dead. In January 1990, after his discharge from hospital in Edinburgh, his mother took him to South Africa. He was convinced that he had been taken to Hell (which was confirmed by the heat) and that he had died of sepsis (which had been a risk early in his recovery) or perhaps from AIDS (he had read a story in The Scotsman about someone with AIDS who died from sepsis), or from an overdose of a yellow fever injection. He thought he had "borrowed [his] mother's spirit to show [him] around Hell" and that she was asleep in Scotland.” Betwixt Life and Death; Case Studies of the Cotard Delusion A.W. Young & K. M Leafhead
3 - Apotemnophilia
This illness can also be known as Body Integrity Identity Disorder. It is characterised by an overwhelming urge to remove body parts; sufferers have been known to attempt to remove healthy limbs or damage them deliberately, so they must be surgically amputated. Not much is known about the disorder, but it’s thought to be neurological. It was first described as a primarily sexual orientation in 1977 by psychologists Gregg Furth and John Money. It garnered more attention in the late 90s after surgeon, Robert Smith removed the limbs of 2 people who desperately wanted to have it done; the limbs were perfectly healthy. One sufferer described how the disorder makes them feel:
“I feel like an amputee with natural prostheses – they’re my legs, but I want to get rid of them – they don’t fit my body image”.
4 - Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder, also known as Todd Syndrome. It causes the sufferer to experience their surroundings in a distorted way. Items may appear smaller (micropsia) or larger than they are (macropsia), closer (pelopsia) or further away than they are (telopsia). Micropsia is also known as Lilliputian Hallucination, after Jonathan Swift’s novel, Gulliver’s Travels. They may experience their body/body parts changing size. It is sometimes called Todd Syndrome after Doctor John Todd, who described the disorder in 1955. He believed Lewis Carroll had it due to his severe migraines and may have suffered from the syndrome when writing the famous body morphing scenes in Alice in Wonderland. One sufferer described it:
"Quite suddenly, objects appear small and distant or large and close. I feel as [if] I am getting shorter and smaller, 'shrinking,' and also the size of persons are not longer than my index finger (a lilliputian proportion). Sometimes, I see the blind in the window or the television getting up and down, or my leg or arm is swinging. I may hear the voices of people quite loud and close or faint and far. Occasionally, I experience attacks of migrainous headache associated with eye redness, flashes of lights and a feeling of giddiness. I am always conscious to the intangible changes in myself and my environment”.
5 - Zoopsia
Zoopsia is strongly associated with Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (and was discovered around the same time) but involves the hallucinations of either swarms of small animals or isolated groups of larger animals. Sufferers can also experience paranoia and time distortions. Causes can include migraines, brain tumours, psychoactive drugs, and epilepsy. It has been known occasionally with alcohol withdrawal. One case study described a woman’s medical status:
“Her medical history consisted of birth with a caul, recurrent non-migrainous headaches, urinary tract infections, sensea presence, passage hallucinations (seeing movement from the corner of the eye), and occasional Zoopsia (seeing large ants crawling over her hands). Apart from the hallucinations, prosopemeta-morphopsias, and a mildly depressed mood, psychiatric assessment showed no other abnormalities.”
6 – Mirror-Touch Synaesthesia
A female patient reported The first Mirror-Touch Synaesthesia case in 2004. This is a disorder where sufferers can physically ‘feel’ what others around them are feeling. If they see someone being hugged, they can feel it. If they see someone being hurt, they can feel it. The University of Delaware estimates up to 2 in 100 people may have the condition. Some studies have shown that people with Mirror-Touch Synaesthesia can be more empathetic than those who don’t have it. A study published in ‘Cognitive Neuropsychology’ discovered that those with the disorder could better recognise the emotions portrayed when shown a picture of a person's face.
“Mirror-touch synaesthesia could very well scientifically explain why physical empaths seem to “catch” or absorb the illnesses of other people, and also why empaths, as a whole, find violence absolutely unbearable to watch.” Aletheia Luna
7 – Clinical Lycanthropy
The term derives from the Greek myth of King Lycaon; the king was turned into a wolf as a punishment for serving the god Zeus human flesh at dinner. The first written report was in 1852 and described an asylum patient who believed himself to be a wolf. This is a rare condition where people experience the delusion of transforming into an animal; wolves and dogs are the most common animals, although insects and birds have been reported. Sufferers have been seen crawling around on all fours, even growling at people and howling. Lycanthropy tends to be a secondary illness, a psychosis that can result (very rarely) from other illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
“A 20-year-old man was admitted after he became increasingly agitated and showed erratic behaviours at home, starting about five weeks before his admission. On initial evaluation, he seemed guarded and internally preoccupied; he gave brief responses and had prolonged latency of speech. His thought process was disrupted, apparently due to lack of attention. He had no significant previous psychiatric history. He had been using alcohol and marijuana occasionally. A family history of bipolar disorder was present…Over the next few days, the patient displayed increasingly psychotic, animal-like behaviours—he howled loudly in his room; he broke into a run abruptly in the hallway; at times, he crawled on the floor on all four limbs... Eventually, he revealed that he believed he was a werewolf and that he periodically transformed into a wolf. He said that he started believing that he was a special person after he had visions of “the Devil” several years ago.” Rajeet Shrestha
8 – Wendigo Psychosis
Wendigo psychosis is an insatiable craving for human flesh despite other available food. It originated from the descriptions of the Algonquin Indians who felt that members of the tribe who engaged in cannibalism turned into or became possessed by a feared, flesh-eating creature: a spirit called the Wendigo. There is a lot of debate over Wendigo Psychosis, and many psychologists are sceptical. Anthropologists have said that many people said to be suffering from Wendigo Psychosis already suffered a lot of different mental health issues. It appears that, before mental health was more known about and researched, The North Eastern American Tribes would use the term as a bit of a catch-all diagnosis. I couldn’t find the date of when the first report of the psychosis was.
9 – Koro
Koro has ancient Chinese origins (but has been recognised worldwide) and is the belief that your genitalia is receding or shrinking. It is also known as Turtling Syndrome. It was mentioned in a book published during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). The condition has been associated with perceived ‘inappropriate’ sexual acts, such as masturbation, experiences with sex workers, extramarital affairs, etc. It is believed that these sexual acts disrupt the Yin/Yang equilibrium. Episodes usually last a few hours but have been reported as going on for as long as two days.
10 – Boanthropy
Those suffering from boanthropy believe they are cows. Sometimes, being found in fields on all fours, eating grass, those with the condition do not seem aware of what they’re doing. Boanthropy is referred to as far back as The Bible; King Nebuchadnezzar is described as being ‘driven from men and did eat grass as oxen’. It’s believed that hypnotism, or suggestion, may contribute to the start of the disorder.
“It still occurs today when a person, in a delusional state, believes themselves to be an ox or a cow…and attempts to live and behave accordingly.” M.S. Standford - Grace for the Afflicted
Have you heard of these disorders before? Which others have you heard of? Please let me know in the comments, take care of yourself, and I will see you soon!
If you have any mental illness and are struggling to cope, please contact someone. Help is out there.
Samaritans phone: 116 123
Samaritans e-mail: jo@samaritans.org
Hi! I spend a lot of time writing for the website, and I basically exist on caffeine and anxiety - if anybody would like to encourage this habit, please feel free to buy me a coffee!
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