10 Most Bizarre Mental Health Disorders
The human mind is a complex instrument that, despite all our scientific and medical skill, we do not yet wholly understand. As with the other parts of our body, the brain can malfunction, sometimes leading to mental conditions so bizarre that to those of us in our right minds they seem utterly incomprehensible.
1. Stendhal Syndrome
We often hear about how great art can inspire emotion, with tears not a completely uncommon sight in art galleries. However, for those with Stendhal syndrome, this is taken to an altogether different level. When confronted with a piece of art, particularly one which is exceptionally beautiful, sufferers of this condition experience a host of physical and mental symptoms, including fainting, raised heartbeat, dizziness, and in some cases, even hallucinations. While it is clearly a huge compliment to their work, we imagine some artists may find the effect a bit much!
2. Capgras Delusion
Like the Fregoli delusion, sufferers of Capgras delusion have problems identifying people. However, rather than thinking they recognize strangers as people they know, sufferers of Capgras believe that people they know have been replaced by doppelgangers identical looking, yet completely different, impostors. This condition can be found in connection with such illnesses as schizophrenia, dementia, brain injury and migraine. Interestingly, women are more likely to suffer from the syndrome than men. Perhaps Invasion of the Body Snatchers was inspired by such a disorder.
3. Fregoli Delusion
Human beings are incredibly good at identifying and recognizing faces. When this ability breaks down, however, bizarre consequences can ensue. Fregoli delusion is a disorder in which the sufferer believes that two or more different people are in fact one single person who is changing their appearance or otherwise disguising themselves. The patient will often feel paranoid, or persecuted by this person, and it’s no small wonder: he or she is fully convinced that this individual is deliberately pretending to be different people, who then pretend not to know him or her. Who wouldn’t find this suspicious and, indeed, terrifying?
4. Factitious Disorder/Munchausen Syndrome
Most of us hate being sick and go to great lengths to stay well and out of hospital. However, those with factitious disorder (also known as Munchausen syndrome) go to great lengths to simulate or induce symptoms of illness. Worse still, in factitious disorder by proxy a similar condition rather than hurting him or herself, the sufferer feigns or induces illness in someone else. The motives of the sufferer do not involve the seeking out of material gain, but rather an attempt to gain attention, sympathy and care.
5. Alien Hand Syndrome
Imagine that your hand acted independently of your wishes, and yet in a purposeful fashion as if it had a mind of its own or was controlled by another life form. In alien hand syndrome also known as Dr. Strangelove syndrome this is exactly what happens. This condition can result from epilepsy surgeries that separate the two sides of the brain, as well as from strokes and infections. Those with AHS will often act as if the hand is not theirs, speaking about it as a separate entity something which doubtless seems very strange to those who are unaware of the condition.
6. Body Integrity Identity Disorder
While most of us would recoil in horror at the idea of voluntarily amputating a healthy limb, for those with body integrity identity disorder, this is often a fervent desire. This disorder is thought to be due to a problem with the area of the brain that maps the body, leading those with the disorder to feel incomplete with all their limbs, rather than the other way around. For some with this condition, want leads to real-world action, and individuals purposely injure themselves in order to fulfill their desire for amputation.
7. Bibliomania
The symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder can often seem bizarre and strange to those who lack experience with the condition. The media portrays OCD through such symptoms as compulsive hand washing, obsessive neatness and the inability to leave the house without performing ritualistic behaviors such as repeated switching on and off of lights. One interesting symptom experienced by some sufferers of the disorder is the collection of books not necessarily to use in any way, but simply due to a compulsion to acquire and possess them. Victims of bibliomania have been known to collect more books than they could ever possibly read, including multiple copies not just of the same book, but even the same edition.
8. Autophagia
Although the vast majority of people find the idea of self-inflicted pain repugnant, there is a well-documented history of individuals who are compelled to injure themselves. This idea is disturbing enough, yet understandably more horrific to us is the notion of consuming human flesh. Amazingly, some individuals are compelled to break both these taboos. The need to bite or eat parts of one’s own body, known as autophagia, can be seen in combination with other disorders such as psychosis and schizophrenia.
9. Savantism
Brought into the public eye by the movie Rain Man, savantism is a fascinating example of the breadths of human ability. The term “savantism” describes a condition where a developmentally disabled individual nonetheless displays a level of brilliance in some particular area. The incongruity of such skill and such disability has provoked much interest from scientists and the ordinary public alike. These areas of expertise can include amazing but narrow memories (something nearly all savants have in common), prodigious artistic talents, and an incredible facility with numbers, as highlighted in Rain Man. Although it is often known as autistic savantism, not all savants are autistic. On the other side of the coin, while many people assume that all autistic people must have a “special talent,” only one tenth of those suffering from autism display savant abilities.
10. Foreign Accent Syndrome
Severe injuries to the brain can have many effects, but one of the strangest must surely be foreign accent syndrome. This condition, also is known as irregular repetitive speech syndrome, causes the sufferer to begin to speak with an accent that sounds “foreign.” A rare condition, with only 60 cases recorded between 1941 and 2009, it unfortunately does not grant sudden powers of fluency in a foreign tongue just an altered accent when speaking the native language.
There is more to good health than just a physically healthy body: a healthy person should also have a healthy mind. A person with a healthy mind should be able to think clearly, should be able to solve the various problems faced in life,should enjoy good relations with friends, colleagues at work and family, and should feel spiritually at ease and bring happiness to others in the community. It is these aspects of health that can be considered as mental health.
