Imagine suffering from a mental illness that causes you to believe that you are dead, or being able to feel what others feel- their pain or their joy, and moreover, thinking that your closed ones are replaced by imposters and are ready to harm you. Creepy, isn’t it?
There are some unusual syndromes that only a small percentage of people are forced to live with. But nearly 450 million people worldwide suffer from mental disorders. In fact, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), approximately one in five adults in the US suffer from mental illness each year.
Oliver Sacks’ classic book The man who mistook her his wife for a hat introduced us to some of the strangest brain disorders people suffer from, but that’s just a drop in the bucket. Here are a few of the most freakish mental conditions out there.
1. Cortard’s Syndrome: This disorder makes people think that they are dead.
Also known as The Walking Dead syndrome, is a rare condition marked by the false belief that you and your body parts are dead, dying or don’t exist. it usually occurs with severe depression and some psychotic disorders. In some cases, people believe that they are immortal.
People with this syndrome often become much less social. Sometimes, they may stop speaking at all. Some hear voices that tell them they’re dead or dying. Other’s may refuse to eat because they see no point since they are dead, while some even try to harm themselves.
2.Mirror Touch Synesthesia: this disorder makes people feel what others are feeling.
Mirror- Touch Synesthesia is a rare condition which causes individuals to experience a similar sensation in the same part or opposite part of the body that another person feels.
Imagine you are with a friend and she falls and twists her ankle. All of a sudden, you feel the pain in your ankle. Or you see, if someone is hugged by another person and you feel the same sensations of the hug. These are the symptoms of this rare condition.
3.Alien Hand Syndrome: some people are convinced that their hand doesn’t belong to them.
It is a rare phenomenon in which one hand is not under control of the mind. The person loses the control of the hand, and it acts as if it has a mind of its own. Sometimes one leg is affected, though this isn’t as common.
The affected hands feels foreign to its owner during these episodes and seems to move deliberately to carry out tasks that are unintentional. While it can affect children, usually alien hands occurs in adults.
4.Alice in the Wonderland Syndrome: Some people perceive the size of their body parts incorrectly.
It is rare condition that causes temporary episodes of of distorted perception and disorientation. You may feel larger or shorter than you actually are. You may also find that the room you’re in or the surrounding furniture seems to shift and feel further away or closer than it really is.
These episodes aren’t the result of a problem with your eyes or a hallucinations. They are caused by changes in how your brain perceives the environment you’re in and how your body looks. The syndrome can affect multiple senses, including vision, touch, and hearing. You may also loose the sense of time as the time may seem to pass faster or slower than you think.
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