Mental disorder also called as mental illness is particular physiological pattern which happens due to certain distress or tension that happens in an individual. it is not considered as normal development of human behavior or culture. Such disorder is said to be a combination of different behaviors like perceptual, behavioral, affecting components. There are different categories of mental disorder which are characterized according to human behavior. Some disorders are diagnosed depending on how severe they are or how harmful they are for others no matter what is the reason behind such problem. Below is the list of 10 strange mental disorders which can help you in knowing this problem in a better way:
1. Derealization
This syndrome is modification in the perception or experience of external world that seems to be unreal. It includes symptoms like feeling emotional coloring and depth, or one’s environment is lacking in spontaneity. Such signs are dissociative for many situations like neurological or psychiatric disorders. Some people will complain that they see emotional coloring. Some seen places may look bit weird like alien or bizarre. Such abnormalities can extend to the hearing, smell or taste senses.
2. Gamomania
If you have met a person who walked up to you and asked you to marry her/him then surely it sounds like that the stranger have gone crazy or is the person suffering from gamomania. This is one mental disorder because of which people make sudden decision without thinking on it just like outrageous marriage proposals. Hence be careful while saying yes to such person, as the problem is quite severe. In such case, if you make him your fiance then you have to accept the fact that he will get a new wife every day. The patients with such disorder have intense desire for marriage. Such patients have the tendency to bend towards a polygamous lifestyle.
3. Stockholm Syndrome
This is another physiological response which is noticed in an abducted hostage. In this disorder the hostage shows symptoms of loyalty, sympathy or even voluntary compliance with hostage talker no matter what risk is involved. The disorder is also related to many other cases as well which includes rape, wife beating or even child abuse. This disorder is named after the bank robbery in Sweden where the robbers had the bank employee’s hostage for 5 days. In this case, victims become emotionally attached to the victimizers and even protect them even after they get free from the robbery. Later one of the gang member married the woman who had been his hostage.
4. Objectum Sexuality
In this disorder, people start developing serious and emotional attachments to inanimate objects. Such feelings involved sexual arousal due to some objects. Hence you have to be extremely careful with such patients as you might wish to keep your loved stuff like teddy bear away from them. There was one case where a woman who was affected with such problem claimed that she is married to the Eiffel Tower. Hence if any of your friends say that he is in love with 50 inch plasma screen then surely it’s something to get worried for.
5. Trichotillomania
This is a disorder of impulse control which is characterized by continuous urge to pull out scalp hair, bearded hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, pubic hair, or any body parts hair. It is somehow related to obsessive-compulsive disorder with which it shares both differences and similarities.
6. Cotard Syndrome
This type of disorder is very rare that affects the patients in severe way. Many patients believe that they are dead or can see dead people or those they are putrefying. Such syndrome was explained by Jules Cotard in 1880.Later it was in briefly explained by other scientists. In one case there was a person who experience this disorder where he thought of himself as 44 years old homeless person whose name is Mr. K. Later he got a depression attack and then also faced signs like lack of sleep, less appetite. He was not even seen by doctor as he did not have medical insurance. When it became severe crisis and when he started shouting that he was dead and his all internal organs are gone, he got a medical attention. The signs related with such illness might go if proper medical attention is given.
7. Exploding head syndrome
In this problem, it causes the patient to suffer some experience on occasional basis like loud noise as if it’s coming from his or her head. Such sign is described as roar or explosion. It usually occurs within two hours of falling asleep, but is not due to dreams. This disorder was named after an ancient Greek philosopher called Diogenes who was living in wine barrel. He was known for promoting ideas of animalism. When he was asked by Alexander the great what he wanted the most, he replied, “for you to get out of my sunlight”.
Such syndrome is situation in which extreme feeling of self neglecting, compulsive hoarding, reculsive tendencies are noticed. It is usually found in old people and is related with senile breakdown. This disorder is a misnomer as Diogenes loved in ancient life where there were no sources that can diagnose the disorder.
8. Autophagia
Such type of mental disorder is a situation where individual is bound to inflict pain upon oneself by biting other body or cutting the part of other person. It is usually caused by severe sexual anxiety which if combined with schizophrenia can worsen the disorder.
9. Faking illnesses to gain attention (Munchausen syndrome)
In this illness the sufferers exaggerates or create certain signs of falling ill just to gain some sort of attention. In reality the person is not ill, but he makes the surrounding in such a way that people might think that he needs medical attention. In this disorder people wants a comfort from other people which then fills psychological need in people with Munchausen’s.
10. Kleptomania
In such type of disorder affected people have the tendency to steal things, may be paper clips or toilet rolls.Usually things that have no value.
11. Todd Syndrome/Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
This is an extremely rare psychological illness you didn\’t know about. People, who suffer from this, get terrible migraines and severe depression episodes. This syndrome sometimes appears due to viral infections. Sufferers from this rare mental health disorders disturbs a person’s sense of position and size.
They become extremely confused about how small or big they are, and feel as though their body has swollen or are swelling to a monstrous size. They may see large things as tiny, and experience other distortions of size. Funnily, it seems to be more common in children than in adults. Doctors have associated this mental disorder to genes and abnormal flow of blood to brain. People live with this disorder all their lives and suffer few episodes, but they seem to be brought on by trauma, stress, pain. Anti-convulsants and migraine medication are usually prescribed.
12. Walking Corpse disorder
This is one of the lesser known mental problems which is really strange, to say the least. We can only empathize with people who have this. They feel as if their entire body is rotting, and as if they do not exist anymore. This is one of the rare mental health disorders which starts with feelings of self-hatred, and progresses to people experiencing delusions as well as chronic depression. Jules Cotard, the neurologist discovered it and named it ‘The delirium of negation’. The baffling part of this syndrome is that the sufferers also feel as though they are immortal!
13. Dissociative fugue/dissociative amnesia
Dissociative fugue or dissociative amnesia is brought on by intense trauma, stress. The most common symptoms of a person with dissociative amnesiais detachment from reality – they have no sense of what is happening around them. Dissociative fugue involves a brief detachment from the sense of self-identity and personal memories.
Psychologists think that this disorder is a way of coping with horrible memories (like trauma during war), and people unconsciously suppress their memories, so that they can function normally. The treatment focuses on accepting the trauma through a targeted therapy process. This is one of the psychological illnesses you didn\’t know about, but spreading awareness of it will help many people.
14. Erotomania
This has become more of a movie staple than a disorder (especially in Bollywood), as we see heroes and heroes suffering from the delusion that the other person is in love with them (belonging to a higher status than them!). Many stalkers probably have this disorder too. The sufferer has such strong delusions that they cannot accept that the object of their adoration feel nothing for them.
15. Derealization/ depersonalization disorder
This is one of the rare mental health disorders which is also known as DDD. Those who suffer from this feel completely disconnected from the surrounding world. The most common symptoms are that they feel the world they’re living in is not real, and that they don’t exist.
Sufferers live in limbo, detached from everything and everyone, and feel cut off from everything. Then strangest thing about this disorder is that it has to appear suddenly to classified as DDD. Others reasons for this disorder is emotional abuse during childhood, or a deficit in brain’s emotional nerve centres. People who suffer from PTSD, clinical depression, substance abuse disorders, and patients of epilepsy also can suffer from this lesser known mental problem. Therapy is the treatment as of now.
16. Borderline Personality Disorder
This is a personality disorder which a lot of people suffer from unknowingly. The name is derived from the belief that the disorder was on the borderline between neurosis and psychosis. This is one of those rare mental health disorderswhich is common but most people do not know that it is a mental disorder they are suffering from. Symptoms are volatile mood swings, impulsive behavior, unstable relationships as well as viewing things in extremes. The patients find it hard to control their behavior, and suffer from terrible bouts of depression, anger and anxiety. People with this disorder also self-harm such as cutting themselves, have a very high suicide risk, especially those who are in their teens or early adulthood.
17. Complex PTSD
You must be familiar with the term PTSD, but there is another form of it known as ‘Complex PTSD’. This happens to people who undergo chronic trauma over a period of months and even years. This is one of the rare mental health disorders in which people find it hard to regulate/express their emotions – they may feel explosively angry or a persistent sadness. They can become preoccupied with the relationship with their abuser and may harbor feelings of revenge.
18. Dependent Personality Disorder
Personality disorders such as this one can exist in absolutely normal people. If these disorders are not treated, then it has a crippling effect on the sufferer and it’s difficult for people around them too. People who have this disorder want others to take care of them, excessively. They are submissive, needy, clinging and fear being abandoned. They shirk from responsibilities, need constant approval and reassurance. Remind you of someone you know? You definitely know someone who displays these behaviors in your family or friend circle.
19. Paris syndrome
It’s one of the rare mental health disorders which Japanese people visiting Paris for the first time suffer from. It happens because the Japanese tourists feel extremely let down by their experience of Paris – the city does not meet their expectations! They suffer from sweating, dizziness, hallucinations, delusions and so on.
If you feel too fragile and that you’re made of glass, though you carry on with your daily life, it’s time you visited a psychologist! But seriously, being aware about lesser known mental illnesses can help many people to get treatment and start living a normal life.
Final Words
There were some lesser known mental illnesses which make life quite tough for those who have them. There may be someone you know (could be even you!) who has got one of these rare mental health disorders and knowing about them may help them to be diagnosed and receive proper care. It would make them feel that what they are going through can be medically treated, and help them handle their fears and stigma.