Mental illness can be obvious, but some psychological and neurological disorders are so rare and strange they're almost unbelievable. The brain is a complex organ with surprises that science can't explain. Some mental disorders affect such a small fraction of the population that research is scarce, leaving their cause and cure unknown. These rare illnesses can be singular and perplexing, altering language, vision, or motor skills. Some change a patient's accent or make them believe they're a different species. Sufferers can lose limb control, see afterimages, think loved ones are imposters, or even be violently ill from one TV news anchor's voice. This list explores the strange side of psychiatric science, featuring rare and poorly understood mental disorders that are totally real.
About this list
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AboulomaniaScience MedicineAboulomania is the pathological inability to make decisions.Aboulomania causes sufferers to become gripped by “paralysis by analysis.”This mental vapor lock hits sufferers when they face a choice, even a small one.Sufferers experience a kind of mental vapor lock when faced with a choice about something, even something trivial.Do you graze on grass? Do you moo at wrong times? If you feel like a cow, you might have boanthropy.
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BoanthropyScience MedicineBoanthropy involves the delusion that you are a cow. Biblical king Nebuchadnezzar was in an illness that made him “eat grass as oxen.”NebuchadnezzarNebuchadnezzar was thought to have been in the grip of an illness that made him “eat grass as oxen.”
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Mary Hart SyndromeScience MedicineMary Hart Syndrome is an incredibly specific kind of mental illness.Mary Hart SyndromeMary Hart Syndrome got its name fromEntertainment TonightThe anchor on Entertainment Tonight caused seizures and confusion in a woman in the early '90s. Seizures likely came from a unique quality in Hart’s voice, not specific words.
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Caffeine-Induced AnxietyScience MedicineCoffee raises your heart rate, boosts alertness, and wakes you up. But if you already have anxiety or an anxiety disorder,too much caffeinemight send your body and mind into a rush of stress and jumpiness.
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Taijin KyofushoScience MedicineTaijin Kyofusho means “disorder of fear of interpersonal relations.”Taijin KyofushoTaijin Kyofusho is a Japanese mental illness. Sufferers fear social mistakes. They may see their body as displeasing or their look as embarrassing. They might also think they have an odor or feature that causes shame in others.
This disorder affects about 20% of Japanese men. It becomes a serious issue when facing strict Japanese business rules.
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Jerusalem SyndromeScience MedicineTourists entering the holiest city on Earth may experience Jerusalem Syndrome. This disorder makes them feel like the messiah, hearing God's voice. Only about 100 people yearly get it, mostly evangelical Christians. Some severe cases need hospital stays.
The city itself may trigger existing mental issues. Other cities also have “syndromes” attached to them.
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ErotomaniaScience MedicineErotomania is often found in stalkers, like those who bothered David Letterman and Jodie Foster.erotomaniaErotomania makes sufferers believe someone, usually a celebrity or known person, loves them. Stalkers claim they were the ones being stalked by the celebrity they were tracking.
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Othello SyndromeScience MedicinePeople feel jealous when an intimate partner shows affection. But Othello Syndrome occurs.Othello SyndromeOthello Syndrome takes delusion to an extreme. Doctors found it in older patients taking dopamine for Parkinson’s disease. The exact mechanism remains unknown. This condition makes patients suspect their partners cheat. This causes extreme monitoring, controlling behavior, and violence, all paired with intense denial.
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Alice in Wonderland SyndromeScience MedicineTechnically known as “Alice in Wonderland syndrome”.micropsia.This is a mental illness where patients, usually children, see objects much smaller than they are. It is not about the eye's structure; the brain processes visual data wrong. Migraine headaches often accompany this illness, and strokes or brain injuries sometimes cause it.
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SynesthesiaScience MedicineOne well-known unique mental condition isSynesthesia is a condition.Synesthesia links two senses, making one sense supercharged.People with synesthesia experience sensory mixing.can feel colors, smell words, and see musical notes. Scientists do not know the cause. For decades, it seemed like a psychosomatic reaction, not real. Now, people consider it a genuine, sometimes hard, condition.
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Foreign Accent SyndromeScience MedicineCertain traumatic brain injuries or surgeries cause patients to suddenly speak withForeign accents affect people.. This is a real, accepted medical disorder. Only 50 cases are documented, but it leaves victims unable to stop using an accent they never used.
Examples include a British woman who had brain surgery and awoke speaking with a Chinese accent, and another woman suddenly speaking with a Jamaican patois.
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Jumping Frenchmen of MaineScience MedicineThis sounds less like a disease and more like something you find on theThe menu at IHOP is mentioned., it is aJumping Frenchmen of Maine is a real illness.. Those who suffer become so startled by lights or sounds that they start flapping arms or screaming. 1878, it was first spotted in French-Canadian lumberjacks in Moosehead Lake, Maine (that's where the strange name comes from).
No cause is known for this condition, though symptoms usually lessen after several events. It is so rare that no organized scientific study exists, butJumping Frenchmen of Maine is a real illness.this phenomenon has appeared in lumber camps across the world.
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PicaScience MedicineIf you see a pregnant woman trying to eat dirt, she likely hasPica involves eating non-food items., the urge to eat non-food items lacking nutrition. Subtypes of pica exist based on what people eat, and the cause remains unknown.
This can be very dangerous because much of what sufferers eat cannot be digested. It appears most often in pregnant women and children with learning disabilities.
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Capgras DelusionScience MedicineWorried your spouse was replaced by a lookalike who acts the same but isn't the same person? You might haveCapgras Delusion involves believing a familiar person is an impostor.Capgras Delusion shows a recurring delusion. Sufferers believe an acquaintance, usually a spouse or family member, has been swapped for an identical impostor or group of impostors. People recognize the faces, but they know something is wrong.
Patients think dozens of lookalikes swap out their real people. This often appears in those with schizophrenia, dementia, or brain injuries. Heavy ketamine use can also trigger this.
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Fregoli DelusionScience MedicineCapgras Delusion means patients think people they know have been replaced by lookalikes who are actually different.Fregoli Delusion is listed among rare mental disorders and medical conditions you may not believe are real.The opposite belief is Fregoli Delusion. People think many different people are actually the same person. This person is usually a stranger who looks different from the others. It is rare, so science studies it little.
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Exploding Head SyndromeScience MedicineExploding Head Syndrome sounds bad, but it is not. It is anaudio hallucination occurs. You hear gunshots, explosions, or cymbals crashing clearly, even though nothing is real. These events cause no pain or discomfort. Sometimes it happens only once. Insomnia and anxiety cause these aural attacks, so getting sleep and feeling better might fix the attacks.Exploding Head Syndrome causes clear audio hallucinations like gunshots, explosions, or crashing cymbals. These sounds are real to the person, though they are not real to others. They do not cause pain or discomfort. Sometimes it happens only once. Insomnia and anxiety cause these aural attacks; getting sleep and feeling better might cure them.
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Alien Hand SyndromeScience MedicineAlien Hand Syndrome is listed among rare mental disorders and medical conditions you may not believe are real.Alien Hand Syndrome is a serious mental condition. It makes one’s arm move, grab things, and touch people without the person controlling it. This typically follows a stroke or brain injury.
This is also called “Dr. Strangelove Syndrome.” This name comes from the mad scientist who could not control his Nazi-saluting arm in the Stanley Kubrick film.
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Stendhal SyndromeScience MedicineKnown by several other names,this is a psychosomatic disorder.It causes severe anxiety symptoms. These include a rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion, and hallucinations. This happens when an individual has an experience of great personal importance or sees something beautiful.
The sufferer feels intense emotion after seeing art, meeting an important person, or visiting a historical place.
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