Jul 17, 2023 15:00:00

Five special mental disorders with strange symptoms such as ``I feel parasites crawling under my skin'' and ``I think I am a zombie''

There are various symptoms of mental disorders, some of which are obsessed with delusions such as ``I feel like a parasite is crawling under my skin'', ``I believe I am a zombie'', and ``My hands are my own. In some cases, physical symptoms such as “moving on its own against its will” may occur.

Mark Griffith , who is conducting research on behavioral addiction at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom, explains the five mental disorders that cause such strange symptoms.

Five rare and unusual psychiatric syndromes – including one where people believe they are dead
https://theconversation.com/five-rare-and-unusual-psychiatric-syndromes-including-one-where-people-believe-they-are-dead-205587

◆1: Fregoli syndrome
Fregoli's Syndrome (Fregoli's Illusion) is a condition in which anyone who sees him believes that he is actually the same person, even if he is only in disguise. It is named after the comedian Leopoldo Fregoli. It is usually caused by psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and can also appear as a side effect of levodopa, a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease.

A 2020 study reported an incidence of Fregoli syndrome of 1.1% in post-stroke patients, suggesting that it is a very rare condition. No definitive cure for Fregoli's syndrome has been developed, but treatment with antipsychotic drugs may reduce symptoms.

◆2: Cotard syndrome
Cotard syndrome , also known as ``walking corpse syndrome'', is a mind possessed by delusional thoughts that ``I am already dead'', ``I don't exist'', ``My body is rotten'', and ``I have lost my internal organs and blood''. It means disability. The name comes from French neurologist Jules Cotard, who first reported the disease in 1882. The woman who reported the case believed that she had fallen into eternal hell and could not die of natural causes. , he continued to refuse food and starved to death.

Schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder are considered risk factors for Cotard's syndrome, and are sometimes reported as side effects of acyclovir , a drug used to treat viral infections. Griffiths said it is commonly treated with medications such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, tranquilizers, and electroconvulsive therapy.

◆ 3: Alien hand syndrome
Mr. Griffith says that 'one of the strangest neurological disorders' is

the alien hand syndrome , in which the hand starts to move independently of the person's will. Although the syndrome was first identified in 1908, it was not clearly defined until the early 1970s.

Patients with Alien Hand Syndrome typically have sensory processing deficits, and some patients believe their hands to move on their own have other minds or believe they have become property of aliens. It seems that there are people. Causes include dementia, stroke, prion disease , brain tumors, seizures, and side effects of corpus callosum transection , which cuts the corpus callosum that connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres to treat severe epilepsy. There have also been reports of cases that appeared as

That said, Alien Hand Syndrome is still a very rare syndrome, with only 150 cases to date according to a 2013 review . Although there is no complete cure for alien hand syndrome, treatments such as keeping the affected hand doing specific tasks to minimize symptoms and injecting botulinum toxin are said to be done. About. In addition, `` mirror box therapy '', which uses a mirror to make the symptomatic hand move normally, is also considered to be one of the treatments. You can see how the mirror box therapy is actually performed by watching the following video.

Mirror Box Therapy & NEUROPLASTICITY Following Stroke-YouTube


◆ 4: parasite delusion
Parasitosis delusion is a mental disorder in which people believe that parasites are invading their bodies, even though this is not the case. He said he has a feeling. A study of 1,223 patients also found that two-thirds of the patients were women, that it was more common in middle-aged and older people over the age of 40, and that symptoms usually persisted for a long period of time, 3 to 4 years. rice field.

Delusional parasites have been associated with psychiatric disorders such as paranoid schizophrenia, organic brain disease, and paranoid personality disorder, as well as people with alcohol withdrawal, misuse of cocaine, and stroke. It has also been reported in people with brain lesions such as dementia. Patients believe that ``there are parasites under the skin,'' so psychological treatments are often disliked as not being a fundamental solution.

◆ 5: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is a mental disorder in which perceptions of the external world, such as vision and touch, and senses of time, are altered. It is said that it will be. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland syndrome is named after the episode in 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ' in which Alice's body grows and shrinks.

Many of the patients are children, and it is also characterized by the fact that most of those who experience it even as adults have migraines. Treatment often includes rest and relaxation, Griffiths said, because people who are afflicted with symptoms tend to be frightened and panicked.