Everyone’s heard of the most common mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, and BPD. In fact, I know you’ve heard of them because over 50 million adults in the United States struggle with diagnoses of anxiety. Gradually though, the topic of mental health struggles has become widely accepted in our culture today. Nevertheless, there are still people out there who are battling mental health disorders that are uncommon and not often discussed. To bring more awareness, and to hopefully enlighten more conversations about it, I’ve conducted a list of five disorders that are typically rare and you usually wouldn’t bring up in a conversation regarding mental health.
- Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Interesting name right? If you’ve ever seen Alice in Wonderland, you’d know that the main character Alice constantly changes sizes to navigate through Wonderland. This particular mental health condition is a reflection of this phenomenon, as it disrupts your brain’s ability to interpret sensory input to your brain. More specifically, it affects how you perceive the size of things around you, as well as the look and feel of your own body. It’s more commonly found in children under 18 years of age, so that explains why you probably haven’t heard much about it, alongside the fact that it is very rare among people.
There are not many cases surrounding Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, but it is a very real disorder that can cause alterations to one’s entire perception of reality. There are no known cures or remedies besides the standard medications towards one’s specific symptoms.
- Capgras Delusion
People diagnosed with Capgras Delusion believe that people of significance in their life have been replaced with an imposter, or a double. This leads to accusations towards that person that they are not who they claim to be. People experiencing this are known to be presenting signs of Alzheimer’s, dementia, epilepsy, etc.
Not many researchers know how this mental health disorder is developed. Some think it’s a result of neurological issues within the brain, and others think it develops from a combination of physical and cognitive changes.
A case study done by the National Library of Medicine follows a 24 year old veteran who developed multiple past mental health issues, like anxiety and BPD. Alongside that, the NLM records the patient being in a motor accident previous to his diagnosis of Capgras Delusion. In turn, the study notes “The patient voluntarily presented to the hospital for increased suicidal thoughts and was admitted voluntarily for stabilization and self-harm prevention.” Additionally, the patient has also revealed he didn’t think his mother was a real person. Due to Capgras Delusion, he insisted his mother was replaced by “government employees” to admit to his actions and behavior in the military. The patient further showed signs of psychological distress in his depressed moods, anxiety, hopelessness, and insomnia.
Although classified under rare, this delusion is affected by lots more people than you’d think.
- Postpartum Psychosis
Everyone’s heard of postpartum depression within mothers, but something usually left out of discussions is the risk of developing postpartum psychosis.
Postpartum psychosis is characterized by losing touch with reality, feeling paranoia, experiencing delusions, etc. Not many have discovered the origins, but researchers tend to lean diagnoses towards women with histories of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or discontinuation of psychiatric medicine during pregnancy. Even though the numbers of those affected by this are small, the effects can be severe.
There are no current suggestions for managing postpartum psychosis. Medications like mood stabilizers are the typical solution given by medical officials to suppressing the potentially dangerous symptoms mothers who are diagnosed deal with.
- Erotomania
A form of psychosis, erotomania is otherwise known as believing someone who isn’t in your life is madly in love with you. Sometimes, it’s people you’ve never even met before! Have you ever had a celebrity crush? In many cases, people with erotomania believe a celebrity figure is head over heels for them. In reality, where this condition stems from isn’t necessarily known, but environmental conditions, personality, and neurological bases are the usual suspicions.
A specific case of erotomania occurred within a 45 year old woman the National Library of Medicine recorded. The study accounts “A 45-year-old married female, mother of two children, used to work as a helper at a school, was brought to psychiatric OPD by her husband with complaints of irritability, low mood, disturbed sleep, reduced communication with family members from the past 5–6 months.”
This mental health condition has proved to sprout fully devotional obsession within the patients infected. It begins to affect their day to day life, which can eventually lead down a path of delusions and uproot one’s own life completely. In addition, this disorder is more commonly seen in women than men.
- Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
The approximate 1% of people with DID, one of many dissociative disorders, develop separate identities within themselves. It’s not your typical tendency to switch up how you act around certain people, it’s essentially out of their control. Sometimes referred to as “alters”, these personalities can control your behavior, which can also cause gaps in memory as memories may not transfer from one alter to another. Other symptoms include decreased ability to function within social situations, influenced self-perception, and potential development of other mental health conditions like anxiety or depression.
Those with DID have reported heightened emotions from the conditions of their disorder. Detachment from reality, frustration over memory gaps, and confusion about what others tell you about your behavior. DID is an extremely emotional disorder that many struggle with daily.
There is an extremely wide variety of possible causes of DID, including abuse, trauma, and highly stressful experiences. Researchers believe that following the cause of the disorder is when the symptoms are triggered. For many, the condition acts as a suppressor, a way for one to distance themselves from the trauma they may have endured.
Breaking the Stigma
Each disorder listed is a very real and is a very hard experience that many people go through all around the world. It’s extremely important that we include all types of mental health conditions when we raise awareness. You are not alone in what you are experiencing with your mental health, and everyone’s experience is unique to their own. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, reach out to resources near you.
Call or text 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
1-800-985-5900 for counseling emotional distress
1-800-662-4357 for confidential, 24/7 treatment referral and information
