10 Rare Mental Disorders: A Deep Dive Into the Enigma

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Are you intrigued to deep dive into the unknown world of mental disorders? Read on to explore 10 rare mental disorders you probably never heard about.

Behind the asylum walls lies an enigma that is yet to be scoured. Mental health and mental disorders are often stigmatized and overlooked. One of the various reasons for this is the lack of understanding and the bubbling fear coming from inaccurate or misleading media representations of mental illness. Mental health stigma only causes immense damage to individuals who struggle with their mental health disorder/s. That said, this article aims to further contribute information and insight that revolve around mental disorders, particularly the rare and uncommon ones.

This way, we can be more aware and knowledgeable and especially eradicate the stigma and lack of understanding about mental illness.

Finally, let us begin our enigmatic journey of discovering and exploring some of the rare mental disorders you probably have never heard of.

10 Rare Mental Disorders: Prepare to be Stupefied

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#1: Cotard’s Delusion

First on the list, also known as the walking corpse syndrome, is where the sufferer or victim believes that they are already dead, dying, or nonexistent.

#2: Alien Hand Syndrome

We are starting off strong with another odd disorder. Alien hand syndrome is characterized by hands making intentional but involuntary movements.

#3: Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder

Another is revolving around separation or detachment from oneself, one’s surroundings, or both. Patients who have this disorder feel like they are looking at themselves from the outer realm of their own body, perhaps as an outside observer of their own life.

#4: Autocannibalism

This is commonly depicted in movies but still exists in the real world. This disorder is also known as self-cannabalism, where the sufferer eats and consumes parts of themselves. Believe it or not, nail biting is also a form of autocannibalism. Shocking right?

#5: Apotemnophilia

This disorder is found in ICD-11 and leans as a neurological disorder encapsulating the sufferer to have an immense desire to surgically amputate or cut away a healthy body part.

#6: Capgras Syndrome

This disorder presents itself as bound to a delusional belief. A person suffering from this experiences an unshakeable delusion that the person they know is replaced by an imposter, suddenly becoming unfamiliar to them.  

#7: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

Another rare disorder is otherwise called the Todd Syndrome, which includes symptoms of distorted visual perception, causing the sufferer to have visual hallucinations of one’s body size, color, and shape. It is indeed a disorder capturing a similarity with the movie, “Alice in Wonderland.”

#8: Clinical Lycanthropy

This disorder involves a delusion of sufferers believing they can take the form of any particular animal, specifically shapeshifting into wolves.

#9: Diogenes Syndrome

This is found mainly in elders and is particularly linked with progressive dementia. The main feature of this disorder is the compulsive hoarding of random and rubbish items. Lycanthropy got its name from the mythical condition of lycanthropy.

#10: Khyâl Cap

This disorder arises without warning, often overlapping with the symptoms of panic attacks. These attacks revolve around khyâl, a wind-like substance, coursing through the body and blood, causing various serious effects.

Final Thoughts: A Deep Dive Worth Remembering

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Now that we have ceased exploring these uncommon mental disorders, what’s running through your mind as a reader who may know little to none about such disorders until now?

Indeed, delving into a whole new domain encompassing the unusual and, perhaps, the extraordinary can be an interesting voyage. I bet that as you learned about each disorder, you felt goosebumps and shivers, amazed by the mysteries of the human brain.

Yet again, finally, we have scraped a fraction of the enigma behind the asylum walls by exploring the rare mental disorders in this article. However, a book came into my mind that I would like to share. Asylum Scandals by Patricia Lubeck exposes the horrible truths that roam within the brick walls of the state hospitals. Moreover, this book encapsulates real-life experiences of patients who experienced abuse, neglect, torture, and even murder. To obtain your own copy of the book, click here.

Ultimately, this book erodes the idea people with mental disorders are monsters, but instead, victims who deserve genuine help. Anyhow, we encourage you to read a related article discussing the importance of mental health treatments.