Strange Syndromes

Humans can be affected by some strange and troubling disorders. While many of these disorders aren't deadly, they can severely affect the lives of those who have them. Here are a few of the strangest:

Alien Hand Syndrome is a very strange disorder, and may also called Dr. Strangelove Syndrome, after the Stanley Kubrick film. In the movie, the character of Dr. Stranglove cannot control the movement of one of his arms, which seems to want to uncontrollably give the "Heil Hitler!" salute. The syndrome is often the result of trauma to the brain, and it seems like it could be out of a horror movie (There have been horror films loosely based on this condition). The hand of the sufferer seems to take on a mind of its own. To the sufferer, the hand feels as though it cannot be controlled. They feel sensation in the hand, but the limb seems as though it is a separate entity, or is controlled by some outside force, like God. An occurrence that could happen to someone with the syndrome would be something like this: A woman puts a cigarette to her mouth to smoke it, but the "alien" hand pulls the cigarette out of her mouth and throws it away. The woman may state, "I guess it doesn't want me to smoke." The limb is often personified in this way as a separate entity. It's hard to imagine having a limb with "a mind of its own", and it must be rather frightening.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is a syndrome that shares its name with the children's book by Lewis Carroll, who possibly suffered from the condition. It causes the sufferer to see things as much smaller than they really are, like seeing a cat as the size of a mouse, and feeling as if the sufferer's body or parts of the body are much larger than they really are. The condition may cause hallucinations, as well as changes in other perceptions such as hearing, touch, and sense of time. For example, things may not feel "right" to the touch; the ground may feel spongy under the feet; and time may seem to go by much faster or slower. It is often associated with migraine headaches, and seems to affect children more than adults.

Foreign Accent Syndrome is another syndrome that can be brought on by brain damage. It causes the sufferer to start to speak their native language with what appears to listeners to be a foreign accent. It may sound like an American is speaking with a German accent, for example, but what really happens is that a part of the brain that controls linguistic functions gets damaged, causing the sufferer to speak in an altered pitch or slur their syllables differently. This change sounds to listeners like a foreign accent, and they identify the accent as whichever nationality it sounds like to them. (Maybe this is what happened to Johnny Depp and Madonna: celebrities who both are from America, but for some reason now speak with British accents.)

Exploding head syndrome is a scary condition in which the sufferer may suddenly experience a very loud noise in their head that sounds like an explosion or a very loud ringing noise, sometimes accompanied by a flash of white light. It occurs mostly at nighttime right after the suffer falls asleep, and while it's not dangerous physically, and can be extremely frightening. Its causes are unknown, but it seems to be associated with stress and fatigue.

Jerusalem Syndrome is a name given to a psychosis-like experience brought on by a visit to Jerusalem. It's debatable whether or not the people who have experienced this condition have had mental problems before visiting Jerusalem, however. The experience doesn't just relate to Jerusalem, but to other places of religious importance. The sufferer usually begins to exhibit symptoms upon arrival, such as anxiety and nervousness, and may desire to split from the group they arrive with and explore Jerusalem alone. Sufferers may develop an obsession with cleanliness and dress in white. They feel the need to loudly quote verses from the Bible and sing religious songs, and may march to a religiously significant place in Jerusalem and deliver a very confused sermon to the visitors there. The affects wear off after the sufferer is removed from the place of the occurrence in a few weeks.

Medical students' syndrome affects many medical students and is a form of hypochondriasis where a student studying a specific disease may begin to think they have that specific disease. For example, if a student is studying Multiple sclerosis, they may begin to believe that their muscles feel weak and that they're very fatigued, which are symptoms of the disease. They then fear that they have the disease, and when they move on to studying another disease, they begin to believe they have that one, and so on. This is why hypochondriacs definitely should not join the medical field, but many probably do to have the opportunity to constantly be in a hospital. So it could be possible that many medical students are hypochondriacs to begin with, but it's just a theory.

Dorian Gray Syndrome is so named after the Oscar Wilde novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" wherein a handsome young man wishes that a painting of himself would age rather than his physical body. He trades his soul for the ability to never grow old. Sufferers of this condition are narcissistic and obsessed with surgical procedures and any method that can be used to stay looking young. They may not mature psychologically, and will continuously use products like hair restoration creams, erectile dysfunction drugs, mood lifters, cosmetic products, and diet pills. If the sufferer does not see results from these measures, they may become very depressed and often suicidal. As America becomes more and more obsessed with youth and beauty, the number of these sufferers is sure to continuously rise.

These are just a few of the conditions that humans may suffer from. We have incredibly powerful, complex minds that we don't fully understand, and if something goes awry in the brain, the result can be interesting, devastating, and very strange.