Atypical mental disorders are diseases characterized by a rare occurrence. They include disorders of consciousness, impulse control, delusions and psychomotor disorders. They have a negative impact on the quality of life of the person struggling with them, and sometimes even pose a threat to their health and life.
Examples of atypical mental disorders
Atypical mental disorders include:
- Alice in Wonderland syndrome – means a distortion in the perception of the size of one’s own body and objects that may seem smaller or larger.
- Pica syndrome – consists in feeling craving for inedible things, e.g. soil or paper.
- Cotard syndrome – a person struggling with this disorder is convinced that he or she is dead.
- Catatonia – a psychomotor disorder in which there is an extreme slowdown or agitation of movement.
- Fregoli syndrome – the delusion that different people in the environment are actually one character in disguise.
- Adele syndrome – is delusional-obsessive and manifests itself in obsessive falling in love and the belief that feelings are reciprocated.
- Trichotillomania – an OCD disorder manifested by an uncontrollable need to pull out one’s own hair.
- Quasimodo syndrome – is an exaggeration of defects in one’s own appearance or the delusion of physical defects.
What is the treatment of unusual mental disorders?
There is no single treatment method, as the management must be adapted to the type of disorder and the severity of symptoms. In the case of catatonia, pharmacotherapy in the form of benzodiazepines is mainly used, while Quasimodo syndrome or Pica syndrome require psychotherapy, often combined with taking appropriate medications.