40 Scary and WTF Mental Disorders that sound too Insane to be True

Walking Corpse Syndrome or Cotard’s delusion is a mental condition in which sufferers believe they are missing internal organs, have no blood, or that they are dead outright. PET scans of a patient show that they exhibit brain activity similar to someone asleep or under anesthesia. It's often seen in patients who have severe depression. Cultural beliefs, such as folklore about creatures that take organs or cause deaths in ways that can't be perceived, may also contribute to this rare disorder.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is a disorienting neuropsychological condition that causes the patients to have visual hallucinations in which they see objects around them distorted in size and shape. It may also make it seem like parts of their body are much bigger or smaller than expected, or that one body part is taller or shorter than they are in reality. Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland is thought to have suffered from it while he wrote his novels. This syndrome is often associated with people who have migraine headaches and epilepsy.

Latah is a condition which has been documented in Southeast Asia. The sufferers exhibit abnormal behaviors as a result of experiencing shock. When surprised, the affected person typically engages in such behaviors as screaming, cursing, dancing type movements, mimicking the words or actions of those around them and uncontrollable laughter.

A 49-year-old man in Brazil underwent a strange personality change after he survived a stroke. He developed what could only be described as a Pathological Generosity Disorder. He started spending his money on strangers and children he met on the street, buying them soda, candies and junk food in spite of his financial troubles. Medical tests could not find any manic condition.

Shared psychosis or Folie à deux is a psychiatric syndrome in which symptoms of a delusional belief and sometimes hallucinations are transmitted from one individual to another. In one famous case where shared insanity was seen was of Ursula and Sabina Eriksson, who were Swedish twin sisters visiting the UK. When Ursula ran into oncoming traffic due to delusions, her sister duplicated her actions and stepped into the path of an oncoming car. When they were released from the hospital, Sabina acted erratically and stabbed a man to death.

Huntington’s disease is a fatal genetic disorder that causes deterioration of a person’s physical and mental abilities during their prime working years and has no cure. Several women convicted in the Salem Witch Trials were suspected of witchcraft due to symptoms of Huntington's disease. In 2002, a woman named Carol Carr killed her two adult sons in a nursing home after she couldn't see them suffer from Huntington's disease anymore. She was sentenced to 5 years and she served 2. After release, she was told if her third son started developing symptoms she was barred from being his caregiver. A year later he was diagnosed and she had to watch her only child suffer from a distance, unable to help him.

Boanthropy is a strange delusional disorder in which the sufferer believes he or she is a cow or ox. It usually starts as a dream, eventually taking hold of the mind as a full-blown delusion. The most famous sufferer of this condition was King Nebuchadnezzar, who according to the Book of Daniel “was driven from men and did eat grass as oxen.”

There is a mental eating disorder named Pica, which is often caused by iron or other mineral deficiencies. The person suffering from it craves things that have no nutritional value such as paper, clay, metal, and even feces.

A prominent cause of divorce among older Japanese couples is “retired husband syndrome.” Japanese work culture demands long hours at work, away from home, so a husband may leave home in the early hours of the morning and return home late at night. This means that a husband and wife may not interact extensively during his career and after retirement, they may feel that they are living together with someone who is a virtual stranger. Wives begin to show stress symptoms when they are made to manage their recently retired husbands who have nothing to do but bark orders at them all day long.

Suicide headaches or cluster headaches are described as the most painful condition humans are capable of experiencing. Women who do get them say the pain can be worse than childbirth. Soldiers who have had limbs blown off would rather step on another landmine than have another episode. Medical experts still aren’t sure what causes them and the only treatment known to be effective is LSD and psychedelic mushrooms.