Top 12 Rarest Mental Disorders: Behind the Asylum Walls

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It’s quite scary yet intriguing how the mind works. While tons of research have gone into the human brain, the eccentricity and unpredictability of the mind with how it processes thoughts and evokes behavior does not fail to astound. You’ll experience the tingles down your spine as soon as you hear the rarest mental disorders of all time. The enigma that lies beneath the realms of mental disorder is sure to lure you.

While mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder are fairly common and relatively understood, there are others that are so rare that even mental health professionals may never come across them.

This idea alone is already enough to ignite interest in us. In this regard, what are considered weird mental disorders? Better yet, what are the interesting mental disorders that are yet to be unraveled?

Well, you are exactly in the right place because, in this article, we will delve into the top 12 rarest mental disorders and explore each and every one of them. It is certain to pique your interest and curiosity in this matter, potentially hidden behind the asylum walls.

Speaking of the asylum walls, at the end of the article, a literary masterwork will be introduced to delight you further into the horrors of the asylum.

Anyhow, let’s start!

12 Rarest Mental Disorders You Probably Have Never Heard of

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#1: Boanthropy

This is among the rarest mental disorders and probably the weirdest one. An individual who has boanthropy are convinced that they are a cow that they even start behaving as one. It is believed by doctors that this might be induced by hypnotism or some sort of dreaming type.

#2: Cotard’s Delusion

Individuals who have Cotard’s delusion think they are dead or dying. According to experts, the majority of individuals who suffer from this also suffer from severe depression.

#3: Autocannibalism

This encompasses the sufferer eating and consuming parts of themselves, and as crazy as this sounds, nail biting is actually a form of autocannibalism.

#4: Alien Hand Syndrome

People who have Alien Hand Syndrome have no control of their own hand or limb, which takes a life on its own. The worst case scenario is when the sufferer tries to strangle themselves or hurt others with their uncontrollable hand.

#5: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

People who have this disorder, which is also referred to as Todd syndrome, tend to perceive a distorted image of body, time, and space. The sufferer has visual hallucinations that may resemble the movie, “Alice in Wonderland.”

#6: Apotemnophilia

This disorder is indicated by an overwhelming urge and extreme desire to amputate or cut away a healthy body part. Apotemnophilia may be linked to damage to the brain, particularly in the right parietal lobe.

#7: Clinical Lycanthropy

The person with Clinical Lycanthropy experiences a delusion of turning or shapeshifting into a wolf, werewolf, or any form of any particular animal. The person may even behave like a wolf in this case.

#8: Capgras Syndrome

Individuals with this delusional belief firmly believe that someone in their life has been replaced by an imposter. This condition typically occurs in patients with schizophrenia, dementia, or epilepsy and after traumatic brain injury.

#9: Khyâl Cap

Khyâl cap, or “wind attacks,” is a syndrome found in Cambodians in the United States and Cambodia. It involves a wind-like substance called khyâl that rises in the body, causing various serious effects. These unexpected attacks often resemble panic attacks.

#10: Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder

The experience of feeling detached from oneself or one’s surroundings characterizes the altered state known as depersonalization/derealization disorder. Individuals with this disorder often feel as if they are observing themselves from outside their own bodies.

#11: Diogenes Syndrome

This disorder involves hoarding, where the individual has an intense desire to collect seemingly random items, forming an emotional attachment to them. This behavior is particularly common among elderly individuals, especially those with dementia.

#12: Factitious Disorder

Last on the list of the rarest mental disorders is factitious disorder. People who have this disorder are obsessed with the idea of being sick. In fact, the majority of them intentionally make themselves ill in order to receive treatment.

Behind the Asylum Walls: ASYLUM SCANDALS

Asylum Scandals by Patricia Lubeck is an intriguing book that captures abuse, torture, corruption, and murder in Minnesota’s state hospitals. It encapsulates their history which also offers a glimpse into daily life in these institutions from 1867 to 1915. Readers will be able to dive deep into how many endured long confinements in straitjackets, hydrotherapy sprays, electric shock treatments, lobotomies, and other tortuous procedures.

The surprising thing is, this is just a small fraction of all the wretched and brutal things that proceeded on behind the brick walls of the asylums. There are numerous more riddles yet to be decoded. How about you start this venture now? Grab and purchase your own copy of Asylum Scandals today!

While you’re at it, make sure to also read another interesting article about the haunted insane asylums worldwide. Aside from this article tackling the rarest mental disorders, it is an added experience for you as an inquisitive reader.