You can make a convincing argument that the phrase “it’s all in your head” applies to pretty much everything in the world. This is, more or less, a cornerstone of Cartesian philosophy. And while maybe we have advanced beyond that as it relates to reality and our place in it, that’s not to say there isn’t plenty that we perceive in the world that is just made up. Whether it’s a cultural phenomenon, a bias, a side effect of an illness, or something more, there are plenty of syndromes that one can be afflicted with that boil down to little more than our minds playing tricks on us.
10. Chinese Restaurant Syndrome
What is your opinion of MSG? for years monosodium glutamate was vilified in the media and considered a dangerous food additive that was risking your health and happiness should you ever be exposed to it. It got so bad at one point that the name “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” was coined to explain the series of illnesses and side effects people claimed to be suffering from after eating Chinese food, ostensibly because MSG was a common ingredient in the cuisine during this time.
The thing about MSG is that it’s not some strange synthetic chemical. It actually exists naturally in some foods and it’s derived from L-glutamic acid. You can produce it by fermenting it from carbs like beet sugar or molasses. It also occurs naturally in several food products including tomatoes and cheese.
Chinese food syndrome supposedly caused all kinds of symptoms ranging from a headache to nausea to weakness and sweating. The problem is that no science has ever conclusively linked this to MSG. While this alleged condition rose to prominence in the 1960s and through the 80s, along with the rise in popularity of Chinese restaurants in the West, it’s believed today that much of the so-called symptoms and demonization of MSG simply came from prejudice and ignorance.
9. Salieri Syndrome
Antonio Salieri was an Italian composer and has long been associated with a rivalry between himself and Mozart. There is even a short story and subsequent opera based on this rivalry, not to mention the movie Amadeus. However, in real life there’s actually little evidence to suggest any rivalry existed. And certainly none that Salieri ever tried to poison Mozart. Good thing this list isn’t concerned with reality.
Salieri Syndrome is the name for a phenomenon where people who may actually be quite talented feel like they are being overshadowed by someone more talented and go out of their way to undermine their would-be rivals out of a sense of envy. Researchers have studied this in group settings where it has been shown to undermine the entire group and make everyone’s performance worse.
Though the name is borrowed from history, it is most often observed in the workplace today. As the group research shows, if one person at work is actively undermining someone else they think is better than them, not only will the person they are undermining suffer, but they bring everyone in the office down with them. This is all purely based on their own perceptions of themselves and how they fit into the dynamic. Had they left well enough alone they, and everyone, might have done well, but now all do poorly.
8. Third Man Syndrome
One of the most mysterious conditions you’re likely to hear about, Third Man Syndrome has sometimes been referred to as simply having a guardian angel. Reports show, and in more than one instance, when a person faces a life and death scenario that they have perceived a mysterious presence with them.
In the early 1900s, Sir Ernest Shackleford was one of the first people to write about this phenomenon as he explored Antarctica. In the journals he wrote on his journey, he recorded traveling across the frozen landscape with two other men and feeling at some point that there was actually a fourth person there with them.
Since Shackleford’s time, other people who have found themselves in extreme circumstances have also felt another presence with them, a guide of sorts. This has been shipwreck survivors, explorers and mountain climbers. In 1933, Frank Smyth tried to summit Mt. Everest and felt a mystery companion staving off loneliness as he climbed.
The feeling for Smyth was so real that at one point he stopped to eat, broke his food rations in half, and tried to hand them to the man who wasn’t there. For Ron DiFrancesco, the last survivor to escape the Twin Towers, it was even physical. In the smoke, he said he felt someone take his hand and guide him out.
The phenomenon is not well studied, so the science behind it is not entirely well known. While some people would argue that it may actually be a guardian angel, it has also been suggested that this is part of a survival response humans have. A way to center yourself and focus to save your own life in the most dire circumstances.
7. Puppy Pregnancy Syndrome
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a stranger condition then puppy pregnancy syndrome. if for no other reason than it sounds like it’s entirely made up and the people who suffer from it can’t possibly be telling the truth. Despite this, it has occurred more than once and researchers have documented symptoms of the syndrome.
The condition that seems to be cultural, and occurs almost exclusively in a certain part of India. Six men and one woman reported having been bit by or had some other contact with dogs and, afterwards, were convinced that the dog had impregnated them. They believed they were carrying a litter of puppies.
Although some people who claim to be suffering from the condition had some evidence of psychiatric conditions in their past, most of them did not. The only thing they had in common was that they were from the same rural area near Calcutta.
The vast majority of people in the village believe that the condition was entirely real, with very few doubting that it was possible. The people believe that dog saliva could cause pregnancy, especially if the dog was in a state of arousal when it bit the person. No explanation was given how anyone came to that conclusion.
Local healers are said to have the power to cure the condition, presumably for a fee, which is entirely necessary since males are said to die if they carry their puppy litter to term.
6. Anton Syndrome
We know that denial is common in dealing with things like death or disease. But just how that manifests can be surprising. Anton syndrome occurs in patients who are suffering blindness but will not acknowledge that fact. Those who suffer from it do not acknowledge they are blind and instead create excuses or fantasies about what they are actually experiencing. In one historical case from ancient Rome believed to be Anton syndrome, the patient simply believed all the rooms she was in were too dark and demanded to be moved elsewhere.
Sufferers will refuse to acknowledge their blindness, and even in the face of proof that they can’t see where they are and what they’re doing, will simply make up stories to account for that and pretend they can see things or people in the room, even if they aren’t there.
5. Stendhal Syndrome
Some people take art extremely seriously. You may have even known or seen someone who has a serious emotional reaction to certain pieces of art. Perhaps maybe that’s the point of art. To elicit feelings in people. But Stendhal Syndrome takes this to the next level.
Every year, the city of Florence, Italy hosts thousands of tourists who come to see the art there. Among those many travelers there will be a handful of people who break down after being overwhelmed by the art they see there.
Those who experience it may endure dizziness, hallucinations, heart palpitations and panic attacks. Researchers attribute it to taking in so much historic and remarkable art that it overwhelms the senses in what is sometimes called an Art Attack. Psychiatrists fully classified the condition as a psychiatric disorder in 1989.
4. Gourmand Syndrome
There are a lot of side effects that one can experience because of a traumatic brain injury. Gourmand syndrome is arguably one of the most unusual. After a certain brain trauma a victim can become obsessed with the idea of fine dining. That’s not just eating fine food, it’s reading about it, writing about it, chatting about it, the whole nine yards.
Doctors classified the condition as a benign eating disorder, since it affects the way you relate to food. Most of the sufferers of the condition have exhibited lesions at the same part of their brain, showing that trauma in the specific area is the cause.
The condition was first described in the 1990s, and in at least one case a political reporter who suffered from it switched to a food writer.
3. Capgras Syndrome
Capgras Syndrome is the belief that someone, or something, close to you has been replaced by an exact duplicate. The condition is not just psychiatric, it can be because of an injury to the brain or neurodegenerative conditions as well. Typically, someone suffering from the syndrome will believe that a person close to them like a loved one has been swapped, but apparently a person can also believe certain objects and pets may have fallen victim to the same replacement scheme.
Those who suffer from the condition may believe that an imposter has replaced their loved one only briefly, or it can be over an extended period. They also believe that there are subtle physical clues that let them know the imposter isn’t the real person. In this way they believe they can tell the difference between the real person and the imposter.
2. De Clerambault Syndrome
Most of us have probably dealt with unrequited love in the past. It’s a thing that happens, and you just have to roll the punches and move on with your life. There’s a condition called Clerambault Syndrome where it’s not you longing for someone else, but you convinced someone else is longing for you.
Also called erotomania, it’s characterized as a delusional belief that someone, often considered to be of higher professional or social standing, is in love with you. It’s almost always women who are diagnosed, but it’s been speculated the occurrence in men is underdiagnosed. The condition can be brief, or it can last decades with the person convinced that you’re being pursued and the other person just won’t leave you alone because they love you so much, even though none of it is felt by the other party.
1. Daughter from California Syndrome
If you work in healthcare, you may have heard of Daughter from California syndrome. That’s the name for an observed phenomenon that healthcare workers have encountered many times when dealing with elderly or terminal patients. It’s a bit of a sad situation, but it occurs enough that the entire industry has adopted a name for it.
What happens is, as a patient nears the end of their life, sometimes a relative who has never come to visit the dying patient will arrive knowing that the end is near. This person, the so-called Daughter From California, has a brash attitude and attempts to take over all aspects of the dying patient’s care despite having never been involved before, and acting like they know best rather than the healthcare professionals who have been tending to the person the entire time.
They demand extreme methods to save the life of their relative, and it’s believed this is generally out of a sense of guilt and denial for having never been involved previously. They make up this idea in their head that they can change things by taking over even though they’re just in the way.