Rapunzel syndrome
Named in honor of the long-haired protagonist of one of the Brothers Grimm tales, it refers to a rare intestinal disorder, of which only 25 cases are known, and which consists of the formation of an extended tail of hair. from stomach to intestine. It occurs in young women and girls with a personality disorder and often causes trichophagia (compulsive hair eating).
Huckleberry Finn syndrome
Named after the character in Mark Twain’s play “The Adventures of Hucckleberry Finn,” this psychological syndrome is characterized by a tendency to shirk responsibilities as a child, and to change jobs frequently as adults. Experts assure that it is a defense mechanism linked to parental rejection, low self-esteem and symptoms of depression in an intelligent subject.
Othello syndrome
Also known as celotypic delusion or pathological jealousy, it is a delusional disorder characterized by excessive and irrational concern about the partner’s infidelity. The patient, normally a man, is absolutely convinced that his partner is unfaithful to him for no real reason to justify it. It is a true embodiment of Othello’s attitude and thoughts towards Desdemona in the famous play by William Shakespeare.
Pollyanna syndrome
Named like this in reference to the protagonist of a young adult novel written by the North American Eleanor H. Porter and published in 1913, it refers to the excessive idealization of situations and experiences, as well as an excess of kindness and the tendency to see only the good side of things. In other words, it could be described as unhealthy optimism and not tied to the events of reality.
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Patients suffering from this disorder perceive alterations in the shape, size and spatial situation of objects, as well as distortion of the body image -which make them feel bigger or smaller- and the passage of time. Other visual illusions such as palinopsia (multiple images), achromatopsia (non-perception of color), and prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces) have also been associated. Scientists suspect that the writer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll and affected by migraines, may have suffered from this disorder, so that the rare experiences of the young Alice who starred in his stories were well known to its creator.
Madame Bovary syndrome
Also known as bovarism, it is defined as a state of chronic dissatisfaction of a person , in affective and social planes, produced by the contrast between his illusions -marked by a certain imagination and romanticism- and reality, which usually frustrates vain and excessive ambitions . The term was used for the first time by the French philosopher Jules de Gaultier and refers to the novel Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, specifically to the figure of its protagonist, Emma Bovary.
