All of us wrestle with physique picture infrequently. However what in case your precise notion of the way you (and issues round you) look is being affected? We clarify extra about Alice in Wonderland syndrome, the way it impacts completely different folks, and the place yow will discover assist to cease from falling down this rabbit gap
It may be onerous to recollect generally, however we every understand the world in our personal distinctive means. Whereas some variations are extra frequent – we’ve all heard of color blindness – others can happen a lot much less incessantly.
Regardless of the whimsical identify, Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AWS), also referred to as Todd’s syndrome, is a uncommon neurological dysfunction. First found within the Nineteen Fifties by British psychiatrist Dr John Todd, and named as a result of its signs resemble experiences that occurred to Alice in Lewis Carroll’s well-known novel, the syndrome may cause momentary modifications in your visible notion, physique picture, and the way you expertise time. It might lead folks to really feel like they’re bodily bigger or smaller than they are surely, or that the furnishings or room round them is shifting to turn into nearer or additional away.
Principally present in kids, there’s nonetheless loads we don’t find out about this uncommon neurological dysfunction, why it occurs, or what we are able to do to repair it. However, as with most wellbeing-related issues, with consciousness comes some reduction in itself.
How does AWS have an effect on folks?
Alice in Wonderland syndrome can have an effect on your imaginative and prescient, listening to, and contact, in addition to your notion of time – making you suppose it’s passing quicker or slower. Precisely the way it can have an effect on you varies from individual to individual, in addition to episode to episode.
Sometimes, these episodes can final wherever from a couple of minutes to half an hour, and customary signs you could expertise embrace:
- Migraines
- Dimension, perceptual, sound, or time distortion
- Lack of coordination or limb management
Some folks additionally expertise a sense of disconnection from their physique, ideas, emotions, and/or surroundings, which will be unsettling.
Whereas kids and younger adults are thought to expertise it extra typically, some specialists suppose that adults may very well expertise AWS greater than is reported. As we regularly see with psychological well being issues, stigma may very well be enjoying a task right here, inflicting folks to not attain out on account of worries about describing what they’re seeing, and being afraid it is likely to be mistaken for hallucinations, or dismissed utterly.
What causes AWS?
The precise causes of Alice in Wonderland syndrome aren’t presently recognized. Some specialists imagine AWS may very well be an aura (an early sensory indication of a migraine), or a uncommon kind of migraine in and of itself. Different researchers imagine it may very well be brought on by head trauma, infections, or uncommon electrical exercise within the mind affecting blood stream to the elements of your mind that course of your surroundings and visible perceptions.
Different doable causes are regarded as stress, epilepsy, stroke, mind tumour, or cough medication. These with a household historical past of AWS or migraines
might have the next danger of experiencing it themselves.
However what’s essential to recognise is that signs aren’t brought on by hallucinations, issues along with your imaginative and prescient, or psychological or neurological sickness, slightly, they’re brought on by modifications in how your mind is perceiving your physique, and the surroundings you’re in.
The right way to get a prognosis
If you happen to suppose you is likely to be experiencing signs of AWS, step one is to make an appointment along with your GP. There presently isn’t a single take a look at to diagnose AWS, so your physician might have to refer you to specialists to rule out different doable causes of your signs. This might embrace getting an MRI scan, an EEG, and blood checks to rule out different viruses or infections.
How do you deal with AWS?
Whereas there aren’t presently any particular remedies to assist with AWS, it’s advisable to relaxation and look ahead to signs to move, as whereas they are often disconcerting, they aren’t technically dangerous. Some docs might recommend treating sure signs like migraines, as this may increasingly assist to forestall additional episodes.
If you happen to or your GP really feel that stress may very well be making your signs worse, they might advocate stress administration or leisure strategies, meditation or practising mindfulness. Understanding your stress triggers, taking care of your wellbeing (bodily and mentally), adopting more healthy coping mechanisms, and making certain self-care is part of your common routine, can all assist to cut back general stress ranges.
Frequent suggestions can embrace over-the-counter painkillers, anti-sickness remedy prescribed by your GP, acupuncture, or working with a specialist migraine clinic.
Sometimes, Alice in Wonderland syndrome will get higher over time. It’s extraordinarily uncommon to have any additional problems or issues, so if studying about this looks like peering in a trying glass, it gained’t final ceaselessly and yow will discover help.
To search out help in your psychological well being, go to the Counselling Listing or converse to a certified counsellor.
