Alice in Wonderland Syndrome.

Apr 27, 2005 20:57




Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS) is a rare condition which most doctors and psychiatrists haven’t even heard of. It affects many aspects of the sufferer’s life and can cause tremendous mental suffering.

AIWS is a neurological condition which affects perception. The most prominent and disturbing symptom is that of altered body image: the sufferer will find that they are confused as to the size and shape of their body and their surroundings.

This distortion of perception also affects the way the sufferer “sees”. I use quotes, because the eyes are not affected in any way, only the interpretation of the information passed to the brain from the eyes. To the sufferer, this distinction is unimportant.

If the sufferer feels that their body is larger than normal, they may “see” their surroundings are smaller than normal. This leads to sufferers reporting that cars, people, etc. look like miniature models.

The reverse effect is also common. The world may appear huge, while the sufferer feels that they have shrunk.

With eyes closed, the continues to perceive their surroundings as large and their body as small, or vice versa. Therefore the effect cannot be “shut out” in this way.

AIWS is most commonly reported by sufferers of classical migraine and by small children. Children are usually less worried than adults by the condition. To the adult, who is also suffering from the symptoms of classical migraine, AIWS can be extremely frightening.

The sufferer reports that objects appear to be different sizes (and sometimes shapes) to normal. For example, whilst walking along a street, the sufferer may note that parked cars appear to be the size of toy models. The ground may appear to be closer than expected. The sufferer may feel as if they are not getting anywhere - as if walking on a treadmill. The sufferer reports that their limbs, head, or whole body are larger (or sometimes smaller) than normal. This is directly connected to the distortion of visual perception. It appears that distorted visual perception is not only a direct consequence of distorted body image, so the two symptoms may be counted as distinct, though there is certainly a large overlap. The suffer reports that touch sensation is altered. Examples include feeling like they are walking on sponges, “deadening” of feeling and lingering sensation. Lingering sensation means that when they sufferer comes into physical contact with an object, a “memory” of that contact persists longer than would normally be expected. This can be quite unpleasant after contact with something sharp, rough, etc. Touch-sensation hallucinations sometimes occur, especially while the sufferer is tired and more sensitive.
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