Fregoli syndrome is one of the most common disorders affecting the concurrent mind in psychiatry. We know that unfortunately human beings struggle with certain diseases, some worse than others. Likewise, there are some that affect one of the most sensitive parts of our body, the brain.
It is very difficult when we suffer from a mental disorder because in everyone’s eyes we are fine, although the reality is that inside we are fighting a great battle. That is why today in Supercurioso we are going to talk about Frégoli’s delirium. Have you ever heard it? Is about a strange alteration that contains authentic torture for those who suffer from it and for the patient’s relatives. You want to know more? Stay with us and don’t miss it.
What is Fregoli syndrome?
This syndrome was first described in 1927, when P. Courbon and G. Fall attempted to treat a young woman from London who claimed to be chased by two actors she had seen at the theater.
A few days later, he kept saying that the whole world had taken the form of those two faces. The disorder was given this name by an Italian actor named Leopoldo Frégoli, who had the ability to make rapid changes in appearance in the middle of the theater.
Fregoli’s delusion is one of the most popular misidentification disorders. It is a neuropsychiatric disorder in which the patient experiences episodes in which he thinks he knows a person that he does not really know, or believes that all people are actually the same person.
Namely, strangers take on the face of someone they know and within a short time of this fact it is likely that everyone who crosses his path will have the same face in his mind.
Fregoli syndrome: causes
Fregoli syndrome may be related to brain injury. In general, they are usually paranoid episodes, and the patient who experiences them assumes that he is being followed by the person who thinks that she is in disguise, or that they see everywhere.
As for the treatment, it must be said that everything depends on each case and the reality of each person. As usual, antipsychotics, antidepressants and even anticonvulsants are used. This delirium can originate from several causes, not just one. Let’s find out what they are:
1. Brain injury
It has been shown through research that brain injuries can be a cause of this syndrome. Tests have been conducted on patients who have suffered a brain injury, and the results revealed that basic attention span and hand-eye coordination speed are normal.
At the same time, however, they made many errors when performing attention tasks or activities. Thus, they concluded that people with damage in the areas of facial and auditory recognition tend to suffer from this syndrome.
2. Treatments with Levodopa
This is a drug that is mainly used to treat Parkinson’s problems. It has been shown in a Article that its use for a long time, coupled with a high dose, can cause the appearance of Fregoli syndrome.
3. Psycho
Another of the most common causes that have been proven, which is also present in other rare mental illnesses, is psychosis. In essence, delusions are part of the main symptoms of diseases such as schizophrenia and other types of similar disorders.
That is why it is usual that in mental disorders, especially dementias, a frequent symptom is delusions of psychosis. Among them, we find that of Frégoli, which escalates as brain deterioration increases.
What are the symptoms of Fregoli syndrome?
Imagine that you see a friend, and suddenly you begin to see that friend in the body of another person, and as you go you begin to see the face of your friend in all the people around you. This is complete chaos, not only does it make you lose control, but it makes you experience a situation that is uncontrollable by you. All this generates more stresswhich can trigger other types of disorders.
For this reason, it is important to be aware of the symptoms of Frégoli’s delirium, so that we can identify it in the event of suffering from it.
1. Despair
It has been detected that the main symptom is despair. It is a symptom that is caused by the feeling that everyone wants to make fun of him, who disguise themselves with the intention of torturing them, acquiring the face of those well-known people. Without forgetting the hallucinations and delusions.
2. Difficulty controlling the senses
Other symptoms are visual memory deficit, self-control problems, and even epilepsies. They also present difficulties in their execution functions, little cognitive flexibility and self-awareness.
In other words, they are more prone to short-term memory failure, making it more difficult for them to manage their own behavior. All this means that they are not able to establish the differences between those around them and themselves.
The biggest problem with this delusion is that you don’t know if you can control the moment you start going through an episode of these. This makes the life of those who suffer from it a hell and also that of their relatives.
3. Hallucinations are the main symptom of Fregoli syndrome
One of the main signs of Frégoli’s delirium is hallucinations. These are ideologies whose bases are irrefutable for the user, regardless of whether there is conclusive evidence that something is not real. That is, they are illusions that occur through the perception of external agents created by the same person, which are not true.
Other rare syndromes such as Fregoli’s delirium
As well as Fregoli’s disorder, there are other types of delusions and illnesses that affect the mind that continue to be studied by science for their qualities. In order for you to be informed, we leave you a list of the most curious and surprising.