The Alice in Wonderland syndrome is a rare neurological disease named after the book Alice and Wonderland. It is when your body does not sense the size of its surroundings. In the book Alice goes through the experience of growing and shrinking her size and although fiction, is very real for some people.
Table of Contents
- What is AIWS?
- How is it caused?
- What is the treatment?
- What are the symptoms?
- Conclusion
What is Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS)?
John Todd, an English psychiatrist, discovered AIWS ( also called Todd’s syndrome). AIWS is a neurological syndrome that affects your view of your body and the surrounding world. It may affect if something is big or small or it may affect your view on time.
Something may feel like it has taken hours but in reality, it has only taken 30 seconds. You may see a binder as being as big as a lamp or you may feel you are as small as a lamp.
How is Alice in Wonderland Syndrome caused?
More research is needed to fully understand the cause of AIWS. In case studies, it has been seen that the most common reason for AIWS is migraines. In children, the more common case is seen to be the Epstein-Barr infection.
It has also been seen to be linked to epile[sy, head trauma, bacterial infections, and viral infections. A lot of the causes of AIWS are damage to the central nervous system, which is in charge of perceiving the world around you.
It is also hypothesized that AIWS may be linked to genetics.
What is the treatment?
AIWS is mostly treated based on the cause. It is seen as a symptom of other diseases and is a pointer to the main problem in a person’s body; their central nervous system.
If the cause is a migraine the person’s doctor may recommend medication or even a migraine diet. If the cause is a brain tumor your doctor would try to remove the tumor. AIWS is mostly used as an indicator of the main problem in the body and is therefore treated as such.
What are the Symptoms?
AIWS symptoms vary from person to person and are mostly diagnosed by ruling out all other possibilities. Some symptoms may include:
- Size hallucinations
- Macropsia is when things appear to be growing larger
- Micropsia is when items tend to grow smaller
- Time distortion
- Perception differences: Items may appear closer than they are or they may appear farther than they are.
- Somatopsychic duality: people often describe this as feeling as if they’re split in two vertically. That makes them feel as if their body’s left and right halves exist separately, but they can still feel both.
Conclusion
Some research indicates that up to 30% of teenagers experience AIWS. By spreading awareness of this syndrome you allow those who are undiagnosed to get the proper treatment. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, although named after a common book, is a rare syndrome that affects patients with perception issues and time disorientation.
