You must have heard the story of Alice, a young girl who enters the world of unusual happenings where she grows larger in size by drinking a potion or shrinks into a miniature size through magical spells in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.
Likewise, you must have also read about the adventures of Gulliver in the kingdom of Lilliput in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver Travels.
But, have you ever known someone experiencing these things in real life? Well, shockingly all these fictional episodes have been transformed into a unique disease called ‘Alice in Wonderland Syndrome.’
Alice In Wonderland Syndrome
Recently a 63-year- old man based in Pune, Maharashtra was diagnosed with Lilliput hallucinations or ‘Alice in Wonderland syndrome.’
The man claimed that he had recurrent illusions of getting attacked by 200 men of the size of his fingers! He experienced these hallucinations twice a day for five minutes for a period of six months.
Initially, the family didn’t take his condition seriously but as he kept complaining about his illusions, they decided to seek medical help.
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A Rare And Unusual Disease
The doctors classified it as a rare neurophysiological condition in which the patient unknowingly imagines distorted perceptions and loses the capability to differentiate between illusion and reality.
With the help of psychiatric treatment and counselling, the man got fully recovered. He undergoes regular counselling sessions, according to Dr. Dharmendra Kendre, a neuropsychologist at Noble Hospital.
When asked how he felt after recovery, he said “Around 200 people used to attack me. They were very small in size. My family members say that I then used to shout at them in a very loud voice. I am a retired person, and I stay home all the time. In a day, at least twice,I used to get the thought that I am being attacked by tiny people. Now, I can sleep peacefully and I do not get any thoughts that I am being attacked.”
The ‘Alice in Wonderland Syndrome’ is a rare condition occurring to one in a million people across the world. The doctors cited that it can occur due to drug intake and from metabolic or electrolyte imbalance.
These hallucinations causing this disease can also happen due to post-traumatic stress or even prolonged sleeplessness, especially among senior citizens.
Image credits: Google images
Sources: Times Now, India Times, Hindustan Times
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