Sounds fake, but it’s real

What is the walking corpse syndrome? Discover 10 odd medical conditions

Image: Ani Kolleshi

Not all medical conditions sound as serious as they are, but others… Others have names that seem straight out of science fiction tales. However, rest assured, they are all very real. From conditions that turn you into Sleeping Beauty to disorders that leave you feeling like an alien in your own skin, we’ve gathered 10 medical conditions whose names will leave you scratching your head. Keep reading and find out about these illnesses with weird names!

Image: Rodrigo Pereira

Who hasn’t wished they could sleep 20 hours a day? That’s simply a dream come true! But people with Klein-Levin syndrome don’t really think that. The condition is commonly known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome.

Those affected by this condition experience episodes where they sleep excessively for hours, and even days! When awake, they can be confused, disoriented, and exhibit unusual behaviors like binge eating.

The condition can last for years, though episodes tend to become less frequent over time. It’s unclear what causes the syndrome, and there’s no specific treatment. The name sounds enchanting, but for those living with it, Sleeping Beauty Syndrome is more of a nightmare!

Image: Timo Wagner

This one sounds like something out of a sci-fi horror movie, but it’s a very real condition that affects the brain and spinal cord of cows. It is officially called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and the symptoms are aggression or erratic behavior in infected cattle. That is why it’s called "mad".

Now, this list is about human conditions. But here’s the trick: The disease can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of contaminated beef, causing a fatal brain disorder known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

While strict food safety regulations have significantly reduced the risk, the nickname "Mad Cow Disease" sticks because of the startling symptoms it causes. Don’t worry! Despite the scary name, it’s extremely rare to contract in humans today.

Image: Geetanjal Khanna

Imagine your hand moves, but you didn’t send that signal to your brain. Imagine your hand doing things you never intended, creepy right? That’s what happens when you have alien hand syndrome.

People with this rare neurological disorder experience involuntary hand movements that seem purposeful, such as picking up objects or even trying to interfere with tasks the person is consciously performing. It’s called "alien" because the hand feels like it has a mind of its own, separate from the person’s control.

It is usually caused by brain injury or surgery, and it can be quite distressing and disorienting. As you can imagine, there’s no cure, but some types of therapy help reduce the movements.

Image: Tachina Lee

You’re walking on the street and you see someone. You think "I know them! I don’t know where from, but I know them!" Well, that’s not the case for everyone. Prosopagnosia, or more commonly known as facial blindness, is a condition that affects a person’s ability to recognize faces. No, not just random faces: It could be your best friend’s face, for example.

The name comes from the Greek words prósopo for "face" and agnōsia which means "ignorance."

While many of us might be forgetful with names, those with prosopagnosia may not even recognize familiar faces, including their own reflection! This condition can be present from birth or result from brain injury. Although there’s no cure, many people find ways to manage it, such as focusing on other details like voice or clothing. Weird how the brain works, huh!

Image: Alexandre Debiève

No, no human has ever turned into a real werewolf when the full moon comes. But this condition is called that due to some human’s resemblance to the fictional creature.

Hypertrichosis, better known as werewolf syndrome, causes excessive hair growth all over the body. The condition gets its mythical nickname because people with it can develop thick hair on their faces, resembling the werewolves of folklore.

It is an extremely rare condition, and it takes different forms. For some, this overgrowth only happens in small patches of skin whereas others’ conditions affect large areas. No cure has been found to this date, but it’s quite manageable and it’s not dangerous at all!

Image: Paolo Nicolello

Alice in Wonderland syndrome sounds whimsical, but it’s a condition that distorts how a person perceives their body or surroundings.

Naturally, it was named after Lewis Carroll’s famous character, and those with this syndrome may feel as if their body parts are much larger or smaller than they actually are, similar to how Alice’s size changes once she goes down the rabbit hole!

These perceptions can be disorienting, making the world seem like it’s out of proportion or shifting in strange ways. The condition is often associated with migraines or epilepsy. While it’s not dangerous, the sensations can be unsettling and, contrary to others that we’ve mentioned, not very easy to deal with every day.

Image: Ortopediatri Çocuk Ortopedi Akademisi

The official name for the stone man disease is Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), which is a rare genetic condition where soft tissues like muscles and tendons gradually turn into bone. As the body forms more bone, it restricts movement, effectively "freezing" a person in place. Inconvenient, to say the least, don’t you think?

The condition progresses over time, and as more joints are affected, simple actions like eating or breathing can become difficult. There’s no cure for this disease, and any trauma to the body, like a fall or surgery, can worsen the condition.

As you can imagine, the name comes from the fact that those affected may eventually feel like their body has turned to stone. It’s a tough, life-altering condition, despite it sounds like a Spiderman’s enemy!

Image: Jeremy Bishop

We get it, some conditions are really serious. Now, who is in charge of naming them? This condition, officially known as Cotard’s Delusion, goes by the name walking corpse syndrome but it’s not because one exactly looks like a zombie.

The neuropsychological disorder makes people believe they are dead, missing organs, or don’t exist. It was first described in the 1880s, it causes those who have it to feel detached from reality, often convinced they have no functioning body parts or that they’re a "walking corpse."

It sounds terrifying, not only for the person experiencing it but for those around them.

What’s the origin? It is linked to severe depression or brain trauma. Though the name sounds straight out of a horror movie, Cotard’s Delusion is a serious and distressing mental health condition.

Image: Vasilis Caravitis

This one also belongs to the field of mental health conditions and it is the most common for most young adults today. Ever feel like you’re not good enough, even when all the evidence says otherwise? That’s imposter syndrome, a psychological phenomenon where people doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as frauds for no reason whatsoever!

Though it is not a formal medical diagnosis, the term was coined by psychologists in 1978 and has gained recognition for describing a feeling many high achievers experience. Despite outward success, those with imposter syndrome struggle with feelings of inadequacy. Can you relate to this one?

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To finish this article on a higher note, let’s talk about foreign accent syndrome. Can you imagine what is it? No, it’s not the ability to adapt to different accents.

Imagine going to bed and waking up with a completely different accent than the one you always had! That’s what the syndrome is.

It usually occurs after a stroke or brain injury and results in someone suddenly speaking with an accent they’ve never had before. While the person’s native language remains the same, their speech patterns may shift, making it sound as if they’re from a different area or a different country altogether.

No matter how much of a language lover you are, imagine the chaos of having to communicate in a new language out of the blue!

Feeling elated?

Have you got the right words to express happiness? Here are 10 ways!

Image: Ben White

Who doesn’t want to be happy? Isn’t that what our journey through life is all about? We’re always after that soothing feeling of happiness, which comes in many forms. Proof of that is the many ways we’ve got to express joy in our language, one more colorful than the other. You can be like a dog with two tails, over the moon, or happy as a clam, but there’s no doubt you’re feeling happy and gleeful. In this article, we’ll see 10 different ways to express joy, are you ready?

Image: Vladimir Anikeev

There is a great variety of idioms to express happiness, and what sets each of them apart is the intensity of the feeling. Let’s begin our list with one that describes feelings of extreme happiness or satisfaction, that’s what you feel when you’re on cloud nine.

Now, why nine? There is more than one theory around it, but the most likely is that "cloud nine" refers to an actual classification of the clouds by the U.S. Weather Bureau, where cloud nine was one of the highest clouds. The veracity of this story is debated, but, in any case, the feeling in the expression is quite clear: happiness levels are all the way up there!

Image: Andrew Hughes

Even if it has changed a lot, happiness is a basic feeling and has been so forever. Considering this, it’s no surprise that a nursery rhyme from the 16th century gave us one expression to describe this.

To be "over the moon" means to be incredibly pleased or delighted about something. This phrase became popular after the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle," where the cow jumps over the moon, an impossible feat! It’s used to describe the kind of happiness that makes you feel like you could leap across the sky. And we truly feel that at times, don’t we?

Image: Tim D

If it wasn’t obvious before, it is now: Happiness and altitude are inherently connected! "On top of the world" is yet another expression that describes what you feel when you are elated and in high spirits.

When you’re "on top of the world," you feel invincible, as if nothing can bring you down. Have you ever been on top of a mountain? A city is lying right under you, you look down at everything below with a sense of accomplishment and joy.

It’s used to describe the elation that comes with success and even if its origin is not entirely clear, it’s been used for decades!

Image: engin akyurt

In this expression, altitude is only one aspect, religion is the other. The figure of Heaven takes us to a place up there with the God that rules our beliefs. The expression has been around ever since the 1800s and is not exclusive to a particular religion.

To be "in seventh heaven" is to be in a state of perfect happiness, as if you’re floating in paradise. This phrase has roots in ancient religious beliefs, where the seventh heaven was considered the highest, most blissful level of heaven. It’s a way of saying you’re as happy as you can be, living in your own personal utopia. Quite romantic, don’t you think?

Image: Mark Tegethoff

Spring is indeed a joyful time. Flowers bloom, the days are longer, the warm weather combines with the mild wind, and the general feeling that something good is coming our way is always there. How not to feel full of the joys of spring?

When you are "full of the joys of spring," you’re brimming with energy and happiness, much like the lively season itself. This phrase is perfect for describing the burst of positivity and enthusiasm that comes with a good mood. Whether it’s the weather or just life’s little pleasures, being full of the joys of spring is a wonderful way to feel.

Image: Alice Dote

It’s no news: man’s best friends use their tails to express happiness. How cute is it to see our fluffy friends wagging frantically at the sight of a treat or the leash getting ready for a stroll? There’s no topping that feeling for them. Well, there could be a way, maybe if they could wave two instead of the one tail, right?

That’s what the expression describes, the feeling that the ecstasy cannot be any higher, any better, any deeper. To be "like a dog with two tails" means to be extremely happy, so happy that if you had two tails, you’d wag them both!

Image: Derek Owens

Camping is a very popular activity all over the US, especially for kids. Who as a parent didn’t send their kids to a summer camp? Who, as a kid, didn’t look forward to that bus taking them to the camp every summer? Well, one could say, those were happy campers.

A "happy camper" is someone who’s content, satisfied, and generally in a good mood, no matter the situation. The American Slang Dictionary theorizes that the expression comes from the idea that a camper, enjoying the great outdoors, is cheerful and easygoing. It’s a simple, lighthearted way to express that you’re feeling good and have no complaints. Are you a happy camper?

Image: 晓 和

Can anyone measure how happy clams are feeling? We certainly don’t believe so, yet this is a very popular expression. Let’s see why.

To be "happy as a clam" means to be perfectly content and at ease. One could say the simile originates from thinking that a clam that’s safely hidden away in its shell is extremely happy.

Linguists believe the phrase comes from a longer version that goes "happy as a clam at high tide," when clams are harder to find and disturb. It’s a cozy, comfortable kind of happiness, where everything feels safe. Now it makes more sense, don’t you think?

Image: Tetbirt Salim

Idiomatic expressions are created in all sorts of ways. The simplest of them, are usually created organically. There’s no complex twist in their form or meaning. That is the case for this expression.

It is quite straightforward: When you’re "grinning from ear to ear," you’re so happy that your smile stretches as wide as it can go. It is the kind of happiness that shows on your face for everyone to see. The downside? It is impossible to hide too! But then again, who would want to hide their happiness?

Image: Todd Cravens

We don’t know about you, but we’ve never been able to see a whale and immediately state they were feeling ecstatic. They don’t precisely portray the image of happiness. So how did this expression become so popular?

First, let’s talk about the meaning: To "have a whale of a time" means to enjoy yourself immensely, to feel delighted, big time! Big as a whale? Possibly.

This expression has been around since the late 19th century and the whale metaphor has to do with how much you’re enjoying yourself. It’s not just about having a good time, it’s having the best time you could have!