Suspend your disbelief for a moment and really sit on the fact that the same species that played golf on the moon and backed smallpox into a corner after it killed millions is also the species that makes beds out of water and kept rocks as pets. For each feat of scientific genius we humans produce, we seem to have the uncanny knack of following up with something utterly ridiculous. Of course, to those immersed in that ridiculous something, novelty is replaced by earnestness. The Pet Rock was, at one point, taken seriously. The same goes for quirky medical conditions, a laundry list that appears endless. But while many of them look patently dumb, we should probably remind ourselves every once in a while that they only exist because someone — somewhere — is suffering. Here are six of the strangest to remind you how wonderful a clean bill of mental health can be: 1. Laugh Syncope Widely regarded in medical circles as “Seinfeld Syncope” (pronounced SIN-ka-pee) for the famous case report of a man passing out from laughing too hard at The Show About Nothing, laugh syncope has been documented in at least a few cases in medical literature. The science is slippery, but basically the sufferer’s brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen because he or she is laughing too hard. As a result, the person passes out. The worst that happens is a brief decrease in blood pressure and feelings of wooziness. (Wasn’t laughter supposed to be the best medicine?) 2. Stendhal Syndrome You’re appreciating a work of art that is so breathtakingly magnificent that you actually feel light-headed. But before you can sit down, the next thing you know, a crowd of people hovers above you, asking if you’re all right. You know you feel fine, but the art was so overwhelming that you fainted. You suffered from Stendhal Syndrome. Named for the 19th-century French author Stendhal, who first described the experience, the syndrome is widely regarded as psychosomatic. Basically, your emotions get the best of you. You begin to feel dizzy and confused, and maybe even begin to hallucinate. Your nervous system can’t compete with the sheer beauty of a piece of art, or a scene in nature. And so, it shuts down. 3. Paris Syndrome For one reason or another, Japanese tourists are most susceptible to it. Paris Syndrome, called by one writer “the 21st-cenutry’s gout — just slightly too privileged a problem to sympathize with,” describes the utter disappointment tourists feel when coming to Paris and expecting to faint from the overwhelming beauty (sound familiar?), but actually the whole experience falls flat. And yes, there’s science behind it. Two separate studies, in 1998 and 2004, found the extreme culture shock and letdown of an idealized picture of Paris have led Japanese tourists to intense mental anxiety, stress, and psychiatric breakdown. The Japanese embassy has even instituted a hotline for woeful tourists who find the whole experience too traumatic. 4. Busy Life Syndrome A vibrate in your pocket. A notification on Facebook. An email in your inbox. A call coming from inside the house (wait…). The culture we live in obsesses over keeping tabs on what’s going on. We’re busier than ever and have more things than ever, all designed to remind us to stay plugged in and logged on. Scientists loosely refer to this phenomenon as Busy Life Syndrome, and it’s most severe in the people who suffer frequent lapses in memory, feel confused about multiple daily tasks, and find difficulty in dealing with feelings of stress and overwhelm. A 2012 study of 189 people aged 19 to 60 found that, while nothing was wrong in subjects’ brains, many suffered as many as 30 lapses a week. “We believe there are widespread signs of the problem,” spokeswoman Angela Scott-Henderson said at the time. “Our attention spans and concentration levels are going down. It’s getting to be more common, affecting people at younger ages.” 5. Exploding Head Syndrome (EHS) EHS is an auditory hallucination that makes the sufferer feel as if an actual explosion has gone off inside her head. Sometimes EHS takes the form of other sounds, like gun shots or crashing cymbals. Scientists haven’t pinpointed a cause for EHS, but some speculate that rapid withdrawal from antidepressants or extreme fatigue may contribute. There is no treatment. According to the American Sleep Association, EHS tends to occur in the first third of the night. “Instead of shutting down, certain groups of neurons actually get activated and have us perceive the bursts of noise,” said Brian Sharpless, associate professor of psychology at Washington State University. “If you have normally disrupted sleep, the episodes will be more likely to occur.” Still think that tiny headache is the end of the world? You could be passing out from laughing too hard and waking up, panicking, to the sound of the apocalypse. You’ll probably be fine. Source
