Last Blog -- Fashionable Syndromes
So I think this is the last blog and since I would like to end on a good note, I have a list of 'fashionable' syndromes (thought about during my PSYC 245 class when I probably should have been studying) for people who like to jump on the bandwagon.
As Americans, we get so many choices that others living in less pop-culture consumed countries that sometimes we don't know what to choose to make ourselves liked by others. So I'm here to put those eases aside by giving you my complete list of fashionable syndromes to have for 2010 which I derived throughout the year from my Abnormal Psychology Class.
1. Foreign Accent Syndrome
While the method of creating this syndrome is rather unappealing (it results from head trauma, stroke, brain injury or something of the like), it creates the most desirable effect of speaking words in a completely different accent. Plus even if you were not so good at impersonating accents, somehow the brain rewires the language system so you adopt a realistic sounding accent AND use grammatical errors which we Americans associate with other languages. So if you get a British, Irish, Italian, French, Spanish, or basically any sexy romantic language your romantic endeavors are set for life. Or at least until they find a cure.
2. Stendhal Syndrome
This syndrome gets its name from the 19th century French author Henri Beyle's penname Stendhal. The symptoms of the syndrome are not too bad: rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, and even hallucinations. How to get the syndrome? Well it happens sometimes when an individual is present with an incredibly beautiful work of art or immense beauty in the world. Most documented cases are people traveling to Florence Italy. This syndrome is genuinely interesting, if your American is shows culture awareness, doesn't require head trauma or severe pain, and if you tell your girlfriend you got this syndrome when you first saw her once again you are set for life (if you wanted to be set for life, if not I suppose just for the one night stand).
3. Dissociative Fugue
While technically this is not a syndrome, it is a mental illness according to the most recent version of the DSM and in my opinion is a wonderful illness to have. Dissociative Fugue is a dissociative disorder -- disorders which represent extreme experiences in which aspects of people identities split apart. In this disorder, the person moves away and assumes a new identity, with amnesia for the previous identity. The best part: one day you DO realize who you really were and move back. There is no switching among personalities (so thank god people don't think you have dissociative identity disorder). Now some psychologists criticize this disorder because they feel the person just got bored with their life and walked away. However, imagine how wonderful it would be to go take a 3 month vacation to get away from the responsibilities of life. Although everyone would be worried sick and angry at you, you have a mental illness so they can't blame you! This one isn't for getting the girl, its mainly to get away from her if you need it.
4. Conversion Disorder
This disorder is a somatoform disorder in which people lose functioning in a part of their bodies. While the area of the body is risky, people have been known to have blindness, you have no biological problems yet are pain free in some area of the body. Worried that this one might not be for you? Don't be! A fantastic side effect of the disorder is la belle indifference: 'the beautiful indifference' describes the effect that people appear completely unconcerned about the loss of functioning in their limb. So you might be impaired, but you get all the sympathy and no pain AND you don't even care. This disorder is caused by sever psychological stressors, which seems bad but is pretty easy if you just don't study for finals.
So these are in my opinion the top 4 syndromes and disorders for 2010. Sorry for centering the syndromes for guys but I am writing from a guy's point of view. If you have any more questions about how you can get these syndromes just ask! Thanks for reading my last blog, I had a blast with it.
~Joey
As Americans, we get so many choices that others living in less pop-culture consumed countries that sometimes we don't know what to choose to make ourselves liked by others. So I'm here to put those eases aside by giving you my complete list of fashionable syndromes to have for 2010 which I derived throughout the year from my Abnormal Psychology Class.
1. Foreign Accent Syndrome
While the method of creating this syndrome is rather unappealing (it results from head trauma, stroke, brain injury or something of the like), it creates the most desirable effect of speaking words in a completely different accent. Plus even if you were not so good at impersonating accents, somehow the brain rewires the language system so you adopt a realistic sounding accent AND use grammatical errors which we Americans associate with other languages. So if you get a British, Irish, Italian, French, Spanish, or basically any sexy romantic language your romantic endeavors are set for life. Or at least until they find a cure.
2. Stendhal Syndrome
This syndrome gets its name from the 19th century French author Henri Beyle's penname Stendhal. The symptoms of the syndrome are not too bad: rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, and even hallucinations. How to get the syndrome? Well it happens sometimes when an individual is present with an incredibly beautiful work of art or immense beauty in the world. Most documented cases are people traveling to Florence Italy. This syndrome is genuinely interesting, if your American is shows culture awareness, doesn't require head trauma or severe pain, and if you tell your girlfriend you got this syndrome when you first saw her once again you are set for life (if you wanted to be set for life, if not I suppose just for the one night stand).
3. Dissociative Fugue
While technically this is not a syndrome, it is a mental illness according to the most recent version of the DSM and in my opinion is a wonderful illness to have. Dissociative Fugue is a dissociative disorder -- disorders which represent extreme experiences in which aspects of people identities split apart. In this disorder, the person moves away and assumes a new identity, with amnesia for the previous identity. The best part: one day you DO realize who you really were and move back. There is no switching among personalities (so thank god people don't think you have dissociative identity disorder). Now some psychologists criticize this disorder because they feel the person just got bored with their life and walked away. However, imagine how wonderful it would be to go take a 3 month vacation to get away from the responsibilities of life. Although everyone would be worried sick and angry at you, you have a mental illness so they can't blame you! This one isn't for getting the girl, its mainly to get away from her if you need it.
4. Conversion Disorder
This disorder is a somatoform disorder in which people lose functioning in a part of their bodies. While the area of the body is risky, people have been known to have blindness, you have no biological problems yet are pain free in some area of the body. Worried that this one might not be for you? Don't be! A fantastic side effect of the disorder is la belle indifference: 'the beautiful indifference' describes the effect that people appear completely unconcerned about the loss of functioning in their limb. So you might be impaired, but you get all the sympathy and no pain AND you don't even care. This disorder is caused by sever psychological stressors, which seems bad but is pretty easy if you just don't study for finals.
So these are in my opinion the top 4 syndromes and disorders for 2010. Sorry for centering the syndromes for guys but I am writing from a guy's point of view. If you have any more questions about how you can get these syndromes just ask! Thanks for reading my last blog, I had a blast with it.
~Joey
posted by Narcissus at
7:18 PM
1 Comments:
Ha pretty clever and entertaining blog, never thought I'd read something refering to a syndrome as "fashionable". I definitely wouldn't be too upset if I were afflicted with one of these syndromes, although it appears each of these syndromes have rather positive perks that come along with them so I don't know if I could consider myself being afflicted, more so blessed. I was especially interested in the second syndrome you explained, the Stendhal syndrome, and was curious as to the diagnosis behind thi syndrome. Say, as you mentioned, that you could tell your girlfiend that you got the syndrome after seeing her, exactly how credible could this statement be? Is documentation necessary, or would a simple explanation of the syndrome and a self-diagnosis suffice? If the latter, then this just may be my new favorite syndrome and possibly an excellent pick up line. Additional information on how to go about successfully implenting this syndrome into a conversation would be greatly appreciated.
By
Easy Goer, At
April 18, 2010 at 8:24 PM
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