Have you ever heard of Alice in Wonderland syndrome ? The people who suffer from it have a perception of the world and of themselves similar to that of Alice, the protagonist of the famous tale by Lewis Carroll.
In English it is called ‘Alice in Wonderland Syndrome’ and abbreviated as ‘AIWS’. Imagine suddenly realizing that your hands are getting bigger and your legs are stretching out of proportion as all the objects around you are getting smaller.
You are in your bedroom which now appears so small that it can be compared to a doll’s house. People suffering from Alice in Wonderland syndrome face similar perceptions.
Alice in Wonderland syndrome is a neurological disorder that affects visual perception . It can be a temporary ailment, particularly when associated with migraines, seizures, or drug use. But the actual syndrome appears in childhood with no apparent cause.
By itself, according to experts, this syndrome mainly affects children and could be much more widespread than we think. People suffering from this syndrome may suddenly feel that their feet are getting smaller or that their arms and hands are reaching out as the rest of the world gets tiny.
Alice in Wonderland syndrome is also called Todd’s syndrome after the psychiatrist John Todd who described it in detail in 1955 and who spoke of a series of illusions and distortions of reality that affect the body and objects.
After crossing the rabbit hole Alice finds herself in a fantastic world, almost in an upside-down world where you can never be sure of the effects that what you taste will have.
It is a rather rare syndrome at the moment about which there are not many scientific studies. There is no cure. Patients do not undergo surgery and do not take medicines. Children usually maintain symptoms of this syndrome until they reach adolescence. Then the problem subsides and disappears.
In 2014, a study on this syndrome appeared in the journal Pediatric Neurology which shows that in children the average age of diagnosis is 8 years . The most common symptoms observed are micropsia (when objects and body parts appear smaller than they really are) and telopsia (when objects appear further away than they actually are).
Further studies will be needed to fully understand this syndrome. Lewis Carroll’s short story, “Alice Adventures in Wonderland,” was published in 1865, when this syndrome had not yet been described by science, yet what happens to Alice recalls a neurological condition that does indeed exist. Sometimes reality, when we least expect it, surpasses fantasy.
