Delusional Misidentification Syndrome

I was just curious if we have any members that have suffered from these disorders or known family or friends that have. It is an interesting phenomenon that I am sure is very scary and confronting for those suffering its effects. Perhaps those with an interest or background in psychiatry could provide us with some insight into these disorders.

While I have not suffered genuine effects of these disorders, I do remember as a young child experiencing sensations that certain family members might not have been who they were meant to be, wondering if the "real" person was maybe kidnapped or a clone of the original person.

Delusional misidentification syndrome is an umbrella term, introduced by Christodoulou (book "The Delusional Misidentification Syndromes", Karger, Basel,1986) for a group of delusional disorders that occur in the context of mental or neurological illness. They all involve a belief that the identity of a person, object or place has somehow changed or has been altered. As these delusions typically only concern one particular topic they also fall under the category called monothematic delusions.

(Link)

There are four main variants of the disorder, including:

1. The Capgras delusion - a disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, or other close family member has been replaced by an identical-looking impostor.

2. The Fregoli delusion - a disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise.

3. Intermetamorphosis - a disorder where patients believe they can see others change into some one else's external appearance and internal personality.

4. Syndrome of subjective doubles - a rare delusional misidentification syndrome in which a person experiences the delusion that he or she has a real-life double with the same appearance, but usually with different character traits and leading a life of its own.

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Further reading:
- Wikipedia
- NCBI Journal Listing on DMS
- Clearing House

I don't know about the delusional side of this, but number 4? I about fell over laughing.

Typical day at college, way back when:

"Don't I have x class with you?"
me: "No."
"Man you must have a lookalike, because the chick looks just like you."

"I saw you this morning, and honked. You looked right through me like you didn't know me. It was down x way."
me: "I didn't walk that way today, I have no classes on that end."
"Man you must have a lookalike, because the chick looks just like you."

If I have "the delusion" it's not because I believe that there's someone just like me out there, but because everyone else keeps insisting on it.

reply to post by Dark Ghost


I know someone who (from time to time) says that she has no name and she is no one...and she needs to pull out her ID to remind her of what her name might be.

reply to post by caladonea


is she single?

reply to post by caladonea


That's interesting. I wonder if she suffers from some form of amnesia, maybe the result of some type of accident where she received head injuries?

Originally posted by Dark Ghost
reply to post by caladonea

 

That's interesting. I wonder if she suffers from some form of amnesia, maybe the result of some type of accident where she received head injuries?

She was in a bad car accident several years ago...perhaps that may be the cause. She is really a delightful person..but she has days where she is sure...she does not have a name.

#4 is somewhat amusing.
I think we all may have people who we resemble to a degree.

I will never forget what happened about 10 years ago in some bar I had never been in. Some guy kept buying me beers and calling me Mike. I am not Mike, but I like my free beers so I accepted. Then the guy starts talking about how I raped his sister! I tried as hard as I could to explain that I wasn't this Mike he thought and he relented. Then another guy came in and saw me. He came to shake my hand and said "hey, Mike".
It was like the Twilight Zone. Apparently I resemble a rapist named Mike, and he lives or hangs out within 5 miles of where I do. Very very odd.


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reply to post by Dark Ghost


Yes I know one person, he says his mother was replaced by a look-alike. He is also one that supports the Reptilian Shapeshifter theory and swears black and blue that he's followed by the 'black eyed kids' and has seen paranormal activities of sorts.

I've met him a couple of times, we met at a seminar of topics in relation to mind-control and programming. Although I no longer participate in these sorts of topics, still talk to him every now and then.

Here's an interview with him and Stewart Swerdlow.

Originally posted by Dark Ghost
4. Syndrome of subjective doubles - a rare delusional misidentification syndrome in which a person experiences the delusion that he or she has a real-life double with the same appearance, but usually with different character traits and leading a life of its own.

The author Wilkie Collins (The Woman in White), is believed to have suffered from this. He complained that he was shadowed by someone, identical in appearance to him, but not the same in other respects, somewhat I imagine, like a homunculus character. Only he could see him of course. It seems to have been a side affect of his addiction to laudanum. Many of his novels are preoccupied with the notion of doubles too. Seemingly he was thoroughly lucid in all other respects though. It is perhaps in some ways the same thing that many authors have tried to project, such as Stephen King's Stark (I think) novels, where characterisations take on a life of their own, and Collins was a brilliantly talented writer and an early proponent of the darker aspects of the human character in novels. His opiate addiction was possibly an aid in bringing that very much to life for him.