Strange manias

Cartacoethes: uncontrollable compulsion to see maps everywhere

The human brain is wired to recognize faces everywhere, but it turns out that there's also a strange mania called cartocacoethes: the uncontrollable compulsion to see maps everywhere, even in food, like this Argentinean Milanesa.

Gamomania: obsession with issuing marriage proposals

Gamomania can be described as a bizarre obsession with asking people to marry or issuing outrageous proposals to different people at the same time, which in many cases results in polygamy.

Onomatomania: irresistible desire to repeat certain words

It's an obsession with certain words and the repeated intrusion of them into the mind.

Clinomania: excessive desire to stay in bed

There is nothing wrong with wanting to have a long lie, particularly on cold, wet wintry days. For the Clinomaniac though, the desire to stay in bed is overwhelming and irresistible and could persist for days on end, particularly when it is raining or snowing. Clinomania comes from Greek meaning the obsession of sleeping. In other words, it is love to bed, pillows and blankets.

Demonomania: believing to be inhabited by an evil spirit

There are so many horror films and books that describe and show us vividly what happens with people when they are possessed. People watching too many of such films naturally start to be afraid of such people. Sometimes people become so afraid that the certain manias start to reflect. In the case with demons it is demonomania, a psychiatric term for the belief that one is possessed by the devil. When a person thinks he/she is possessed, he/she really starts to behave as if he/she were obsessed.

Enosimania: constantly believing one has sinned

Defined as compulsion to think one has committed an unpardonable sin, it is known by a number of names - Enissophobia, Enosiophobia, Fear of Having Committed an Unpardonable Sin, and Fear of Criticism being the most common. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread.

Trichotillomania: craving for pulling out own hair

Trichotillomania, or "trich" as it is commonly known, is an impulse control disorder or form of self-injury characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, facial hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair, sometimes resulting in noticeable bald patches.

Ablutomania: mania for washing oneself

Have you noticed that one of your friends washes his hands too often? Well, there is nothing bad if he washes them after going outside or to the toilet, but if he washes it even just after a few seconds sitting in the room or after touching something, it is a sign to worry because it may be ablutomania and your friend may be ablutomaniac.

Ablutomania is the obsessive hands washing connected with the fixed ideas of infection or getting dirty. Usually this disease accompanies other serious mental disorders and is rarely manifested alone. Unfortunately, this disease is characteristic for children, especially child's schizophrenia. The same holds true for adult schizophrenia, although it is rarely reflected.

Aboulomania: pathological indecisiveness

We have all experienced situations where it was difficult to make up our minds about something, but imagine not being able to make even the simplest decision, life would surely become unbearable. Aboulomania can be defined as pathological indecisiveness or an inability to make up one's mind about anything.

Doromania: the obsession for gifts

There are a lot of people that like to give presents to others. And the majority of people will be glad to have such obsession. After all gifts giving is the great deed because people get pleasure from giving presents to others while the majority of people like to receive presents. But sometimes gifts giving turns into obsession. Doromania is the abnormal urge or preoccupation with gifts giving. People are obsessed by choosing and giving the presents but it happens not with the good aim and because a person is so kind. The reasons are much more complicated.

Doromania consists in giving the presents even without the real financial possibilities to do that, and it is done in such a way that people start to suffer from a great number of problems taking credits and debts as well as losing their own property. Now such obsession doesn't seem so sweet, does it?