Top 7 Interesting Psychological Disorders

Prosopagnosia is a neurological disorder similar to auditory processing disorders which disallows facial recognition. Two known forms of this disorder exist; developmental prosopagnosia and acquired prosopagnosia. Developmental Prosopagnosia occurs because of innate neurological developmental complications which cause issues in formation of areas of the brain dedicated to facial recognition. Acquired Prosopagnosia occurs because of a physical trauma experienced by the brain, typically by severe concussion or stroke. People suffering from this disorder typically face social anxieties, and may withdraw from others completely resulting in depression and suicide. There is no known cure for this disorder, and cannot be helped by therapy.

Anatidaephobia is the paranoia that a duck is perpetually watching you. Those that suffer the disorder are most often diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenics, as anatidaephobia is not officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. The cause of this disorder is not known, though it is popularly believed that the disorder is caused by schizophrenic tendencies and is driven forth by an obsessive-compulsive fixation.

Phobophobia is essentially the fear of phobias, particularly the dread and panic associated with phobias. People who suffer from this disorder typically have or have had other phobias before, and typically experience a constant, generalized panic while going about their lives. Many who suffer from this disorder require radical psychiatric intervention, as this disorder can prevent them from functioning.

Autophagia refers to the compulsion for the sufferer of the disorder to eat him/herself. This disorder is not classified as an official disorder with the American Psychiatric Association, but rather of a symptom of another disorder.

Machaivellianism received its name from Italian renaissance writer Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote the first known how-to book on manipulation and deceit.
Machiavellianism is the little known cousin of sociopathy and psychopathy, which is characterized by extreme cunning and use of manipulation to reach one's ends. Those who are Machiavellian typically are severely impaired emotionally, and because of this, are very prone to discarding and backstabbing of people who no longer serve them an intrinsic purpose. Like narcissism, Machiavellianism is typically caused by a lack of love during the formative years and are also influenced by genetic factors.

Harley Therapy. "What Is Machiavellianism in Psychology?" Harley Therapy™ Counselling Blog. Harley Therapy, 10 Nov. 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2017.

Perhaps the most well-known high-functioning psychopath in the world is Adolf Hitler, who manipulated the entire German populace to meet his ends.
Psychopathy is one of the most well-known and misunderstood of all personality disorders. Psychopaths are people who are born without proper emotive systems, and are prone to boredom and lack of impulse control. Psychopaths are incapable of feeling emotional empathy and sympathy, though they typically with display such emotion with great care so as to appear as though they are neurotypical. Psychopathy still, however, has yet to be extensively studied, as known psychopaths are typically violent offenders, and are rarely captured alive for study. The unknown psychopaths comprise most of the psychopath population, who function as normal people, and generally are never known to display psychopathic tendencies. Most develop a very articulate mask to disguise their differences, and are never detected by other people.

Selborn, Martin. "Personality Disorders in the DSM-5 and Beyond." Http://www.apadivisions.org. Martin Selborn, June-July 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.

Not all sociopaths are serial killers. Many live very functional lives, though the disorder still shows clearly. A perfect example of this is Benjamin Franklin, who demonstrated risky behavior in multiple ways and showed a general disregard for his family, though he still lived a functional life.
Anti-social disorder, also known as sociopathy, is essentially acquired psychopathy which stems from trauma in the formative years that causes sufferers to essentially block off their emotive systems in an attempt to avoid pain. Contrary to popular opinion, sociopaths are actually far more likely to be violent offenders than psychopaths, as an oftentimes crippling trauma always comes with sociopathy. It is known for sociopaths to occasionally experience remorse of empathy, though such emotions are oftentimes unexpected and uncalled for. For example, a sociopath may cry for for a character in a movie, but feel no genuine grief when a family member dies. Anti-social disorder cannot be cured, although psychologists and psychiatrists are working to find a way to re-allow access to previously blocked off neurological areas in the minds of sociopaths.

Mayo Clinic Staff Print, Mayo Clinic. "Antisocial Personality Disorder." Overview - Antisocial Personality Disorder - Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 02 Apr. 2016. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.