Fairy tales may
be full of charm and enchantment, but they do provide valuable life lessons.
Identifying oneself with characters from literary works is a healthy stage in
childhood. A Child's imagination is one way they can be protected from the
harsh realities of daily life.
For adults, the reality of their daily life can either be joyous or sad. Syndromes are one item that falls into the sad category. It is a disease or a disorder that involves a particular group of signs and symptoms, which consistently occur together. These are normally named after the doctor who diagnoses them. Did you know that there are actual medical conditions that are also named after fairy tale characters? Here are just a few of them.
Cinderella Complex Colette Dowling
popularized the term "Cinderella complex" in 1981 with her book of
the same name. It described a uniquely feminine condition in which women
subconsciously fear independence. As Dowling explained, "Women are brought up to depend on a
man and to feel naked and afraid without one…
The Cinderella Complex leads to inappropriate
or ineffectual behavior on the job, to anxiety about success, to the fear that
independence will lead to loss of femininity." This hidden desire for
dependency leads afflicted women to seek out a male partner (or
"prince") to whisk them away to a figurative castle and dispatch
their problems (i.e. evil stepsisters) for them along the way.
Cinderella’s Syndrome is named after Charles Perrault’s
fairy tale character popularised by Disney. Adopted children or stepchildren may sometimes
be observed as having this syndrome. They make up untrue stories about how they
were abused and/or abandoned by their adoptive mothers or stepmothers.
Peter Pan Syndrome is named
after the J.M. Barrie character who refuses to grow up. This syndrome defines men who refuse to act
like grown-ups and assume responsibilities. They prefer to live in a juvenile
world, are enthusiastic, and like to have fun, but never settle down in a
relationship because they dislike restrictions. They lack decision making
skills and the ability to assume responsibilities. To disguise this, they act
overconfident and arrogant. They're an adult with the mind of a child. Women
found in the same situation are affected by the Wendy Syndrome, acting like mothers
for their partners. A person with Peter Pan Syndrome may blame their failure on
their parents, partner, or former employer.
They don't want to focus on becoming good at
anything. They may cling to an impossible dream (to become a famous musician or
artist, for example), sometimes using it as an excuse not to work hard enough
to launch a more sustainable career. With the aid of psychotherapy these people
can learn to overcome their fears, to assume responsibilities, and lead a
fulfilled, grown-up life. However, this is not a mental disorder.
A similar syndrome is the Huckleberry Finn Syndrome, named after the main character in
the Mark Twain novel. Developing in children due to a feeling of being rejected
by their parents, feeling inferior in school, or due to depression, it seems to
be a defense mechanism. It manifests by a desire to do anything but go to
school. These children will waste their time on the streets or playing computer
games. Moving into the grown-up stage of life, these children might be at risk
of frequent job changing and absenteeism.
Rapunzel
Syndrome
We all know Princess Rapunzel had a long golden ponytail in the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale,
which she used to help the prince climb up her tower. The people affected by
Rapunzel Syndrome don’t have such beautiful hair because they eat (and chew)
it. They have a psychological condition manifested by an
uncontrollable urge to pull out head and body hair for consumption. The
medical name of this rare syndrome is trichophagia. The individual swallows so
much that over the course of years the hair accumulates, resulting in a giant
hair ball in the stomach or small intestine called a trichobezoar.
Occasionally, this mass can wrap around
organs and cause perforations. People can't digest human hair, so the
trichobezoar must be removed surgically. The hair is removed by a doctor from
the digestive system. It comes out as a “rope” of hair which looks like
Rapunzel’s hair. Rapunzel Syndrome is very rare, and only about 24 cases have
been reported.
Sleeping Beauty Syndrome This
classic fairy tale was first told by Charles Perrault (17th century), retold by
the Brothers Grimm (18th century) and made popular by Disney is the story of a 16
year old girl who pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls into a deep
sleep for 100 years only to be woken by a prince’s kiss years later. This syndrome is also known as the Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS), named after the medical doctors to have first
mentioned and studied it, its first known case was reported in 1862.
It can additionally be called the Rip van Winkle Syndrome after the Washington
Irving’s character that slept for 20 years. This
condition is characterized by frequent episodes of hypersomnia and behavioral
disturbances. KLS usually
affects adolescents but can also occur in young children and adults. At the
start of an episode, the person becomes drowsy and will sleep for most of the
day and night, usually only waking to eat or use the bathroom.
An episode can last a
day, a week, or months. A normal lifestyle is out of the
question as these patients tend to be bedridden, and have the inability to work or
go to school. KLS seems to affect predominantly
male patients (68 percent) worldwide. It is a very rare disease occurring one
in a million. The onset of the condition seems to follow a viral infection.
There is no known cure yet.
“Everything you look at can become a fairy tale, and you can get a story from everything you touch.” (Hans Christian Andersen)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“10 Literary Maladies Named After Fictional
Characters” by Amanda Patterson
·
“15 Psychological Conditions Named After Literary
Characters” BY
Kristin Hunt
·
“5 illnesses named after fairy tale characters” by Mandy
Freeman
“5 Medical Symptoms Named After Literary
Characters” by
·
“5 Psychological Conditions Named for Disney
Characters” BY Lauren
Baker
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