What Is Demon Face Syndrome?
Demon face syndrome, or prosopometamorphopsia, is a rare brain disorder that affects how a person sees faces. If you have this condition, other people’s features might seem warped or scary, like a demon, even though they look completely normal to others.
This disorder is extremely rare. In the past century, there have been fewer than 100 cases reported worldwide. For most people, the strange visions only last a few days or weeks, but sometimes they can go on for years.
Having these visual distortions can be very upsetting. People with this condition might feel anxious, start avoiding social situations, and become depressed.
What Causes Demon Face Syndrome?
Because prosopometamorphopsia is so uncommon, scientists still don’t fully understand what causes it. But they suspect it could be connected to:
Brain damage: Our ability to recognize and process faces is controlled by several networks in the brain. If these networks are damaged and can’t properly communicate with each other, it may make faces look different or distorted. In the few cases of demon face syndrome that have been diagnosed, brain damage seemed to be the most common cause.
Strokes or seizures: Both strokes and seizures can affect the brain, which may damage or disrupt the networks that help us process faces. In a study of 81 known cases of prosopometamorphopsia, epilepsy was involved in 10% of cases, and stroke was involved in 9%.
Tumors: A few cases of prosopometamorphopsia have been linked to brain tumors. In most of these cases, the facial distortions disappeared after the tumors were removed.
Psychiatric conditions: When doctors didn’t find any brain abnormalities, patients were diagnosed with conditions like schizophrenia, brief psychotic disorder, Charles Bonnet syndrome, or Alice in Wonderland syndrome, which changes how you see your own body and your surroundings, making things seem much bigger or smaller than they really are.
Migraines: While less common, some people have had symptoms of demon face syndrome during a migraine.
Drug abuse: People who regularly use hallucinogenic drugs are more likely to have conditions that have hallucinations as a symptom.
Demon Face Syndrome Facial Features
For most people with prosopometamorphopsia, the distortions they see are limited to faces. But there have been a few cases where other body parts – like the hands – have been affected. These distortions vary from person to person. Some people see faces that look like they’re drooping or melting, while others see them as much bigger or smaller than they really are. Features like the eyes, nose, or mouth may look blurry, out of place, or be missing entirely. In a few cases, people have reported seeing eyes floating away from the face.
While rare, some people see facial distortions alongside other unusual visual changes. This might include a shift in colors, like seeing the wrong colors or none at all, or watching faces transform into animals.
Sometimes, prosopometamorphopsia can also affect how people see their own reflection in a mirror.
Demon Face Syndrome vs. Facial Hallucinations
A person with demon face syndrome sees real faces as distorted, while someone who has facial hallucinations sees faces that aren’t actually there. Facial hallucinations are often linked to mental health conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but they can also be brought on by drug use, anxiety, depression, or another disease like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. The exact cause of demon face syndrome is less clear, but it most likely occurs due to brain damage.
Demon Face Syndrome Diagnosis
If you have signs of demon face syndrome, your doctor will start by reviewing your medical history and asking questions about your symptoms. Since this condition is often linked to brain damage, they will likely order tests to get a better look at what’s happening in your brain. This could include a computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or electroencephalogram (EEG) scan.
If your scans come back normal, your doctor may recommend a psychiatric evaluation to rule out mental health conditions like schizophrenia, psychosis, or Charles Bonnet syndrome, which can cause similar symptoms.
Demon Face Syndrome Treatment
The type of treatment you get will depend on what’s causing your prosopometamorphopsia. If tests show a brain tumor, your doctor may recommend a surgery to remove it. If epilepsy is the cause, antiepileptic medication might help you manage the condition. Migraines – another possible cause – can also be treated with medications. Many cases clear up without any treatment at all.
If your symptoms keep coming back, talk therapy, like cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), can be useful. Your therapist can help you manage any anxiety related to the disorder, recognize your symptoms, and develop coping strategies to use when they happen.
When to Contact Your Doctor
It’s important to reach out to your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms:
You start seeing distorted faces when others don’t: If other people’s faces appear warped, drooping, or unusual to you, even though others see them as normal, this could be a sign of demon face syndrome or another condition that needs to be treated.
The distortions happen more often or get worse: If you notice the distortions becoming more frequent or severe, it’s important to talk to your doctor to figure out what might be causing them.
You experience distortions along with other symptoms: If the distortions come with anxiety, depression, or hallucinations, they could be a sign of a more complicated mental health issue, like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Symptoms like migraines, seizures, or sudden changes to your speech or vision could be a sign of epilepsy or a stroke, the latter of which needs urgent medical attention.
Your symptoms affect your daily life: If the distortions cause anxiety, make it hard to interact with others, or disrupt your day-to-day routine, your doctor can help you find treatments or coping strategies.
How to Prevent Prosopometamorphopsia
Since scientists don’t fully understand what causes prosopometamorphopsia, there’s no guaranteed way to prevent it. But taking steps to maintain good brain health may help lower your chances of getting a condition that could lead to demon face syndrome. These include:
- Avoid recreational drugs.
- Wear a helmet when biking or playing contact sports. If you’re older or have problems getting around, take steps to prevent falls.
- If you have epilepsy, migraine, or another condition, take your prescribed medication and follow your doctor’s treatment plan.
- Seek help if you have symptoms of anxiety, depression, or another psychological condition.
Demon Face Syndrome Outlook
Most people recover from demon face syndrome within a few days or weeks, but in rare cases, it can go on for much longer. Doctors are still studying the condition to learn more about it and find better treatments. Among the known cases, more than half of people made a full recovery, either with or without treatment. A smaller number only partially recovered or continued to have symptoms over the long term.
If the distortions persist, therapy can help you better understand your symptoms and learn ways to cope when they happen. Adjusting your lifestyle to manage stress better may also help make the distortions happen less often or make them less intense. In some cases, prescription medications might also be helpful.
Takeaways
There’s still a lot doctors don’t know about demon face syndrome, but they suspect that it’s linked to brain damage, strokes, seizures, or other psychiatric conditions. The symptoms can be frightening, but most people recover within a few weeks, even without treatment. If you start seeing distorted faces, talk to your doctor to get support. Taking steps to maintain your overall health can also help lower your chances of having conditions that might lead to demon face syndrome.
