Syndrome of subjective doubles
[7] Subjective doubles syndrome is also similar to delusional autoscopy, also known as an out-of-body experience, and therefore is occasionally referred to as an autoscopic type delusion.
[10] Several variations of the syndrome have been reported in literature: The following case describes a patient who was diagnosed with psychotic depression, bipolar disorder, and the syndrome of subjective doubles: Taken from Kamanitz et al., 1989:[5] "Mrs. B. is a 50-year-old white married homemaker and the mother of five children with three previous psychiatric hospitalizations for depression and bipolar illness.
She was so concerned about the existence of another Mrs. B. that she required the constant presence of her driver's license to reassure herself that she was the real Mrs. B.
)"The following case describes a patient who has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder along with multiple delusional misidentification syndromes (subjective doubles, Capgras delusion, intermetamorphosis): Taken from Silva et al., 1994:[10] "Mr. B believed that five physical copies of himself existed.
"The following case describes a patient who has been diagnosed with chronic paranoid schizophrenia and reverse subjective doubles: Taken from Vasavada and Masand, 1992:[11] "Mr. A, a 40-year-old divorced white male, was hospitalized for his complaint that his identity had been changed in the last six years.
[...] When asked to describe Mr. B, he replied that the only thing he remembered was that Mr. B was an orphan and had made his fortune by working hard.
"Subjective doubles is commonly comorbid with other psychiatric illnesses, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
[1] Another hypothesis states that subjective doubles is result of hyper-identification, linked to over-activity in certain areas of the brain, thereby causing the patient to see familiar aspects of the self in strangers.
[2][4] Suspected organic causes of brain damage that may lead to subjective doubles include disorders such as epilepsy.
For example, right hemisphere brain damage is associated with schizophrenia, which is commonly reported with the delusion of subjective doubles.
[5] Antipsychotic drugs (also known as neuroleptics) such as risperidone, pimozide, or haloperidol may be prescribed to treat the underlying psychiatric illness.
[5][13] In addition to drug therapy, interpersonal counseling has also been suggested as a method to ease relations between the patient and his/her suspected doubles.
Patients may live in a variety of settings, including psychiatric hospitals, depending on the success of treatment.
The article describes an 18-year-old female with hebefreno-paranoid schizophrenia who believed that her next door neighbor had transformed her physical self into the patient's double.
[6] Due to the rarity of this disorder and its similarities to other delusional misidentification syndromes, it is debated whether or not it should be classified as a unique disease.
