Demon Face Syndrome: Signs, Causes & Treatment

It sounds like something from a horror film or a particularly disturbing nightmare. Everyone you encounter, including friends and family members, suddenly has distorted facial features.  When you look in the mirror, you discover that your own face has taken on a similarly abnormal appearance.

Unfortunately, some people who experience this disconcerting phenomenon aren’t able to change the channel or wake up and return to reality. These individuals have an extremely rare condition called prosopometamorphopsia, which is also referred to as PMO and demon face syndrome.

Contact us today for additional guidance, and someone from our team will help connect you with the best Arkansas rehab program for you and your unique clinical needs. 

What Is Demon Face Syndrome?

As described in a comprehensive case study from Dartmouth College, demon face syndrome is “a rare visual disorder characterized by distortions in facial appearance, including alterations in shape, texture, feature positioning, and color.”

Some people only perceive these distortions on one side of the face, which is referred to as hemi-PMP. Others perceive full-face distortions, which is known as bilateral PMO.

The term prosopometamorphopsia was coined by British neurologist MacDonald Critchley in the 1950s. The first part of the term, prosopo, is related to the Greek word for face. The second part, metamorphopsia, is a medical term for visual disruptions such as perceiving objects as being larger or smaller than they actually are.

What Are the Symptoms of Demon Face Syndrome?

The symptoms of demon face syndrome have varied among people who have been diagnosed with this condition, but they typically involved seeing exaggerated, misshapen, or otherwise significantly abnormal facial features that don’t actually exist.

When someone with PMO looks at another person or at their own reflection, they may see:

• Bulbous eyes
• Expanded head size
• Pointed, elf-like ears
• Disproportionate or misplaced features
• Misaligned eyebrows
• Elongated mouth
• Enlarged teeth
• Discolored skin

Other characteristics of demon face syndrome:

• For some people, PMO causes them to perceive other people as simply having a distorted or cartoon-like appearance. For others, their altered perceptions take on a more menacing or demonic quality.
• Some people look at one person and see the face of someone else.

Among the more intriguing aspects of prosopometamorphopsia is that in the vast majority of cases, people only have trouble accurately perceiving faces. When looking at other body parts or inanimate objects, they are able to see them clearly and without distortion. 

How Many People Have Demon Face Syndrome?

It is no exaggeration to describe demon face syndrome as an extremely rare condition. 

According to the Dartmouth College case study cited earlier in today’s post, the first documented case of demon face syndrome was published in 1904. That case involved a 37-year-old woman who saw persistent distortions in her own reflection after having multiple epileptic seizures. 

The Dartmouth College study put the total number of documented PMO cases at less than 100. A June 2021 article in the journal Cortex found 81 documented cases of prosopometamorphopsia from the previous 100 years.

What Causes Demon Face Syndrome?

With such as small pool of cases to study, and with many of those cases involving people who lived long before modern medical and research practices were developed, it has been difficult for experts to ascertain the precise cause or causes of demon face syndrome.

However, unlike the hallucinations that are associated with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, it appears that cases of demon face syndrome are more likely to be the result of a medical condition, not a mental health concern.

Medical causes

The Cortex article cited in the previous section goes into great detail describing network disruptions, lesions, and other and abnormalities within the brain that seem to be linked to demon face syndrome. Of the 81 cases reviewed in that article:

• 53% involved the occipital lobe 
• 28% involved the corpus callosum
• 27% involved the temporal lobe
• 15% involved the parietal lobe
• 6% involved the frontal lobe

Other potential causes of demon face syndrome include traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, tumors, and severe migraines.

Similar mental health symptoms

Though demon face syndrome isn’t a mental health condition, several mental health disorders can cause similar symptoms. For example, hallucinations and other perceptual abnormalities can be symptoms of:

• Schizophrenia
• Schizoaffective disorder
• Schizotypal personality disorder
• Brief psychotic disorder
• Body dysmorphic disorder

Periods of particularly severe anxiety and depression can also disrupt a person’s perceptions, as can certain types of substance use (including both recreational drug use and the use of some prescription medications).

Also, though demon face syndrome is unlikely to be caused by a mental health disorder, its effects can understandably have a profound negative impact on a person’s emotional well-being and overall quality of life. 

Potential mental health effects of demon face syndrome include:

• Pervasive fear
• Intense anxiety
• Paranoia
• Sense of detachment from others
• Withdrawal and isolation
• Onset or worsening of mental health disorders
• Disrupted focus and concentration
• Impaired decision making
• Low self-esteem

Given the significant disruption that demon face syndrome can cause, people who are affected by this condition may need mental health help to help them process what they’ve been through. Also, someone who is having any types of hallucinations or other perceptual anomalies may benefit from completing a mental health assessment to identify or rule out psychiatric causes.

Learn More About Mental Health Treatment in Arkansas

Time Wellness Arkansas is a trusted source of life-affirming outpatient care for adults whose lives have been disrupted by mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders (addictions).

Treatment options at our center in Fayetteville, AR, include a partial hospitalization program (PHP), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), and virtual (online) treatment. A member of our team will be happy to discuss the features and benefits of these options with you, so that you can make the most informed decisions for yourself or on behalf of a loved one.

To learn more about our programs and services, or to schedule a free assessment, please visit our Admissions page or call us today.