Emily Chan
In the United States, mental health issues are very common. At some point in their lives, half of all Americans are diagnosed with some type of mental illness or disorder.
Illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia are well-understood by experts. However, some conditions are so rare that many mental health professionals may never come across them.
One of those rarer mental health conditions is the Fregoli delusion. It is characterized by the belief that a particular person is repeatedly changing their appearance, transforming into different individuals. People with the Fregoli delusion believe that someone is following them and impersonating others.
The Fregoli delusion was first reported in 1927. Two French authors named Courbon and Fail described a case involving a woman who believed that two famous actresses, Sarah Bernhardt, and Robine, were impersonating employers, friends, and strangers in the street.
Courbon and Fail named the delusion after Leopoldo Fregoli, an Italian actor who was famous for his ability to impersonate people on stage.
Signs Of The Fregoli Delusion
A person with the Fregoli delusion will think that someone is following them and taking on the form of other people.
Usually, the person following them is someone they don’t know, and it can cause feelings of distress, anxiety, and paranoia.
The primary symptoms of the Fregoli delusion include the feeling of being followed, the feeling that someone is pretending to be someone else in order to harm you, and the feeling that different people are actually the same person.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
