‘It’s like staring at demons’: Meet a man who lives with a disturbing condition
For 59-year-old Victor Sharrah, a day that started like any other turned into the beginning of a horrifying journey. Living in Nashville, Victor experienced something unimaginable when the faces of his roommate and his girlfriend transformed in front of his eyes. “What am I seeing?” he remembers thinking as their faces changed to have grotesque grimaces, elongated eyes, and pointy ears reminiscent of a science fiction character. This was the start of his life with prosopometamorphopsia (PMO), a condition that makes people see faces distorted.
The Mysterious Condition
Prosopometamorphopsia is not something many of us have heard of. Unlike “face blindness,” a condition where the brain has trouble recognizing faces, PMO distorts the facial features of others, making them appear horrifyingly altered. Victor’s case is among the rare, with only 81 documented instances in the literature by June 2021. This condition can make daily interactions extremely challenging, as witnessing “demonic” faces in everyday life can be deeply unsettling.
Understanding Prosopometamorphopsia
Those living with PMO might see heavily distorted features on familiar faces, or in some cases, their own reflections. The distortions vary widely from person to person – some see faces morph into nightmarish visions, while others might notice only slight alterations on one side of a face. The condition can stem from various causes, including brain injuries, tumors, or infections, shedding light on its complexity and the brain’s intricate processing of facial recognition.
A Journey Towards Understanding
Victor’s ordeal sheds light on the struggles faced by individuals with PMO. He recounts the isolation and misunderstanding he experienced, even fearing for his sanity. However, the path to understanding his condition was opened by an unexpected helper from a Facebook suicide support group. Catherine Morris, with her background in working with the visually impaired, suspected that Victor’s symptoms could be influenced by how his brain perceived light.
Through trial and error with different light colors, they discovered that a particular shade of green light could alleviate Victor’s symptoms. This became a turning point for Victor, offering him moments of normalcy and paving the way for further research into the condition.
A Ray of Hope
Now, Victor is involved in research with scientists from Dartmouth College, exploring ways to help others with PMO. Their work includes testing how different colored lenses might ease symptoms for different individuals and investigating if symmetrical faces could reduce the distortion.
This research not only aims to find effective therapies for PMO but also to increase awareness and understanding of the condition. It offers hope that people like Victor can find solace and perhaps, one day, a solution to live without seeing the world through such terrifyingly distorted eyes.
The harrowing experience of those with PMO highlights the importance of ongoing research and support for rare conditions. By bringing stories like Victor’s to light, we can foster a better understanding of the mysteries of the human brain and the visual distortions it can create.
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Deepika 
Mehek