Mental dis­or­ders facts

Arachnophobia. Some statistics show that 50% of women and 10% of men show symptoms of arachnophobia. The reasons are unclear, as a huge majority of modern spiders are harmless. It is speculated, that early humans might have lived in areas where poisonous spiders were a real threat.

Mercury poisoning. Mad hatter's disease is a common name for chronic mercury poisoning among hatmakers, who were often exposed to mercury vapors during felting works. Along with physical symptoms such as tremors or loss of hair and teeth, hatters tended to develop characteristic psychological traits, such as pathological shyness and marked irritability.

Charles VI of France. Charles VI, known as "Charles the Mad" ruled France in the midst of the Hundred Years' War. He suffered from periods of mental illness, which had been passed on for several generations through his mother, Joanna of Bourbon. During an episode in 1395–96 he claimed he was Saint George and did not know his wife or children. In 1405, he refused to bathe or change clothes for five months. The entrances of his residence were walled up to keep him inside.