More Strange Manias

Doromania - A person with doromania would be the ultimate Avon customer – or would she? Someone with this mania has an unnatural obsession with giving gifts. I guess that would be great if the individual were wealthy or had an endless supply of money. Unfortunately, most people do have an end to their supply of money. A person with this mania will keep spending money to buy gifts for others even when they can’t afford the gifts.

Your character has doromania. Everyone loves the gifts that she gives them and they have always assumed that she could afford them, even though her job didn’t pay that well. Now her limited supply of money has come to an end; all the money she pulls in each week is now obligated to pay her debts. She believes that everyone loves her only because of the gifts that she has been giving them. In your story, somehow she needs to be shown that this is not the case. How does this happen?

Enosimania is the obsession with the belief that one has committed the unpardonable sin. The unrest that this would bring to one’s life is unimaginable for one would remain convinced that his destination is “outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

Your character has recently accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior. She is reading her Bible one day and runs across some Bible verses that cause doubt in her own salvation to enter into her mind. The verses are Matthew 12:31-32 and Hebrews 6:4-6. She develops enosimania and becomes convinced that she has committed the unpardonable sin and is on the path to destruction. Her personal and work life begins to crumble because of this unfounded obsession. Who finally convinces her that she is wrong and how do they do so?

Aboulomania - I have seen aboulomania defined as pathological indeciseciveness; I’ve also seen it defined as paralysis of the will. It is the inability to make decisions. A person who has this is unable to make even the simplest decision. What would cause this? I haven’t a clue, but it would be sheer torture to not be able to make up one’s mind what to do.

Your character lives in constant torment. What time should he get out of bed? What should he eat for breakfast? Should he go to work or call in sick? He has a roommate who urges him to do even the simplest things. Without this roommate, his life would fall apart. Life is as peaceful as it can possibly be for him, then his roommate is hit by a hit and run driver. Now he must learn to make his own decisions. What happens?

Have you ever met an ablutomaniac? Someone with ablutomania has an obsession with cleanliness. This is probably accompanied by a fear of getting or staying dirty, for a person with this obsession will get up to wash his hands after just sitting in a room or reading a book. When he came to visit, you would wonder if he thought your house needed cleaning because of the many times he went and washed his hands.

Your character has ablutomania. He has washed his hands so often that they now remain red and irritated, still he cannot seem to quit washing them. His job as a waiter at a high class restaurant is now at risk because of this. The management has told him that the condition of his hands make customes think something is wrong with him and are afraid that he will make them sick. What happens?

Trichotillomania is the uncontrollable urge to pull out one’s own body hair – eyelashes, eyebrow, facial hair, scalp hair, etc. Sometimes giving in to this urge can leave behind bald patches. I have said at times, “That makes me want to pull my hair out,” but I never have pulled my hair out. A person with this condition doesn’t just pull their hair in anger; they have a compulsive desire to pull their hair. Even animals have been known to develop this condition.

Your character is given a beautiful silky terrier. The small animal has a gorgeous coat, but for some unknown reason becomes increasingly nervous and high strung. One day, Julianna wakes up to find that her beloved silky has pulled out most of her silky coat. What does she do? Does she find a cure for what is troubling her pet?