American doctor feels the pain of patients due to a rare syndrome

He does not have a chip in his head, but synesthesia of a mirror touch.

Photo: Joel Salinas. @joelsalinasmd

US physician Joel Salinas has synesthesia and literally feels the pain of the patients. His story is told TJournal.

Synesthesia instead of a chip in the head

Joel Salinas has no implants, but from childhood he has an unusual perception disorder - mirror synesthesia. Thanks to her, he feels the same as the surrounding people - his brain recreates the pain, touch or even the behavior of others.

In fact, this is a failure in the wiring of my brain, because I physically feel the same as other people. For example, if you are suffocating from a lack of air, I also suffocate, if you have a panic attack, I also have.

Joel salinas

doctor with mirror synesthesia

Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which several sense organs merge with each other. People with this syndrome can see the color of numbers, feel the taste of music and distinguish shades of light from touching other people. But the case of Salinas is especially unique.

According to the memoirs of the doctor, at school he tried to paint the letters in certain colors, and, for example, he felt the ringing of the bell as blue and yellow. Thanks to such associations, he memorized numbers better and was oriented in spelling. But here with arithmetic, Salinas had problems: the numbers seemed to him like little men with children, so he did not understand how to add or multiply them.

The first case of synaesthesia with a mirror image found in 2005 year. Largely due to the structural imaging of MRI and the study of the work of brain cells and their reactions to the outside world.

As a teenager, Salinas found it difficult to communicate with his peers because he was extremely friendly, loved human emotions and especially hugs. He began to watch TV more often, because he felt the same thing as the characters on the screen: “when the Road Runner stuck out his tongue while running, I felt that I stuck out my tongue when the coyote fell under the truck, and this was transmitted to me”.

Career doctor

Soon Joel Salinas realized that when other people feel better, he also feels better. According to him, synesthesia has helped to realize that a career is worth linking with medicine. Even he learned about his special state already during his studies, when one of the students was talking about people feeling the color of letters.

But this did not help Salinas to save himself from the traumatic experience during his studies, because he repeatedly faced diseases and physical injuries in patients. The doctor watched the boy on the operating table, who was cut in the abdomen, felt pain and felt a "burning and wriggling sensation" while looking at his internal organs. One day, Salinas first encountered the death of a patient.

The patient had a heart massage right in front of me, I felt a squeeze in the chest, as if it were my body. After about 30 minutes, he died, and I felt empty, and then I reached the bath and vomited.

Joel salinas

doctor with mirror synesthesia

After this incident, Salinas made the rules for himself. He noticed the aggravation of his feelings, if the patient looked like him or made sudden movements. For concentration, he does not look sick in the eyes and focuses on clothes, and when it is necessary to clarify the diagnosis, he simply looks at their body. Now it is much easier for the doctor to work and not experience discomfort.

According to the doctor, not all people with synesthesia are lucky to find their place. For example, one woman prefers not to communicate with people and live in isolation, so as not to feel pain, suffering and emotions of others. Many synesthetics take weekly breaks from communicating with friends and family, as they “choke” on other people's feelings.

Now, Dr. Joel Salinas is a neuropathologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital and teaches at Harvard Medical School. In April, his book “The Mirror Touch” was published, in which he, among other things, says that the symptoms of mirror synesthesia were observed in his sister and mother, just not as much as in his.

My peculiarity can blur the boundaries between me and others to such an extent that I will inextricably entangled in people's feelings and needs, that is, I will completely lose myself. For as long as I can remember, information was constantly accumulating in my mind.

I could create a psychological filter for self-defense, but this is a dangerous way to survive. If I filter too much, I risk losing my feelings completely and, as a result, losing my humanity and empathy. And if I filter too little, I can drown in another person and lose all sanity, and then myself.

Joel salinas

doctor with mirror synesthesia

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