Naseeruddin Shah is Suffering from Onomatomania – Know All About This Medical Condition

The veteran actor in an interview shared that he is suffering from Onomatomania. He said, "I suffer from an ailment called onomatomania. I'm not joking. It's a medical condition. You can check it in the dictionary."

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah who is known for his hard-hitting roles and impeccable acting skills in films such as Mohra, Sarfarosh, A Wednesday and more in an interview revealed that he suffers from a condition called onomatomania. It is a medical condition in which a person keeps fixating on a particular phrase or word. The actor shared that the ailment doesn’t let him be at rest even if he tries. The actor revealed this in an interview with Chalchitra Talks, he said, “I suffer from an ailment called onomatomania. I’m not joking. It’s a medical condition. You can check it in the dictionary.”

Talking about the medical condition, Naseer said, “Onomatomania is an ailment in which you keep repeating a word or a phrase, a sentence or a verse or a speech for no reason at all. Except that you like to hear it. I do it all the time, so I am never quite at rest. Even when I am sleeping, I am going over some passage I love.”

What is Onomatomania?

It is a condition in which a person obsess over particular words, and they use them repeatedly. Dr Parul Adlakha, a clinical psychologist told Hindustan Times, “Onomatomania is a state where the person is preoccupied with a particular word, phrase, line and more, and tends to use the same repeatedly in conversations. The preoccupation can also manifest sometimes as the inability to recall a certain word or phrase and being obsessed with that.”

Doctors say it is not a psychological condition and does not affect a person’s day-to-day life.

Dr Samir Parikh, Director, Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Healthcare told the leading publication that Onomatomania is not a condition, it is a random term. “We don’t know if Onomatomania can affect a person’s daily life. Different people with different personalities would have different thought processes. If one has an inclining to literature thought process, they will have a need to use exact right words. This is okay because they are part and parcel of our lives. So, if it is a cause of concern, we need to figure out why it is even a cause of concern.”