Sometimes the human brain behaves strangely: it suddenly begins to deny its own existence.
Doctors call this symptom radical denial and diagnose "Cotard's syndrome". That was the name of the psychiatrist who first described the disease. The sick suddenly "understand" that they do not have some organs, that the insides of the body have rotted, and the person himself has become huge, "like the sky." “Chasing” Kotard's syndrome, or rather, studying hundreds of patients in different clinics around the world, experts have found that the disease, depending on its severity, can have different causes. So, a patient was found in whom Cotard's syndrome was the result of typhoid fever. Japanese psychiatrists believe that the cause of the disease is a violation in the beta-endorphin background. Although very often it develops against a background of psychotic depression. Sometimes it happens that an exacerbation occurs for no apparent reason. It's just that for a few weeks people feel irritable, their anxiety builds up, and then what doctors call "Cotard's syndrome" begins.
Scientists from Cambridge after thestudies of 100 patients found that this disease is an extreme form of self-denial. 86% of patients had a nihilistic (negative) attitude towards parts of their body, almost half of them claimed that they could not die, and therefore were immortal, and about 70% were sure that they did not exist at all.
Cotard's syndrome. Symptoms
It is known that the disease manifests itself mainly by the middle of life, and in women much more often than in men. There is no explanation for this, there are just statistics. No relationship has been established with the he alth of patients, nor with their heredity or growing up environment. However, the symptoms of the disease, and very diverse, are established. Here they are:
- At the beginning of the disease, anxiety and irritability increase. Since these symptoms accompany various ailments, only very experienced psychiatrists can make a diagnosis at this stage.
- Patients begin to deny the existence of certain internal organs. It is known that one of the sick assured that "instead of a heart, he had something else." Some are sure that some of their organs have rotted or disappeared somewhere.
- Gradually, if Cotard's syndrome is left untreated, patients stop using the pronoun "I", so their degree of self-denial increases. “This”, “it”, “Madame Zero” - patients find any impersonal form of designation of their personality and organism. Sometimes patients have the feeling that they have already died.
- Gradually, those who fall ill are convinced of their vastness and the impossibility of dying, which further strengthensdepressive state. They crave death, but are confident in their immortality, so they may sometimes attempt suicide.
- At various stages of the illness, patients may experience auditory, visual, or olfactory hallucinations, confirming their nihilistic attitude.
To treat this mental illness, doctors usually use a complex of psychotropic drugs. The main goal of treatment is to stop the underlying problem (for example, depressive psychosis, schizophrenia, etc.).
