What is a corpse, there is probably no need to explain to anyone. A dead body has no needs - it does not breathe and does not move. But there are people, fortunately quite rarely, who consider themselves already dead. And, as a rule, they insist that others treat them accordingly. This condition of a person is called in medicine "living corpse syndrome". What is this pathology and how does it manifest itself?
Symptoms of disease
Self-denial, self-abasement is the basic state on which the discussed syndrome is based, leading to a distinct belief in one's death.
In general, syndromes, in psychiatry and in medicine in general, are a series of symptoms typical of a disease. Thus, the pathology under discussion, for example, is referred to as a manifestation of delusional psychosis, which is characterized by sensations of loss of a part of the body or its decomposition and decay. Patients are even convinced of the presence of worms eating their dead flesh, and of the "cadaverous" smell emanating from it. Patients insist that they have long been gone, and only the shell is alive, which for some reason does not want to come to terms with death. By this they also explain the refusal of food and water, which, in their opinion, they can no longer need.
Syndrome of the living corpse is also manifested by constant depression, depression and persistent suicide attempts. The patient acutely feels his uselessness and inner emptiness.
Rare syndrome
For example, an Englishman by the name of Graham, who was diagnosed with living corpse syndrome, claimed that after trying to commit suicide by arranging a kind of “electric chair” in the bathroom, he lost his brain. The patient refused any treatment, claiming that it was pointless since he was dead. And the only place where the patient felt comfortable was the cemetery.
Interestingly, after analyzing the brain functions, the patient was found to have low activity of the frontal and parietal parts. Simply put, they were the same as those of a sleeping or anesthetized person. Obviously, this led to a changed perception of the world.
Are the causes of the disease known?
For the first time this disease was described at the end of the 19th century. psychiatrist Jules Cotard, who observed a patient who claimed that she was dead because she had no heart and stomach. In honor of the doctor, this pathology is called syndromeCotard.”
The disease has been found to be more common in impressionable women suffering from migraines or in old people waiting to die. Sometimes it can occur in patients with a brain tumor or after severe skull injuries that damage areas responsible for recognition and emotions. This, probably, leads to the patient's confidence in the "otherworldliness" of the environment and himself personally. It is also known that among those suffering from this disease, mostly people who have problems with recognizing themselves as individuals who are not able to accept their own "I".
But, unfortunately, the true causes and treatments for this deviation have not yet been established. It is only known that the syndrome of the living corpse is not inherited and is not a genetic disease. It is classified as a manifestation of schizophrenia and only symptomatic manifestations are treated.
