Cotard’s Syndrome, also referred to as Walking corpse syndrome or Cotard’s delusion is a rare condition that causes a person to falsely believe that they are dying, dead, their body parts are missing or they do not exist.
One of the major indications of experiencing this syndrome is a sense of severe nihilism. Nihilism means that a person believes nothing has any value or meaning. Those with this condition feel as if they are rotting away or they never existed and often describe a loss of blood, organs, and/or body parts. This syndrome is often associated with symptoms of anxiety, depressed mood, a sense of worthlessness, negative views about the future, and decreased socialization.
As they believe they are dead, they do not feel the need to do activities to keep themselves alive like drinking or eating. This can result in a significant amount of weight loss or malnutrition. They disregard personal hygiene such as bathing and brushing teeth and also their physical health. With the delusion of being immortal or dead, people show an increased tendency towards self-harm. They might sometimes harm themselves as a way to prove that they can’t die as they believe they are already dead.
Cotard’s syndrome can span from days to years, depending on the underlying disorder. Due to the sheer rareness of the condition, it does not have standardized diagnostic criteria. Hence, other conditions need to be ruled out in order to confirm the diagnosis of Cotard’s Syndrome.
It is frequently seen in people with a history of mental illnesses such as psychotic or postpartum depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder in teens and is also associated with certain neurological conditions such as brain tumors, stroke, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, severe migraines, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia. Research indicates that the syndrome usually affects people in their 50s but cases presenting in children and teenagers aren’t unheard of.
Although Cotard’s Syndrome is rare, a person can fully recover when they undergo proper treatment. Some of the most successful treatments are a combination of medicines and talk therapy.
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About the Author.
Kanchi Jain is a psychologist at MindTribe.in. You can learn more about her by clicking here
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Acknowledgement: All images used are open source and from Unsplash.