Capital Berg

Keeps People Up-To-Date

Monday, January 18, 2021
Log in
  • United States
  • Business
  • Health
  • Science
  • Technology
  • About CapitalBerg
    • Analysts & Contributors
    • Advertising
    • Contact US
    • Privacy Policy GDPR
    • Terms of Use

Pages

  • About CapitalBerg
  • Advertising
  • Analysts & Contributors
  • Contact US
  • Investor Relations
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • SEC Disclosure
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • Tennessee Rapist Breaks into Woman’s House Three Times the Same Night to Assault Her June 29, 2018
  • Mentally Ill Man Arrested After Breaking into Retirement Home to Grope a Woman’s Chest June 28, 2018
  • “Syndrome” Author Blake Leibel Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder and Torture of Girlfriend June 27, 2018
  • Michigan Dad to Be Sentenced in the Beating Death of 3-Year-Old Infant June 26, 2018
  • Ohio Patrolman Booted from Police After Pulling Over His Daughter and Boyfriend June 26, 2018
  • Utah Mayor Shares Heartwarming Letter of Man Apologizing for Stealing a Stop Sign 75 Years Ago June 25, 2018
  • Mississippi Man Beheaded Mother After A Spat over Credit Cards June 25, 2018

Cotard Disease Makes People Think They Are Dead

November 4, 2015 By June Harris

"Man wearing zombie make-up."

Man wearing zombie make-up.

Cotard disease makes people think they are dead and makes them feel disconnected with the world and their own bodies. It is a rare mental illness named after the French neurologist who first discovered it and diagnosed it in a patient, doctor Jules Cotard.

The Cotard syndrome makes sufferers live in a zombie-like state, where they feel like nothing they are experiencing is real because they believe themselves to already be dead.

It is a rare mental delusion that was first discovered in a female patient by Jules Cotard back in the 1880, when one of the doctor’s patients revealed that she was convinced she had died and was now experiencing the afterlife, while convinced she had no brain, nerves, stomach or intestines, only decomposing skin and bones.

The doctor described the illness at the time as being a sort of depression characterized by anxiety, melancholia and a disturbed perception of the patient’s body.

Although it is what inspired many zombie-based movies and tv series, the condition is real and difficult to understand. In the essay “The perdition days” writer Esme Weijun Wang describes her own experience with the rare syndrome which she was afflicted with, having believed for more than two months that she was dead.

The author explains the events that occurred after weeks of feeling increasingly more fractured and losing touch with both herself and reality more and more often. She initially considered these incidents early symptoms of psychosis and sought to help herself by reorganizing her work space and focusing on her status as a writer.

But she then describes a specific episode when her perception of reality changed, during an airplane flight from London to San Francisco, when she kept falling in and out of consciousness for approximately four hours. After the incident she was convinced she had died during the flight, that her husband and dog were also dead and that she was experiencing the afterlife.

Describing the experience as a version of hell, during which she felt like she was on fire inside, the author describes her thoughts at the time: she thought she was doomed to walk the earth forever, through a world that seemed similar to the one she had lived in but to which she no longer belonged. Her body did not feel like her own, and the world she was living in only contained “so-called people” that resembled her loved ones.

Also known as the walking corpse syndrome, the Cotard syndrome does not appear in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders but doctors consider it a very real disease with very serious consequences. A person’s belief that they are dead can lead them to severe depression and anxiety as well as suicidal thoughts and behavior.

There is no specific treatment for the illness and it can last from a few days or weeks to even months or, in chronic cases, years.

Image source: www.pixabay.com

  • About the Author

About June Harris

June was born and raised in Ligonier, a small historic town in Pennsylvania. She befriended TV cameras at an early age when she was selected to feature in a local TV series for children. Her passion for entertainment grew bigger after June was named Miss Pennsylvania at 16 years old. She was co-opted in various projects ever since and is now a strong promoter of fitness and health activities.

Filed Under: Health

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 44 other subscribers

Recent Articles

sleep

Tennessee Rapist Breaks into Woman’s House Three Times the Same Night to Assault Her

June 29, 2018 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

police lights

Mentally Ill Man Arrested After Breaking into Retirement Home to Grope a Woman’s Chest

June 28, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

gavel

“Syndrome” Author Blake Leibel Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder and Torture of Girlfriend

June 27, 2018 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

Woods

Michigan Dad to Be Sentenced in the Beating Death of 3-Year-Old Infant

June 26, 2018 By Marlene R. Litten Leave a Comment

patrol cruiser

Ohio Patrolman Booted from Police After Pulling Over His Daughter and Boyfriend

June 26, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

stop sign

Utah Mayor Shares Heartwarming Letter of Man Apologizing for Stealing a Stop Sign 75 Years Ago

June 25, 2018 By June Harris Leave a Comment

Butter knives

Mississippi Man Beheaded Mother After A Spat over Credit Cards

June 25, 2018 By Carol Harper Leave a Comment

XXXTentacion mugshot

Florida Authorities Arrested Suspect in Connection with Shooting of XXXTentacion

June 22, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

sunset over beach

Dallas Mother Accused of Beating Four-Year-Old and Dumping Body Into the Water

June 21, 2018 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

chicken Alfredo

Ohio Man Sentenced for Trying to Seduce Teenage Boy with Naked Pictures and Chicken Alfredo

June 20, 2018 By Marlene R. Litten Leave a Comment

bedroom

South Carolina Teen and Mates End Up In Slammer for Raping a Teenage Girl

June 19, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

cyberstalkin

California Man Arrested for Stalking Ex-Girlfriend, Hacking Her Online Accounts

June 19, 2018 By June Harris Leave a Comment

hammer

Naked Patient Sneaks out of Emergency Room to Bash Homeowner’s Head with Hammer

June 18, 2018 By Carol Harper Leave a Comment

screwdriver

Middle School Student Attacks Teacher During Class with Screwdriver

June 18, 2018 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • Virtual reality

    French Hospital Employs Virtual Reality to Curb Patient’s Pain

    Jun 13, 2018
  • surgery

    Danish Doctors Baffled by Patient Remaining Awake after During Cardiac Arrest

    Jun 5, 2018
  • medical implant

    MIT Think-Thanks Designed the World’s First Wireless Medical Implant

    Jun 5, 2018
  • human eye

    Australian Woman Nearly Goes Blind Because She Forgot to Remove her Makeup

    Jun 4, 2018
  • Snorting Condoms Challenge.

    Snorting Condoms Challenge on the Rise, Health Officials Declared

    Apr 2, 2018
  • Florida Woman Mommy Belly

    Florida Woman Mistook Labor Pains for Food Poisoning

    Mar 30, 2018
  • Surgical sponges.

    Japanese Surgeons Discovered Surgical Sponges in Women’s Abdomen

    Feb 23, 2018
  • British accent cards.

    Texas Woman Goes to Sleep, Wakes Up with British Accent

    Feb 13, 2018
  • Woodpeckers and CTE

    Woodpeckers Not Invulnerable to Brain Damage, New Study Suggests

    Feb 6, 2018
  • Gummy beart

    New Mexico School Students Intoxicated After Eating Marijuana-Laced Gummy Bears

    Jan 24, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Deals
  • Health
  • Science
  • Technology
  • United States
  • World

Copyright © 2021 capitalberg.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.