Cotard's Syndrome, also called Walking Corpse Syndrome or Denial Delusion, is a rare psychological disorder in which a person believes he is dead or that his organs are rotting.
The causes of Cotard's Syndrome are associated with changes in certain areas of the brain related to personality, cerebral atrophy, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, migraine or cases of prolonged depression.
Although this syndrome has no cure, treatment must be done to decrease psychological changes. Thus, the treatment must be individualized and indicated by the psychiatrist.
How to identify symptoms
Some symptoms that help to identify this disorder are:
- Believing that you are dead; Showing anxiety frequently; Feeling that the body organs are rotting; Feeling that you cannot die, because you have already died; Being a very negative person; Being insensitive to pain; Suffering constant hallucinations; Having a tendency suicidal.
In addition to these signs, those who suffer from this syndrome can still smell the rotten meat that comes out of their body, due to the idea that their organs are rotting. In some cases, patients may also not recognize themselves in the mirror, nor can they identify family or friends, for example.
How the treatment is done
The treatment of Cotard's Syndrome can be done with the use of antidepressants, antipsychotics or mood stabilizers such as Diazepam, Fluoxetine or Chlorpromazine.
In the most severe cases of the disease, electroconvulsive therapy sessions can be used, in combination with the use of medications, which consists of applying electric shocks to the brain to stimulate certain areas and more easily control the symptoms of the syndrome.
