Episode 28, Walking Corpse Syndrome
What if you woke up one day, fully convinced that your flesh was rotting, your organs were decomposing, and you were dead?
Today we discuss the absolutely terrifying mental illness called Cotard’s Delusion, or Walking Corpse Syndrome.
We will discuss what it is, how it’s diagnosed and treated, but we are going to spend a lot of time on individual case studies, and all the details they contain. We will also talk about a related illness called Capgras Syndrome, koro, lots about psychiatry, a surprising link to COVID-19, Cotard’s in pop culture, and more!
Sources:
https://archaeonewsnet.com/8400-year-old-dog-found-buried-with-his/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Collected_Schizophrenias
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffet_Froid_(Hannibal)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Luther_episodes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_(musician)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotard's_syndrome
https://www.healthline.com/health/cotard-delusion#complications
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/cotard-delusion-schizophrenia#summary
https://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/cotard-syndrome/
https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-023-05039-6
https://psychscenehub.com/psychpedia/cotards-syndrome/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/crips/2016/6968409/
https://www.medicinenet.com/what_is_the_cause_of_cotards_syndrome/article.htm
https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/jnp.2010.22.4.409
https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/34176695/New_variants_and_new_symptoms_in_COVID-19:_First_episode_psychosis_and_Cotard's_Syndrome_two_months_after_infection_with_the_B.1.1.7_variant_of_coronavirus.
https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/34796667/Post-COVID-19_psychosis:_Cotard's_syndrome_and_potentially_high_risk_of_harm_and_self-harm_in_a_first-onset_acute_and_transient_psychotic_disorder_after_resolution_of_COVID-19_pneumonia.
https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/35578886/Treatment_of_Major_Depression_with_Psychotic_Features_and_Cotard's_Syndrome_after_COVID-19_Infection_in_a_Previously_Healthy_Patient:_A_Case_Report.
https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/38333894/Case_report:_A_case_of_anti-recoverin_antibody-positive_encephalitis_exhibiting_Cotard_and_Capgras_delusions_that_was_successfully_treated_with_electroconvulsive_therapy.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2911387/Teenager-spent-three-years-life-thinking-DEAD-Walking-Corpse-Syndrome.html
https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/38180928/Nihilism,_Neurocognition,_and_the_Novel_Coronavirus:_A_Case_of_Acute_Onset_Cotard's_Syndrome.
\https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369589035_Can_Cotard_Syndrome_Be_Induced_Illustration_With_a_Rare_Case_of_Potential_Organ_Transplant
https://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/talking-dead-cefepime-induced-cotard-syndrome/#:~:text=A single case of suspected,been reported in the literature.&text=The evidence for toxic, metabolic,found mostly in case studies.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24750573.2017.1371661
https://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/capgras-cotards-delusions-associated-particular-pattern/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/crips/2021/6652336/
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cns-spectrums/article/new-onset-capgras-and-cotard-delusions-in-schizoaffective-disorder/4E1D7F32B3560B4C79A09781C88E84FB
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8251965/
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/psychopathology-of-rare-and-unusual-syndromes/cotard-syndrome/FE723763DEA2C641D6E75A80B1DA235A
https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.17010018
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4271387/
https://www.emedicinehealth.com/what_are_the_symptoms_of_walking_corpse_syndrome/article_em.htm
https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/the-rare-walking-corpse-syndrome-how-could-someone-feel-dead
https://allthatsinteresting.com/cotard-delusion
https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/37264869/ECT_for_Cotard_syndrome_in_a_13-year-old.
https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/37362522/Cotard's_Delusion_and_Its_Relation_With_Different_Psychiatric_Diagnoses_in_a_Tertiary_Care_Hospital.
https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/36575636/Cotard_delusion_in_a_depressed_patient:_”My_throat_is_missing!"
https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/35946188/Cotard's_syndrome_in_the_postoperative_period_following_head_and_neck_cancer_surgery_-_A_case_report.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2695744/#:~:text=Cotard's syndrome is a relatively,one's soul or is dead.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/encephalopathy
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/cerebral-venous-sinus-thrombosis
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Cerebral-Infarction.aspx#:~:text=Also called ischemic stroke, a,the brain to die off.
https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm
https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ajp.156.10.1499
https://dcf.psychiatry.ufl.edu/files/2011/05/HAMILTON-DEPRESSION.pdf
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34033319/#:~:text=Capgras syndrome (CS), or,inanimate object or an animal.
https://www.calculator.net/anorexic-bmi-calculator.html#:~:text=There are also different tiers,12 can be life-threatening.