"What's in your head: Zombie"

Have you always been afraid to watch Zombie movies? Unfortunately, you cannot flee from them
by just not watching these kinds of movies. Zombies do exist. At least... to some people. People who think Zombies are real suffer from a rare mental disorder called Cotard's Syndrome, or also known as the Walking Corpse Syndrome.

What is Cotard's Syndrome?

This disease is characterised by the belief to be dead. Cotard's syndrome ranges from believing you are dead or nonexisting (believing you have never existed at all) to believing you are in a state of decomposing. In the latter case, patients are convinced their rotting flesh is hanging loose on their body. This delusion can be dangerous, as people don't take care of their hygiëne and well-being anymore. Patients stop drinking and eating, as dead people don't need these kinds of nutritions. Even worse, this disease can lead to feelings of immortality. To prove that they are immortal, patients sometimes try to commit suicide. After all, a dead person cannot die twice.

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Three stages of Cotard's

The disease develops in three stages, becoming worser and worser. The first stage, called germination, is characterised by psychotic depression and hypochondria (a great fear to suffer from severe diseases). The latter symptom shows itself in a constant cleaning of the body. In addition to this, patients often withdraw themselves from social contact. During the second phase, called blooming, symptoms become worse and the syndrome develops completely; people negate they exist. Patients loose their appetite and mostly stop moving. What mostly distinguishes this stage from the first stage is that patients start neglecting their hygiene. Finally, this stage is characterised by dementia, which leads to the delusion of rotting flesh. At the last stage of the disease, called chronic, severe delusions and chronic depression occur. Furthermore, patients develop a completely distorted view of the world. In addition to this, patients stop eating and don't react to (almost) any stimulus.

Two cases in the spotlight

• In 1788 an elderly woman became paralyzed on one side of her body. When she started moving, feeling and speaking again she told her children to dress her in a shroud and place her in a coffin. They didn't immediately comply with their mother's request as they thought it was absurd; their mother was clearly alive. After many days of demanding to treat her like she was dead, her daughters finally complied. To calm the lady down, they placed her in a coffin while dressed in a shroud, so that they, as their mother told them, could mourn her death. Even when the 'wake' arrived, the woman was still fiddling on her shroud and complaining about its white colour.
• During the late 19th century a woman started complaining she had no brain, no intestines, no nerves, no stomach and no chest. The only thing that was left of her was a decomposing body, containing no soul. In addition to this, the lady thought she was immortal and would 'live' for ever. As she thought she was immortal and didn't have entrails, she also thought it wasn't necessary for her to eat. Soon, the lady proved to not be immortal: she died of starvation.

It's obviously unusual to say you're dead when you are actually telling someone you are. Also, it is unusual to believe you are dead when you are actually thinking. What do you think of this disease and of people suffering from it? We are interested in your opinion, so feel free to leave a comment.