Cotard's syndrome

Cotard's syndrome
Other namesCotard's delusion, walking corpse syndrome
French neurologist and psychiatrist Jules Cotard (1840–1889) described "The Delirium of Negation" (Cotard's Syndrome) as a mental illness of varying severity.
SpecialtyPsychiatry
SymptomsDelusion that one does not exist, is dead, missing organs, limbs, blood, and/or is incapable of dying (immortal)
ComplicationsSelf-harm, suicide
Diagnostic methodPsychiatric evaluation

Cotard's syndrome, also known as Cotard's delusion or walking corpse syndrome, is a rare mental disorder in which the affected person holds the delusional belief that they are dead, do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs.[1] Statistical analysis of a hundred-patient cohort indicated that denial of self-existence is present in 45% of the cases of Cotard's syndrome; the other 55% of the patients presented with delusions of immortality.[2]

In 1880, the neurologist and psychiatrist Jules Cotard described the condition as le délire des négations ("the delirium of negation"), a psychiatric syndrome of varied severity. A mild case is characterized by despair and self-loathing, while a severe case is characterized by intense delusions of negation, and chronic psychiatric depression.[3][4]

The case of "Mademoiselle X" describes a woman who denied the existence of parts of her body (somatoparaphrenia) and of her need to eat. She claimed that she was condemned to eternal damnation, and therefore could not die a natural death. In the course of experiencing "the delirium of negation", Mademoiselle X died of starvation.[5][self-published source?]

Cotard's syndrome is not mentioned in either the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)[6] or the 10th edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) of the World Health Organization.[7]

  1. ^ Berrios, G. E.; Luque, R. (1995). "Cotard's delusion or syndrome?". Comprehensive Psychiatry. 36 (3): 218–223. doi:10.1016/0010-440x(95)90085-a. PMID 7648846.
  2. ^ Berrios, G.E.; Luque, R. (1995). "Cotard Syndrome: Clinical Analysis of 100 Cases". Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 91 (3): 185–188. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.1995.tb09764.x. PMID 7625193. S2CID 8764432.
  3. ^ Cotard's syndrome at Who Named It?
  4. ^ Berrios, G. E.; Luque, R. (1999). "Cotard's 'On Hypochondriacal Delusions in a Severe form of Anxious Melancholia'". History of Psychiatry. 10 (38): 269–278. doi:10.1177/0957154x9901003806. PMID 11623880. S2CID 145107029.
  5. ^ Brumfield, Dale M. (2020-10-02). "Mademoiselle X: Living While Dead". Lessons from History. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  6. ^ Debruyne H.; et al. (June 2009). "Cotard's syndrome: a review". Curr Psychiatry Rep. 11 (3): 197–202. doi:10.1007/s11920-009-0031-z. PMID 19470281. S2CID 23755393.
  7. ^ Debruyne Hans; et al. (2011). "Cotard's Syndrome". Mind & Brain. 2.