TV shows like The Walking Dead have made zombies into a mainstream sensation that has taken The United States by storm.
There are many events and gatherings that celebrate and promote zombies and their existences like the annual zombie walks that are held throughout the country.
However, few are aware that there is actually a real zombie medical condition.
Yup, you read right, there is a medical disorder called Cotard’s Syndrome which is better known as the Walking Corpse Syndrome. One of the few known cases of this rare disorders is a man known only as Graham.
What Makes This Man Believe That He Is A Zombie?
The man named Graham, after a failed suicide attempt, started to exhibit signs of having Walking Corpse Syndrome as he genuinely believes that he had managed to kill his brain when he attempted suicide.
The medical journal, New Scientist, in an interview, describes this Cotard’s Syndrome as a disorder wherein the subject believes that they or a part of them is dead or doesn’t exist. The description is given by New Scientist for the cause of this zombie disorder is:
“…misfiring in the fusiform face areas of the brain, which recognizes faces, and also in the amygdala, which adds emotions to those recognitions. The result is a lack of emotion when viewing familiar faces and the result disconnection can result in complete detachment. Viewing one’s own face in this condition can lead to a lack of association between their reflections or projected self and their own sense of self, leading to a belief that one doesn’t exist.”
What Does It Actually Mean?
While this Walking Corpse Syndrome can be described as mysterious and weird, it is also very dangerous for those who are directly affected because of the symptoms.
There have been cases where suffers from this disorder have died due to starvation and neglect because they didn’t consider the maintenance of their health and bodies as important or necessary any longer.
When asked for his view on things, Graham said that “All the things I was interested in went away. I lost my sense of smell and my sense of taste.
There was no point in eating because I was dead.” And when neurologists decided to run a PET scan on Graham’s brain, they found some mysterious results.
New Journal reported in an interview with neurologist Steven Laureys that “Graham’s brain function resembles that of someone during anesthesia or sleep.
Seeing this pattern in someone who is awake is quite unique to my knowledge.”
Fortunately, after months of therapy and medication, Graham has started to feel like his old human self again.
His doctors hope to give him the help he needs to make a full recovery and have the Walking Corpse Syndrome cured once in for all.
Good news for Graham is that therapy is a much better way to spend his time than having to deal with the whole situation with having to behead or destroy the brain of the zombie and all.
