Cotard Delusion - Signs and Symptoms

Signs and Symptoms

The central symptom in Cotard's syndrome is the delusion of negation. Those who suffer from this illness often deny that they exist or that a certain portion of their body exists. Cotard's syndrome has been found to have three distinct stages. In the first stage - Germination - patients exhibit psychotic depression and hypochondriacal symptoms. The second stage - Blooming - is characterized by the full blown development of the syndrome and the delusions of negation. The third stage - Chronic - is characterized by severe delusions and chronic depression.

People with the Cotard Delusion often become withdrawn from others and they tend to neglect their own hygiene and well-being. The delusion makes it impossible for patients to make sense of reality, which results in an extremely distorted view of the world. This delusion is often found in psychotic patients suffering from schizophrenia. While Cotard's Syndrome doesn't necessitate hallucinations, the strong delusions are comparable to those found in schizophrenic patients.

The novel, "Maître Mussard's Bequest" ("Das Vermächtnis des Maître Mussard") by German author Patrick Süskind, describes a strange character, Maître Mussard, whom we can see, through his own writings, become psychosomatically paralyzed (similar to rigor mortis) as a result of a severe case of Cotard delusion.