Do you really know｜什么是活死人综合症？
英音听力｜BBC & 经济学人等
What is the Living Dead Syndrome?
In Tim Burton's 2004 film The Corpse Bride, groom-to-be Victor rehearses his wedding vows in the forest to calm his anxiety. However, he mistakenly slips the ring onto what he thinks is a tree branch, but is actually the finger of Emily, the corpse of a mysterious young woman in a bridal gown. Victor then finds himself immersed in the colourful and joyful world of the dead.
But it is not just fairy stories or horror movies that are interested in zombies and the dead returning to the world of the living. Psychiatrists are as well.
How so?
Cotard's syndrome, also known as the living-dead syndrome, is named after Jules Cotard, a 19th century French neurologist who identified this disorder.
Patients feel like wandering corpses, empty shells, convinced that they are on the border between life and death, often accompanied by feelings of melancholy, anxiety, ideas of damnation or rejection, denial of existence and sometimes even delusions of immortality.
Immortality? Even though the patients believe they are dead?
Yes. Because the patients already believe they are dead, they think they're immune to anything that could happen to them. This can lead to suicidal behaviour or putting themselves in harm's way.
Others lose the perception of pain or starve themselves because they see no point in feeding a dead body. Everything loses its meaning because they no longer understand their presence in the world.
In a 2009 article published in Current Psychiatry Reports, psychiatrists reported the case of a patient convinced of his death and worried about not having been buried. Another person was convinced that their brain was missing, that her intestines were gone and that her entire body was translucent. She refused to take a bath or shower because she was afraid of being soluble and disappearing down the drain.
Cases of patients who do not believe in their own existence are the most extreme. But in other cases, they believe they're on the verge of death due to the destruction of their internal organs like the stomach, brain and intestines. They believe them to be rotten or disintegrating. This is what Cotard reported in the case of a 43-year-old patient who claimed to no longer have a brain, nerves, chest, stomach or bowels. All that remained was the skin on her bones.
Is this syndrome common?
No, it's extremely rare and is often associated with other psychiatric pathologies such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression or neurological factors such as epilepsy or frontal lobe dysfunction. Thankfully, this disorder can be treated with medication and therapy. There you have it.
词汇表
Corpse Bride [ˌkɔːps ˈbraɪd] 《僵尸新娘》（动画电影名）
groom-to-be [ˌɡruːm] n. 准新郎，即将成为新郎的人
wedding vows [ˈwedɪŋ vaʊz] 婚礼誓词
slip somthing onto （轻松地）戴上，套在，穿上
bridal gown [ˈbraɪdl ɡaʊn] 婚纱，新娘礼服
be immersed in [ɪˈmɜːst] 沉浸在，深陷于
zombie [ˈzɒmbi] n. 僵尸，丧尸，行尸走肉
psychiatrist [saɪˈkaɪətrɪst] n. 精神病学家，精神科医生
Cotard's syndrome / living-dead syndrome [kəʊˈtɑːdz ˈsɪndrəʊm] 科塔尔综合征，活死人综合征（坚信自己已经死亡或身体器官不复存在的精神疾病）
neurologist [njʊˈrɒlədʒɪst] n. 神经学家，神经科医生
wandering corpse [ˈwɒndərɪŋ kɔːps] 四处游荡的尸体
empty shell [ʃel] 空洞的躯壳，空壳
melancholy [ˈmelənkəli] n. 忧郁，忧伤
damnation [dæmˈneɪʃn] n. 诅咒，天谴，下地狱
delusion [dɪˈluːʒn] n. 妄想，错觉，幻想
immortality [ˌɪmɔːˈtæləti] n. 永生，不朽，不死
be immune to [ɪˈmjuːn] 对…免疫，不受…影响
suicidal [ˌsuːɪˈsaɪdl] adj. 自杀的，有自杀倾向的
intestine [ɪnˈtestɪn] n. 肠
translucent [trænzˈluːsnt] adj. 半透明的，晶莹剔透的
soluble [ˈsɒljəbl] adj. 可溶解的，易于溶解的
on the verge of [vɜːdʒ] 濒临，即将，接近于
internal organ [ɪnˈtɜːnl ˈɔːɡən] 内脏器官
disintegrate [dɪsˈɪntɪɡreɪt] vi. 分解，瓦解，碎裂
bowel [ˈbaʊəl] n. 肠（尤指人肠）
psychiatric pathology [ˌsaɪkiˈætrɪk pəˈθɒlədʒi] 精神病状，精神病理学
bipolar disorder [ˌbaɪˈpəʊlə dɪsˈɔːdə(r)] 双相情感障碍，躁郁症
schizophrenia [ˌskɪtsəˈfriːniə] n. 精神分裂症
epilepsy [ˈepɪlepsi] n. 癫痫，羊痫疯
frontal lobe dysfunction [ˌfrʌntl ləʊb dɪsˈfʌŋkʃn] 额叶功能障碍
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