Today, we're going to look into a place where many of us rarely go.

Into the darkness of psychological conditions that are not yet fully understood, but are

all too real.

Resignation Syndrome is a frightening thing.

It's probably been around forever and has probably taken the lives of children for centuries,

and we're only just now recognizing it.

Resignation Syndrome is coming up right now on Skeptoid.

You're listening to Skeptoid.

I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.

Resignation Syndrome

What would you say if there was a little known medical condition, so little known that you've

probably never heard of anything like it before, that affected only children, and only children

within the borders of the country of Sweden, and only children of families awaiting decisions

on their immigration status?

It's called Resignation Syndrome, and it involves the child gradually withdrawing from friends

and socialization, and then showing less interest in food, and ultimately, lapsing into a state

of perpetual unconsciousness.

These children need to have feeding tubes inserted so they don't die of thirst or starvation.

They need to have physical therapy so they don't develop bedsoars or other symptoms of immobility,

and they do not wake up at all.

Their parents feed, nurture, and bathe them.

There's not a thing physically wrong with them, for real, yet they remain in a state of

...