This episode was suggested by a listener, Lou. If you'd like to suggest a topic, you can do so on Facebook and Instagram at Morbid Curiosity Podcast, on Twitter, at Morbid Podcast, and on our website, www.morbidCuriositypodcast.com.

This episode contains discussions of depression, delusions, delinations, self-harm, suicide, war,

and trauma.

If these aren't things you want to hear about, this may be a good episode to skip.

Also, if you think you have experienced any of the symptoms discussed in this episode,

please consult a mental health professional

right away.

Humans are fascinated by gore and violence, but even more so the mysterious and unsolved.

Interest in these disturbing and unpleasant subjects is called morbid curiosity, and it has gripped millions of people throughout the ages.

I am one of those people.

My name is Halley, and this is the Morbid Curiosity podcast.

I am The Morbid Curiosity Podcast. Psychosis, or the loss of contact with reality, has long captured the fascination of both psychiatrists and the public at large.

It terrifies and intrigues us,

especially if we've never experienced the hallucinations and delusions it causes ourselves.

We can't imagine being unable to identify what's real and what's not. Unfortunately, around 100,000 US teens and young adults newly discover exactly

what that's like every year. One of the more rare delusions is the firm belief that one is dead

or doesn't exist. This delusion is called Walking Corpse Syndrome, also known as Kotard's Delusion, or Kotard's Syndrome.

To date, only around 200 cases have been reported worldwide,

and while it seems like an extreme state of psychosis, most people do recover with treatment.

Before we get into the details, some context is in order. A delusion is a belief that is

clearly false and that indicates an abnormality in the affected person's content of thought. The false

belief is not accounted for by the person's cultural or religious background or level of intelligence.

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