What is it like to be in a catatonic state?

Catatonia is a group of symptoms that usually involve a lack of movement and communication, and also can include agitation, confusion, and restlessness. Until recently, it was thought of as a type of schizophrenia.

What happens when someone goes catatonic?

Catatonia affects a person’s ability to move in a normal way. People with catatonia can experience a variety of symptoms. The most common symptom is stupor, which means that the person can’t move, speak, or respond to stimuli. However, some people with catatonia may exhibit excessive movement and agitated behavior.

What does a catatonic episode feel like?

the general impression conveyed by such patients is one of profound mental anguish or immobility induced by severe mental shock Once the clinical signs are manifest, they tend to persist, although in some patients they appear for relatively short periods and then tend to recur.

What happens if catatonia goes untreated?

If catatonia is left unrecognized and untreated it becomes chronic, and patients may die from complications of malnutrition, immobility, and/or dangerous behavior. The DSM-IV does recognize that catatonia is frequently associated with medical illnesses and carries a significant morbidity and mortality.

Do catatonic patients remember?

Indeed, many of the patients we have treated reported being completely aware and were able to recall their catatonic state in detail after they recovered.

Do patients remember catatonia?

Although a person with catatonia may not be able to communicate or respond normally, they will see and hear what you do and they will often remember it.

Can catatonia be fatal?

Catatonic syndrome carries relatively high mortality. One of the causes of death is pulmonary embolism. Prolonged immobility, dehydration, use of low-potency antipsychotic drugs, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) increase the risk of venous thromboembolism.

Can catatonia be caused by trauma?

For example, a traumatic event or losing a loved one can cause mental trauma. As an outcome, the individual encounters extreme emotional stress, which causes him or her to enter a catatonic state.

What triggers a catatonic state?

It’s believed that catatonia symptoms may be caused and exacerbated by a dysfunction in the transmission pathways of serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid). In other words, something is getting in the way of the proper path these neurotransmitters typically take in the brain and body.

Are catatonic patients aware?

Patients are fully aware and visual tracking is preserved. Overt signs of catatonia such as negativism and echophenomena may differentiate the two disorders, but more subtle presentations can make the two conditions difficult to distinguish[39].

Do catatonic patients eat?

Catatonia of the retarded type is associated with signs reflecting a paucity of movement, including immobility, staring, mutism, rigidity, withdrawal and refusal to eat, along with more bizarre features such as posturing, grimacing, negativism, waxy flexibility, echolalia or echopraxia, stereotypy, verbigeration, and …

What is waxy flexibility?

When you have waxy flexibility, your limbs might resist a little when a doctor tries to move them. Then your muscles slowly release, like when you bend a warm candle. You usually keep the new position. For example, if the doctor raises one of your arms or legs, you’ll stay that way for a while. That’s called catalepsy.

Why would a patient with catatonia be hospitalized?

A patient with catatonia would be hospitalized in order to treat the catatonic state and manage other complications such as those that were brought up in your question. Those patients who are unable to eat or drink may initially receive fluids through an IV which contain important electrolytes.

Can a catatonic person be excited about anything?

However, while most people think of those who are catatonic as being dead to the world, sometimes they will also show a kind of purposeless excitement. There is no doubt that these symptoms can be debilitating for the person who is exhibiting them as well as frightening for their family and friends.

How do you know if you have catatonia?

People with excited catatonia appear “sped up,” restless, and agitated. They sometimes engage in self-harming behavior. This form is also known as hyperkinetic catatonia. People with malignant catatonia may experience delirium. They often have a fever. They may also have a fast heartbeat and high blood pressure. What causes catatonia?

How does catatonic depression affect the body?

Catatonic depression affects the individual’s motor skills. People with catatonia remain still and do not respond to any events/things around them. There are three types of catatonia, namely akinetic catatonia, excited catatonia, and malignant catatonia.