What are nihilistic delusions?

Nihilistic delusions are persistent belief that the subject does not exist or is dead. Like other delusions, they tolerate these beliefs, although patients are presented with information that is contrary to a third -party recognition, that the patient is alive and seems to exist. This psychological phenomenon was first described in the 19th century by Jules Cotard, a French researcher, and sometimes known as Cotard's deception in connection with it. It can be observed in patients with certain mental health conditions and in people with brain injuries. Some patients simply believe that they do not exist themselves and have never existed in some cases. They do not recognize information that invalidates this statement, and they may think they are invisible or inaudible to people around them. Others think they are dead and some experience living hallucinations that accompany the deception and believe it, for example, rotting corpses or think that limbs are missing. Patients who think they do not exist believe that they do not, for exampleNames, age or parents. He does not have to remember any of his past. Those who believe they are dead can tell care providers how they died and could offer information about their lives.

Cotard believed that nihilistic delusions were the result of "negativism". Real psychology behind them can be somewhat more complicated. Patients with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder may develop a feeling of disconnecting from the world around them. This may be reflected in the form of a delusion that seems to be quite logical for the patient, although passers -by appear to be bizarre. The patient can thus develop nihilistic delusetions after ignoring or silencing, in an effort to explain this experience.

In the case of brain injury, delusions may be the result of damage to the parts of the brain involved in perception. These patients may be difficult to treat as they may not respond to therapy and medicines with the sameIn a way as those who have mental illness, because the brain problems are very different. After injury, the brain may gradually transform the connection and build a new association, but that could take time. During this process, the patient may need supportive care to perform everyday life and slowly erode nihilistic delusions.