5. Cotard’s Delusion, “Walking Corpse Syndrome”

Have you ever woken up and felt like death? Believe it or not there is a real disease that makes walking, talking people believe they are actually dead. People afflicted by this rare illness will be utterly convinced that they are missing internal organs, that they have no blood, or that they are completely dead. In some cases, these people also have delusions of immortality; if you’re already dead then you can’t die, right!? This has caused people to starve to death as they believe they no longer need food.

It is though that Cotard’s delusion is caused by the part of the brain that recognises faces not functioning properly; when a person cannot recognise their own face they lose their sense of self and assume they are dead. Treatment includes a series of anti-depressants and in serious cases, electro convulsive therapy.