Catalepsy is a disorder that prevents a person from moving because of muscle stiffness; however, the senses and vital functions continue to function, which can take from minutes to hours, and in rare cases can last up to a few days.
There are stories of people buried alive during a cataleptic state, which today would be impossible, since there are devices that detect vital functions, such as the electroencephalogram and the electrocardiogram.
The catalepsy can be:
- Pathological catalepsy, in which the person presents muscular rigidity and can not move, looking like a statue. This disorder causes a lot of suffering, because the person has the same ability to hear and see everything around him, he just can not react physically. These people can be mistaken for a corpse, due to the similarity of symptoms with rigor mortis, also called cadaveric stiffness, that occurs after a person's death due to a chemical change in the muscles that causes them to harden.
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Projective catalepsy, also known as sleep paralysis, is a disorder that occurs soon after waking up or when you are trying to fall asleep and that prevents the body from moving even when the mind is awake. Thus, the person wakes up but can not move, causing anguish, fear and terror. Learn more about sleep paralysis.
Possible causes
It is not known what causes pathological catalepsy, but it is thought to be induced by some neuroleptic drugs, a genetic predisposition combined with serious neurological problems such as hysteria, mental debility, or depression. In addition, it is thought to be caused by cranial trauma, congenital malformation of a brain region, schizophrenia, or epilepsy.
The projective catalepsy happens because during sleep the brain relaxes all the muscles of the body, keeping them immobile so that one can conserve energy and avoid sudden movements during the dreams. However, when a communication problem occurs between the brain and the body during sleep, the brain may take time to return the movement to the body, leaving the person paralyzed.
What are the symptoms
Signs and symptoms that may occur during a catalepsy crisis are body paralysis, muscle stiffness, limbs that are in the same position as they are moved, anguish, fear, inability to move eyes, inability to speak, air, anguish, fear, feeling of falling or floating on the body, auditory hallucinations such as hearing voices and sounds that do not exist and feeling of drowning.
How is the treatment done?
The treatment depends on the severity of the symptoms and the duration of the episodes, but a good option to avoid these crises is to maintain a regular and calm sleep. They may also be prescribed by the physician antidepressants or hypnotics, such as anafranil or clomipramine, for example and are associated with psychotherapy sessions.
In addition, the administration of muscle relaxant medications may be effective in some people with catalepsy, who avoid the state of total immobility.
