Digesting Psychology : Catatonic Disorders

I know it’s been A WHILE since I have sent out an issue - 5 months to be exact and while being an inconsistent sloppy newsletter isn’t ideal, it’s also not nothing. Other than dealing with a lot of academic and personal hurdles over the past few months, I have given it some thought on how this becomes more consistent and fruitful for those who subscribe and trust it.

I am now out of the said academic hurdles will be posting again, consistently this time. And don’t worry it’s still very much about what it started as - making Psychological concepts easy to digest, breaking stigmas and opening conversations.

Well today we delve into a rather interesting Psychological concept.

Do you know Psychological Disorders? I bet you do. Let’s name them out - Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Bipolar disorder, Multiple Personality… the list goes on and on. These are some of the well known names and while they are extremely important and interesting as well, today I want to talk about a disorder slightly less known or talked about. So we’re talking about

drum roll please..

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(you already read the title)

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Catatonic Disorders!

A Brief Definition

Imagine walking into a room and seeing someone frozen solid like a museum statue, arms glued mid-air, completely ignoring you. They remain frozen in that position for hours and hours, sometimes even days. Sounds odd doesn’t it? You might think it’s a mimic, someone doing it on purpose but you’d be wrong. The person doing this might not even be consciously aware of what’s happening to them, or even if they are, they are unable to do anything about or control their body. This is a psychomotor disorder known as Catatonia. Some of the symptoms of catatonia include -

• Catalepsy - a person holds a position in which someone places them (you can still move them around to make them take on a new pose).

• Echopraxia - a person mimics or mirrors someone else’s movements.

• Grimacing. This is holding the same facial expression, usually with stiff or tense facial muscles.

• Mannerism. This is when a person acts out motions or movements that could be normal but does them in an unusual or exaggerated way.

• Posturing. This is when a person holds a specific position, which would often be uncomfortable to people who aren’t catatonic.

Here’s the video of a Catatonic patient showing multiple such symptoms to give you a visual representation -

Not A Subtype Anymore

Up until 2013 (The Publication of DSM - V) Catatonia was listed as a subtype disorder of Schizophrenia. This led to clinicians misdiagnosing Schizophrenia in a Catatonic patient and prescribing heavy antipsychotic medications. Eventually research found that these antipsychotic medications can trigger Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) in Catatonic patients, which is life threatening.

Clinical Data collected over the years has revealed that catatonia occurs much more frequently in patients with severe mood disorders, like bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder, as well as general medical condition. The new diagnostic guidelines help make clinicians provide rapid, targeted treatment. They can now diagnose and treat catatonia immediately using first-line treatments like intravenous lorazepam (Ativan), regardless of whether the patient has schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or an underlying medical infection.

“Well what are the chances I get this disorder??”

You probably wont. Catatonia is mostly triggered by severe mood disorders like bipolar disorder and major depression, schizophrenia, neurodevelopmental conditions like autism, or acute medical issues such as neurological infections and metabolic imbalances. However even if someone has these disorders, the chances of catatonia are still highly unlikely.

It affects roughly 4 to 5 people per 100,000 annually making it an extremely rare disorder. The chances of developing it increase significantly in acute clinical settings, appearing in approximately 9% to 10% of psychiatric hospital inpatients. Demographically, catatonia affects men and women almost equally, though women show a slight predominance due to higher baseline rates of diagnosed mood disorders. It can develop at any age, typically peaking in young adults (ages 20 to 35) alongside the onset of major psychiatric disorders, and spiking again in adults over 65, where it is most often secondary to complex medical or neurological illnesses.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational and newsletter purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. For any health-related concerns, always consult with a qualified healthcare professional.

A must read

If you want a real, unfiltered look at what psychosis actually feels like, Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Girl is a must-read. This book will give you a front-row seat inside the mind of "Renee", a Swiss girl experiencing and recovering from schizophrenia, as she loses touch with reality. The book is half narrated by Renee’s therapist and it details how to the doctors and nurses on the outside, Renee looked like a frozen statue. She wouldn’t move, wouldn’t talk, and wouldn’t eat. But her writing completely flips that on its head. Renee however reveals that she wasn't empty or blank at all, she was actually trapped in a state of absolute cosmic terror and paralyzed by the demanding voices in her head.

The most important part of Psychology isn’t the scientific one which fascinates us, it’s the humanitarian one which reminds us the true pain and horrors underlying these disorders. Renee’s Autobiography provides us the possible way to feel this pain and to understand Catatonia and Schizophrenia better.

That’s all for this week on Catatonia and Psychology! Kindly reply to this email and let me know how I can improve this newsletter for you. Feedback is always appreciated :)

See you next week!

Stay Healthy and Stay Curious🧠