Teenage Girl Says She Suffers From "Walking Dead Syndrome" And Thinks She's A Corpse

Daily Mail – A teenage girl spent three years of her life convinced she was dead due to a rare medical condition known as ‘Walking Corpse Syndrome’.  Haley Smith, 17, suffered from the ultra-rare illness Cotard’s Syndrome. Sufferers genuinely believe they are dead, or that parts of their body no longer exist, and some die from starvation because they feel they no longer have to eat. But with the help of a therapist – and, bizarrely, Disney films – she recovered. Cases of Cotard’s Syndrome date back to 1788 but it was formally identified by French neurologist Jules Cotard in 1880. Among the handful of cases over the years was a 53-year-old woman in New York who in 2008 claimed that she stank like rotting fish because she was dead.  Like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, Cotard’s is another form of delusional psychosis, the only self-certifiable form of its kind.  Those with this condition often describe a loss of blood, organs and/or body parts. This distorted reality is caused by a malfunction in an area of the brain called the fusiform gyrus, which recognses faces, and also in the amygdala – an almond-shaped set of neurons that processes your emotions. Aware the disease is incredibly rare, Miss Smith, of Alabama, in the US,  has decided to speak out to support others.  She said: ‘My parents had just divorced and I didn’t cope with it well. ‘Then one day when I was sitting in an English class I had this really weird sensation that I was dead and I couldn’t shake it.’ She went to see the school nurse, who, baffled, could not find anything wrong. Miss Smith continued: ‘As I walked home I thought about visiting a graveyard, just to be close to others who were also dead. ‘But because there wasn’t one nearby I went straight back to my house and tried to sleep it off.’ It seemed to work but a few days later, the macabre sense struck again. ‘I was out shopping when the sudden feeling returned. ‘My whole body went numb and I dropped all the dresses I was holding and ran out of the shop. I felt like I was going mad.’   Miss Smith began missing school, sleeping through the day and staying awake at night. She said: ‘I’d fantasise about having picnics in graveyards and I’d spend a lot of time watching horror films because seeing the zombies made me feel relaxed, like I was with family.’ As time went by, Haley decided to embrace her ‘new’ life. ‘I decided to eat whatever I wanted because I couldn’t put on weight if I was dead,’ she said. Talking with the therapist set her on the road to recovery. She also discovered Disney films were a huge help in her recovery. Miss Smith said: ‘Watching Disney films gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling.  ‘The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi – I watched them all. I asked my boyfriend Jeremy:  “How can I be dead when Disney makes me feel this good?”.’ Gradually, she began to better.  Jeremy helped me so much – as did Disney – and we’re hoping to get married soon and then get jobs in Disney World,’ she said. She added: ‘Being a corpse was the most bizarre experience, but I’m so glad I managed to get out alive.’ 

Waaah my parents got a divorce! Waaah I’m an undead zombie! Waaah! Gimme a fucking break. Walking Dead Syndrome, Walking Dead Shmyndrome. This chick suffers from a disease called “being an asshole.” I mean seriously you’re not a corpse you’re just an annoying teenage girl. Thats the only disease you’re suffering from. Conveniently working in an eating disorder to your Corpse Syndrome like every other angsty 17 year old drama queen. “Dead girls can’t gain weight!” I suppose you probably slept around a lot too since “Dead girls cant be sluts!” right? Probably acted like a bitch to your mom and dad since “dead girls don’t need parents!” Seriously these are just all the tell tale signs of being a dickhead girl. You’re not a corpse you’re a dick.

I’ll tell you who the real winner is here – the boyfriend. He was probably like “Boyfriends of dead girls dont need to pull out! Dead girlfriends cant get pregnant!” “Its not cheating if your girlfriend is already dead!” “Guys dont need to talk on the phone with their girlfriend if she’s dead!” You wanna play this Walking Dead Syndrome game, I’ll play it all day baby.