CATATONIA
Catatonia is a disorder that disrupts how your brain works, disrupting how a person processes and reacts to the world around them. People with catatonia often don’t react to things happening nearby or may react in ways that seem unusual. Impaired communication, unusual movements or lack of movement, and behavior abnormalities are the most striking features of this condition.
CAUSES
The mental health conditions that most commonly involve catatonia are:
- Bipolar disorder.
- Schizophrenia.
- Schizoaffective disorder.
- Major depressive disorder.
The neurological and medical conditions that most commonly involve catatonia are:
- Autism spectrum disorder.
- Autoimmune diseases (such as lupus or multiple sclerosis).
- Degenerative brain diseases (such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease).
- Down syndrome.
- Drug-related conditions (this includes prescription and recreational drugs).
- Encephalitis, including anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.
- Electrolyte imbalance conditions.
- Epilepsy.
- Intellectual disability.
- Normal-pressure hydrocephalus.
- Stroke.
- Tourette syndrome.
SYMPTOMS
Those are:
- Agitation. This means a person acts upset or irritable. It only counts as a symptom of catatonia if it happens and it isn’t a response to something around the person having it.
- Catalepsy : This is when a person holds a position in which someone places them (you can still move them around to make them take on a new pose).
- Echolalia: This is when a person echoes sounds that someone else makes.
- Echopraxia : This is when a person mimics or mirrors someone else’s movements.
- Grimacing. This is holding the same facial expression, usually with stiff or tense facial muscles. Sometimes, it can take the form of smiling in inappropriate contexts.
- Mannerism. This is when a person acts out motions or movements that could be normal but does them in an unusual or exaggerated way.
- Mutism This is when a person is either very or totally quiet (this is only a symptom if the person doesn’t have another condition, such as aphasia, to explain why they aren’t speaking).
- Negativism This means a person doesn’t react to something happening around them or actively resists what’s happening around them for no rational reason.
- Posturing. This is when a person holds a specific position, which would often be uncomfortable to people who aren’t catatonic. In contrast to catalepsy, this doesn’t involve being placed in the position by another person.
- Stereotypy . These are repetitive movements that don’t seem to have a purpose. They can include finger-play and patting/rubbing one’s body.
- Stupor This is when a person is awake but doesn’t respond to what’s happening around them. People with catatonia often don’t respond to painful stimuli, such as being pinched.
- Waxy flexibility. This is when a person puts up some slight even push-back or resistance to any attempt to change their position. Then their muscles slowly release and their limbs bend like a warm candle.
HOMOEOPATHIC APPROACH
Homoeopathy today is a rapidly growing system and is being practiced all over the world. It strength lies in its evident effectiveness as it takes a holistic approach towards the sick individual through promotion of inner balance at mental, emotional, spiritual and physical levels. When is concerned there are many effective medicines available in Homoeopathy , but the selection depends upon the individuality of the patient , considering mental and physical symptoms
Few homoeopathic medicine can be thought of in the treatment of catatonia are:
ZINC MET., HYOSCYAMUS, CICUTA VIR., STRAMONIUM, BELLADONNA, HELLEBORES, ETC