UDC: 616.89:343.614:340.63+578.834.1
BBC: 56.14
Golenkov A.V.
About the Delirium of Coronavirus Self-Contempt
Keywords: COVID-19, stress, fear (anxiety), depressed state, delusional (super-valuable) ideas, attempts of (post-homicidal) suicide
Based on observations from forensic psychiatric practice and the review of the literature, we describe for the first time the delirium of the "coronavirus (self)contempt". An elderly patient after coming through COVID-19 infection began to consider himself and his wife a distributor of the coronavirus infection, constituting himself a danger to the public. Against the background of feeling of impending doom, he felt the sense of disgrace, shame and self-contempt for himself and expected a negative attitude from others, including discrimination, so he was ready to commit suicide. Under the influence of these delusional ideas, he tried to kill his wife and himself, but by a lucky chance all the defendants in the case remained alive. The forensic psychiatric examination recognized him insane. Delirium of the coronavirus (self)contempt is a sensual delusion that develops against the background of a severe stress (or depression), by the conditions of formation (character, experience, environment) it resembles sensitive reference delusion. The paper discusses the involvement of self-stigmatization (stigma and discrimination) phenomena, the influence of COVID-19 on the development and pathoplasty of delusional (super-valuable) ideas in this psychopathological phenomenon.
References
- Golenkov A.V. Osnovy psikhiatrii: sindromy i psikhotropnye sredstva [The basics of psychiatry: syndromes and psychotropic drugs]. Cheboksary, Chuvash University Publ., 2019, 104 p.
- Golenkov A.V., Orlov F.V., Deomidov E.S., Bulygina I.E. Popytka postgomitsidnogo samoubiistva bol’nogo s psikhoticheskoi depressiei posle perenesennoi koronavirusnoi infektsii (klinicheskii sluchai) [Attempted post-homicidal suicide of a patient with psychotic depression after suffering a coronavirus infection (clinical case)]. Suitsidologiya, 2021, no. 12 (1), pp. 137-148. DOI: org/10.32878/suiciderus.21-12-01(42)-137-148.
- Kovalev P. Samoprezrenie [Self-contempt]. Available at: https://podskazki.info/samoprezrenie.
- Kolesnikov F.N. Lepra: iz teni na svet. Ocherk o zagadochnoi bolezni [Lepra: from shadow to light. Essay on a mysterious disease]. Universum: meditsina i farmakologiya, 2018, no. 1(46), pp. 4–11.
- Rybal’skii M.I. Bred [Delirium]. Moscow, Meditsina Publ., 1993, 368 p.
- Telle R. Psikhiatriya s elementami psikhoterapii [Psychiatry with elements of psychotherapy]. Minsk, Vyshaya shkola Publ., 1999, 496 p.
- Tolkovyi slovar’ Ozhegova onlain [Ozhegov’s explanatory dictionary online]. Available at: https://slovarozhegova.ru/word.php?wordid=23462.
- Tolkovyi slovar’ Ushakova onlain [Ushakov’s explanatory dictionary online]. Available at: https://ushakovdictionary.ru/word.php?wordid=56285.
- Boland X., Dratcu L. Electroconvulsive Therapy and COVID-19 in Acute Inpatient Psychiatry: More Than Clinical Issues Alone. JECT, 2020, vol. 36(3), pp. 223–224. DOI: 10.1097/YCT.0000000 000000708.
- Caan M.P., Lim C.T., Howard M. A Case of Catatonia in a Man With COVID-19. Psychosomatics., 2020, vol. 61(5), pp. 556–560. DOI: 10.1016/j.psym.2020.05.021.
- Deng J., Zhou F., Hou W., Silver Z, Wong C.Y., Chang O., Huang E., Zuo Q.K. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances in COVID-19 patients: a meta-analysis. NY Acad. Sci., 2021, vol. 1486(1), pp. 90–111. DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14506.
- Girasek H., Gazdag G. The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the content of the delusions. Hung., 2020, vol. 35(4), pp. 471–475.
- Griffiths M.D., Mamun M.A. COVID-19 suicidal behavior among couples and suicide pacts: Case study evidence from press reports. Psychiatry Res., 2020, Jul. 289: 113105. DOI: 10.1016/psychres.2020.113105.
- Gunnell D., Appleby L., Arensman E., Hawton K., John A., Kapur N., Khan M., O’Connor R.C., Pirkis J. COVID-19 Suicide Prevention Research Collaboration. Suicide risk and prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet Psychiatry, 2020, vol. 7(6), pp. 468-471. DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20) 30171-1.
- Liu Y., Cao L., Li X., Jia Y., Xia H. Awareness of mental health problems in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19): A lesson from an adult man attempting suicide. Asian J. Psychiatr., 2020, vol. 51: 102106. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102106.
- Ovejero S., Baca-García E., Barrigón M.L. Coronovirus infection as a novel delusional topic. Res., 2020, vol. 222, pp. 541–542. DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.05.009.
- Sarli G., Polidori L., Lester D., Pompili M. COVID-19 related lockdown: a trigger from the pre-melancholic phase to catatonia and depression, a case report of a 59 year-old man. BMC Psychiatry, 2020, vol. 20(1), p. 558. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-020-02978-2.
- Sher L. Are COVID-19 survivors at increased risk for suicide? Acta Neuropsychiatr., 2020, vol. 32(5), p. 270. DOI: 10.1017/neu.2020.21.
About authors
- Golenkov Andrey V.
- Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Medical Psychology and Neurology, Chuvash State University, Russia, Cheboksary (golenkovav@inbox.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3799-0736)
Article link
Golenkov A.V. About the Delirium of Coronavirus Self-Contempt [Electronic resource] // Acta medica Eurasica. – 2021. – №2. P. 1-6. – URL: https://acta-medica-eurasica.ru/en/single/2021/2/1/. DOI: 10.47026/2413-4864-2021-2-1-6.