#catalepsy

[ffproductions]

Ditria hypnotized to be as rigid as steel. Carried and picked up like a mindless plaything

[sensitivedead]

Iconographie Photographique de la Salpetriere pub.1878

[vincentj1271]

Have you ever been erotically hypnotized in person?

Not exactly. To me all hypnosis is at the very least mildly erotic. My neighbor the hypnotist doesn’t really do erotic hypnosis either but on a few occasions is was close. On one occasion her friend who was a magician and also a hypnotist was visiting from S America. An extremely tall man he tranced me instantly, froze my body in place, and put me in a deep sleep catalepsy where I was suspended lying flat across two chairs.

[hypnolordx]

Sometimes classic tricks are classic for a reason. So I made this little hypno-catalepsy pose with this nameless character I made on a whim while experimenting with different kinds of camera angles and it just sorta evolved into this piece you see now. Enjoy!

[mistycrypt]

Doing something for school about Catalepsy, should I translate it and update it here once I finish it?

[scifipinups]

Mary Scheer, Lucia Maier and Cassandra Peterson Elvira's Haunted Hills (2002)

[rastronomicals]

11:44 PM EST February 4, 2025:

Voivod - “Catalepsy II” From the album Phobos (August 12, 1997)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

File under: Cybermetal

–

[anexor]

Rhythm games create soundtracks that don't go hard as fuck challenge (impossible)

[littleruffian]

wanted a lineup of them for referencing purposes

[nihiltism]

WOOOO I think this run was near perfect

[voidpunker]

♾️

You’re not dead yet - So please howl out your thoughts

Eve - LEO

https://youtu.be/J3K3V36mlLM

[gacougnol]

Lucien Lorelle

Catalepsie, c. 1947

[petaltexturedskies]

I had feelings: passive as I lived, little as I spoke, cold as I looked, when I thought of past days, I could feel. About the present, it was better to be stoical; about the future – such a future as mine – to be dead. And in catalepsy and a dead trance, I studiously held the quick of my nature.

Charlotte Brontë, Villette

[justkidneying]

Altered States of Consciousness

I'm going to discuss different types of consciousness, most of which result from brain injury, and I'll also talk about inaccuracies I see in writing. Before we start, I need to give some definitions.

Arousal: this isn't the sexual sort, this is the general term that encompasses forebrain activation and the peripheral physiology (heart rate, pupils, etc.).

Alertness: This is a cognitive state that is marked by forebrain cortical activation. You're typically more alert when focusing on a task. Activities that increase alertness don't necessarily increase arousal, but some can (I could ramble on forever, I love this kind of shit).

Awareness: This means that someone is aware of what's going on. They are aware of a stimulus, they understand that they are processing that stimulus, and they are aware of their output towards that stimulus.

Coma

This is a state of low arousal and low response. This person will have an absence of eye, verbal, and motor response. They also will not have a normal sleep-wake cycle, and will usually need respiratory support. Comas can be medically induced or be due to lesions of the reticular activating system (part of the brain that makes us stay alert) or both cerebral hemispheres.

Practical stuff: people in a coma can sometimes breathe on their own, but I've only seen coma patients with a breathing tube, so I feel like it's less common. Also, if someone is in this state, you should look in their eyes and see if they can move them when you tell them to. That way you know they're not just locked in.

Persistent vegetative state (unresponsive wakefulness)

This person has moderate arousal but low awareness. They'll do things, like respond to stimuli, move/open their eyes, grind their teeth, etc. They also don't need respiratory support. If this state lasts longer than a year, it is very unlikely they will ever return to normal. This state can be very difficult for loved ones, as the person seems there, but they really aren't aware, they are just awake but unconscious.

Practical stuff: the reason that this is such a big deal legally (like whether you should pull the plug or not) is because these people can occasionally look at an object, and that may be misinterpreted as recognition. So even though they are doing things, they don't know why or what is happening. It's pretty sad to see families of these patients, especially when they believe that the person will eventually "just wake up."

Minimally conscious state

This person also has moderate arousal, but will be intermittently aware. Occasionally, they will show external indications that they are conscious. This can be responses to instructions, gesturing, some language use or verbalization (words and even phrases), and recognition of objects. Recovery from this state is rare, but it is possible. It can also be a transitional state after a vegetative state.

Practical stuff: this is a newer condition (like the name for it), but is probably one of the more common altered consciousnesses I've seen in media. I'll get into its confusion with catatonia in a second, but they're very different. Anyway, I want to note that for this condition, the patient may say a person's name when they see them, or gesture that they want something, but this is a fluctuating state. Other times they'll be a vegetable.

Catatonic state

This person will appear unresponsive, and this condition is mostly associated with psychosis and schizophrenia. There is no structural brain damage, and there will be none of the pupil/reflex abnormalities seen in other conditions. There will be resistance to movement, such as eye opening and limb placement, that is described as "waxy." This means that the limb will have some resistance as you move it, but will get easier to bend as you go. The person may also stay in uncomfortable postures for a long period of time (catalepsy) and can be positioned that way. They may also perform repetitive motions or echo words that are spoken to them (it's honestly a bit freaky to see this sort of thing).

Practical stuff: the biggest thing is confusing this with minimal consciousness. Catatonic states are characterized usually by their waxiness and relation to psychosis. People who are minimally conscious will still do things, say things, and be somewhat aware. I think 90% of the time, that is what you're looking for. I think the reason we see everyone being catatonic is because saying "she was catatonic" makes sense to people and rolls off the tongue a little better than "she was in a minimally conscious state." So I doubt this will change any time soon, and I don't even care if it does. I just want everyone to know that they're wrong (lol).

Locked-in syndrome

So in this condition, the person is fully aroused and aware, exactly how they would be in a normal awake state. This is because their reticular activating system is intact (the system that allows us to be alert). However, they are completely paralyzed (except for their eyes - due to area of the brain that allows for eye opening and movement being somewhere else). These people are completely normal conscious, but they just cannot move their body (literally one of the worst things I can imagine). Their senses are also still intact. This can be due to a bilateral stroke and severing of the motor tracts in the pons. It is also permanent.

*Cool note: the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was written by a man with locked-in syndrome using his eye movements to dictate it letter by letter.

Writing Tips

The main thing I will say to both writers and clinicians, is to put down the actual symptoms the patient is experiencing, rather than trying to name it a specific thing. So you may say the patient has minimal eyes tracking, is aroused, and can say short phrases rather than saying the patient is in a minimally conscious state. Consciousness is a spectrum, so it's best just to say what the hell the actual patient in question is doing.

Also, dumb it down and lay it out (which works with a lot of medical conditions) because it's easier to write and understand, in my opinion. So don't say "she was catatonic" (because you'd be WRONG), but maybe describe how the character just mumbles words occasionally or sometimes reacts to someone in the room while other times they don't. But, if you wanted to have someone who was actually catatonic, maybe write some weird fucking scene where they can be moved but they'll stay in an awkward position for a while, instead of just saying they're in a catatonic state. Because that means nothing. Describe the signs and symptoms instead of labeling the disease.

I've been reading a book (like a random novel), and they'll say a character has some random medical condition, so I'll have to stop and look it up because even I don't know what it is. So, in my opinion, don't try to sound smart, just say what the fuck you're talking about.

Anyways, thanks for reading my post. I hope to have some more neuro stuff. Maybe I'll talk about the RAS eventually.

[askobscurusnahual]

It seems pretty dark where you are. Have a barely sentient night light

When I was working at the Ponyville hospital, Nurse Red Heart taught me many things including what catalepsy was.