The literature is full of legends about people falling into a deep, death-like sleep. However, horror stories from books are far from always fiction. Even today, in the age of advanced technologies, doctors sometimes do not recognize lethargy and are sent to the grave asleep …
We all remember the terrible story of the Russian classic Gogol from school. Nikolai Vasilyevich suffered from tafephobia – more than anything in the world he was afraid of being buried alive and, according to legend, even asked not to be buried until signs of decomposition appeared on his body. The writer was buried in 1852 at the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery, and on May 31, 1931, Gogol’s grave was opened and his remains were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery. On this day, the myth of the inverted skeleton was born. Eyewitnesses of the exhumation claimed that Nikolai Vasilyevich’s fears came true – in the coffin the writer was turned on his side, which means that he still did not die, fell asleep in a lethargic sleep and woke up in the grave. Numerous studies have refuted these speculations, but lethargy itself is not a terrible story. Similar things happen to people all over the world. The editorial staff of Woman’s Day decided to find out everything about this strange phenomenon.
In 1944, in India, due to severe stress, Yodpur Bopalhand Lodha fell into a lethargic sleep. The man served as Minister of Public Works, and on the eve of his seventieth birthday was unexpectedly removed from office. Career collapse turned out to be the strongest blow to the psyche and body of the official, the man fell asleep for seven whole years! All these years, life in his body was supported in every possible way – they fed him through a tube, did massage, treated the skin with ointments for bedsores. Yodpur Bopalhand Lodha woke up unexpectedly – in the hospital, a sleeping patient contracted malaria, which caused his body temperature to jump wildly and awakened his brain. A year later, the man fully recovered and returned to normal life.
The most ordinary Russian woman, Praskovya Kalinicheva, “fell asleep” in 1947. Lethargy was preceded by severe stress – Praskovya’s husband was arrested almost immediately after the wedding, she found out about her pregnancy, had an illegal abortion, for which she was reported by neighbors, and then the woman ended up in Siberia. At first, the immobilized Kalinicheva was taken for dead, but the attentive doctor discovered signs of life and left the patient under observation. After some time, the woman came to her senses, but lethargy did not let her go. Even after returning to her native village after her exile and starting a new life, Praskovya continued to “turn off”. The woman fell asleep right on the farm, where she worked as a milkmaid, in the store and just in the middle of the street.
An ordinary quarrel with her husband brought Nadezhda Lebedina to the book of records. In 1954, a woman had such a violent fight with her husband that, due to stress, she fell into a lethargic sleep for 20 years. At 34, Nadezhda “passed out” and ended up in the hospital. While she was lying in it for five years, her husband died, then Lebedina was at home under the supervision of her mother, and after her sister. She woke up in 1974 when her mother died. It was grief that brought Hope back to life. Without being conscious, the woman still understood the essence of what was happening. For twenty years of being in lethargy, Swan was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
In November 2013, a horrific incident occurred in Brazil. A visitor to the local churchyard heard a cry from the crypt. The frightened woman turned to the employees of the cemetery, who in turn called the police. The guards at first took the challenge for a false one, but nevertheless decided to check, and what was their surprise when they heard a voice from the grave. Rescuers and doctors who arrived at the scene opened the grave and found a living man in it. “Resurrected” in a very serious condition was taken to the hospital. Later it turned out that the “revived corpse” is a former employee of the mayor’s office, who was attacked by bandits the day before. Due to trauma and stress, the man “passed out”. The robbers thought that he was dead, and hastened to hide the victim in the safest place – under the gravestone.
Last year, Greece was shocked by the news of a monstrous medical error – a 45-year-old woman was prematurely pronounced dead. The Greek woman suffered from a severe form of oncology. When she fell into a lethargic sleep, the attending physician decided that the patient was dead. The woman was buried, and on the same day she woke up in a coffin. The gravediggers who worked nearby came running to the cries of the “deceased”, but, alas, help arrived too late. The doctors who arrived at the cemetery stated death from suffocation.
At the end of January 2015, an amazing incident occurred in Arkhangelsk. The woman called an ambulance for her elderly mother, the doctors arrived and reported disappointing news: 92-year-old Galina Gulyaeva died. While the daughter of the deceased called her relatives, employees of two ritual offices appeared on the doorstep at once and fought for the right to bury the pensioner. The agents argued so loudly that from their squabble Galina Gulyaeva “returned” from the other world: the woman heard them discussing her coffin, and suddenly came to her senses! Everyone was surprised: both the “resurrected” grandmother, and the doctors that they had pronounced death. After a miraculous awakening, doctors once again examined Galina and came to the conclusion that everything is in order with the health of the pensioner. Doctors who did not recognize the lethargic sleep were reprimanded.
Who and why can fall into a lethargic sleep? The editorial staff of Woman’s Day asked this question to experts.
Kirill Ivanychev, head of the health department of the expert center “Public Duma”, therapist:
– Modern medicine cannot yet name the exact causes of lethargic sleep. According to the observations of doctors, this condition can occur after severe mental trauma, intense excitement, hysteria, stress. It has been noticed that more often than others, completely healthy people with a certain temperament – very vulnerable, nervous, with an easily agitated psyche – fall into lethargic sleep.
In a person who falls into such a state, all vital signs decrease: the skin becomes cold and pale, the pupils almost do not react to light, breathing and pulse are weak, they are difficult to detect, there is no reaction to pain. Lethargy can last from several hours to several days, sometimes weeks. It is impossible to predict when this state will begin and when it will end.
There are two degrees of lethargy – mild and severe. The mild form resembles signs of deep sleep. A severe degree can look like death: the pulse slows down to 2-3 beats per minute and is practically not palpable, the skin becomes noticeably colder. Lethargic sleep, unlike coma, does not require treatment – a person only needs rest, if necessary, feeding through a tube and careful skin care so that bedsores do not occur.
Psychotherapist Alexander Rapoport, leading actor in the “Reader” project on TV-3 channel:
– Lethargic sleep is one of the most unexplored mysteries in medicine. Despite the fact that it has been studied for many years, it has not been possible to fully unravel this phenomenon. Modern medicine practically does not use this term. Most often, the disease is called “hysterical lethargy” or “hysterical hibernation.” People who have a certain predisposition, organic pathology fall into this state. The genetic factor plays a significant role – the disease can be inherited. Great excitement, stress, physical or mental fatigue, general devastation – all these can become the reasons for the onset of lethargic sleep. People at risk are prone to overweight, fall asleep easily in almost any position, and snore loudly. Many scientists believe that lethargic sleep is associated with breathing problems during sleep – sufferers of this ailment periodically hold their breath (sometimes for a whole minute). These people are not so good-natured and docile as it might seem at first glance. Sometimes they are overwhelmed by depression or emotional arousal. Hysterical hibernation occurs for no particular apparent reason, but it is almost always triggered by organic damage to the nervous system. In the state of “nonexistence”, the human skin turns pale, the body temperature decreases, the intensity of the heartbeat decreases. Often the person looks as if he has already died. That is why there were frequent cases when the sick were buried alive.
Fatima Khadueva, psychic, expert of the program “X-version. High-profile cases “on TV-3:
– Translated from the Greek language “lethargy” – “oblivion, time without action.” In ancient times, lethargic sleep was considered not a disease, but the curse of the devil himself – it was believed that he temporarily took the human soul. Because of this, when the sleeper regained consciousness, they were afraid of him and bypassed. People believed: now he is an accomplice of an evil spirit. Therefore, they tried to quickly bury the body of a person who had fallen asleep for a long time.
Everything began to change with the advent of healers and the strengthening of religiosity. They began to check the “dead” according to the whole scheme: to make sure that there was no breathing, they brought a mirror or a swan feather to the sleeping person’s nose, lit a candle near the eyes to check the reaction of the pupil.
Today, the mystery of lethargy remains unsolved. Everyone can fall into oblivion, but we do not know when and how this will happen. And the main thing is how long it will last. It can be seconds, minutes, days and even months … Fright, sharp and unexpected sound, pain on the verge of shock, emotional trauma – many things can cause lethargic sleep. People with an unstable psyche, who are in constant fear and stress, are most susceptible to this disease. When their body gets tired of working in an extreme mode, it blocks motor function and seems to give a person a signal that it is time to rest.
Nowadays, we can increasingly see people in the half-phase of this state: they have no desire to live, to be happy, they are pursued by chronic fatigue, apathy and neuroses … Medicine is practically powerless here. The only way out is self-discipline. Live in the present, do not be distracted by the events of the past and thoughts about the future.
See also: dream book.