People can die if they give up the fight to live, a new study has found.

This marks the first study to describe the clinical markers of ‘give-up-itis', which is known medically as psychogenic death. It refers to when people die because they have given up and feel life has beaten them and defeat is inescapable.

According to Dr John Leach of the University of Portsmouth in the UK, this usually follows a trauma from which a person thinks there is no escape. As a result, death seems like the only rational outcome.

"Psychogenic death is real. It isn't suicide, it isn't linked to depression, but the act of giving up on life and dying usually within days, is a very real condition often linked to severe trauma," he explained.

He said that there are five stages leading to progressive psychological decline and he believes this could stem from a change in a specific circuit in the brain, which governs how a person maintains goal-directed behaviour.

He suggested the most likely candidate is the anterior cingulate circuit in the brain, which is responsible for motivation and initiating goal-directed behaviours.

"Severe trauma might trigger some people's anterior cingulate circuit to malfunction. Motivation is essential for coping with life and if that fails, apathy is almost inevitable," Dr Leach noted.

However, he emphasised that death is not inevitable if someone appears to have given up on life. It can be reversed by common interventions, such as physical activity. Alternatively, if a person is able to see that a situation is even partially within their control, this can trigger the release of dopamine, which is known as the feel-good chemical.

"Reversing the give-up-itis slide towards death tends to come when a survivor finds or recovers a sense of choice, of having some control, and tends to be accompanied by that person licking their wounds and taking a renewed interest in life," Dr Leach said.

He explained that the five stages of give-up-itis are:

-Social withdrawal. This usually occurs after a psychological trauma. Signs include a marked withdrawal, a lack of emotion, indifference and becoming self-absorbed

-Apathy. This is described as an emotional or symbolic ‘death'. It is different to anger, sadness and frustration and involves a person no longer striving for self-preservation. People in this stage are often dishevelled as their instinct for cleanliness is gone

-Aboulia. This is a severe lack of motivation along with a dampened emotional response, a lack of initiative and indecisiveness. People in this stage rarely speak, often stop washing and eating, and withdraw even further. They have lost intrinsic motivation - the ability or desire to help themselves

-Psychic akinesia. This refers to a further drop in motivation. The person is conscious but in a state of profound apathy and unaware of, or insensitive to, even extreme pain. In fact, they may not even flinch if they are hit. They are often incontinent at this stage

-Psychogenic death. According to Dr Leach, this stage is the disintegration of a person. "It's when someone then gives up. They might be lying in their own excreta and nothing - no warning, no beating, no pleading - can make them want to live," he said.

He noted that the progress from stage four to five generally takes three to four days, and often, just before death, there is a ‘false dawn' - a flicker of life from the person, for example, they may decide to smoke a cigarette.

"It appears briefly as if the 'empty mind' stage has passed and has been replaced by what could be described as goal-directed behaviour. But the paradox is that while a flicker of goal-directed behaviour often takes place, the goal itself appears to have become relinquishing life," he added.

The study is published in the journal, Medical Hypotheses.