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New research has revealed "give-up-itis" is an actual thing - and you can die from it.

Researchers have found you can actually die if you give up on life.

Yes really.

A study led by Dr John Leach showed ‘give-up-itis’ was a genuine medical condition.

The University of Portsmouth researcher says it typically occurs when a person suffers something traumatic.

The person may believe, tragically, that there is no escape.

(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The sufferer will come to view death as the "only rational outcome".

The study was published in Medical Hypotheses.

"Psychogenic death is real," Dr Leach said.

"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 added: "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."

The most common interventions is physical activity or a person being able to see a situation is at least partially within their control.

He continued: "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."