Culture-Bound Syndromes

Amok

● Violent, disorderly, or homicidal rage accompanied by amnesia, and after which the individual may commit suicide ● Also called bouffée délirante (delirious outburst) ● Acute and transient psychotic disorder (symptoms appear suddenly, often with little warning) ● Originates in France, and observed in various regions, including the Caribbean and Francophone Africa ● Resemble the berserker, mal de pelea, colerina, ataque de nervios, and iich’aa

Bangungot

● Also known as sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS) or oriental nightmare death syndrome ● Causes the individual to repeatedly groan and moan during a nightmare ● May lead to death at its climax; cause of death remains unknown ● Originated in Southeast Asia

Brain Fog Syndrome

● Combination of cognitive symptoms (reduced concentration and poor memory) with somatic symptoms (blurred vision, head/neck pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance) ● Attributed to excessive pressure in academic performance ● Can be observed among West African students

Dhat

● Severe anxiety and hypochondria related to loss of semen through urine, nocturnal emission or masturbation ● Usually associated with somatic and emotional symptoms, such as fatigue, sexual dysfunction, anxiety and dysphoria ● Commonly observed among Indian men

Ghost Sickness

● Preoccupation with death and the diseased ● Protracted or pathological grief or depression ● Commonly observed among Native Americans

Hwabyung

● Individuals internalize their anger and manifest psychosomatic symptoms (epigastric pain, muscular aches and pains, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, palpitations, breathlessness), dysphoria, anxiety and panic ● Originates in Korea

Shenjing Shuairuo

● Translated as nervous system weakness or neurasthenia, syndrome composed of weakness, emotions, excitement, nervous pain, and sleep ● Diagnosis of a range of mental health disorders including physical and mental fatigue, headaches, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, sleep disturbances, and memory loss ● Other symptoms include gastrointestinal problems, sexual dysfunction, irritability, and autonomic nervous system disturbances ● Originates in China and is recognized in the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders (CCMD

Uppgivenhetssyndrom

● Translates to resignation syndrome ● Coma-like symptoms and refuse to move, talk, or eat ● Affects refugee children from former Soviet or Yugoslav states who now live in Sweden

Koro

● Acute anxiety and a deep-seated fear of shrinkage of the penis and its ultimate retraction into the abdomen, which will cause death ● Can be observed in Asia, mainly China

Saora

● Memory loss, fainting, inappropriate crying or laughing ● Occur in response to social pressure to lead a certain way of life ● Attributed to supernatural beings who want to marry the afflicted persons (young men and women) ● Originates in Southeastern India (Saora Tribe)

Maladi Moun

● Belief that illness or misfortune is caused by someone else's ill intent, envy, or hatred, often through spiritual means; “sending illness” ● Similar to the concept of evil eye ● Translated as humanly caused illness ● Originates in Haiti

Clinical Lycanthropy

● Delusions of transforming into an animal ● Present in various cultures

Piblokto

● Characterized by an abrupt dissociative episode with distinct phases - Prodrome (social withdrawal) - Excitement (wild behaviors, stripping clothes) - Convulsions / stupor - Recovery (with amnesia) ● Also called arctic hysteria ● Originates in the Arctic regions

Latah

● Exaggerated startle response experiencing trance-like dissociation

● Also exhibits echolalia and echopraxia

● Other names include Imu, Mali-Mali, Jumping Frenchmen Of Maine

● Can be observed in Southeast Asia and Japan

Jikoshu-Kyofu

● Olfactory reference syndrome (DSM-5)

● Translates to fear of self-odor

● Preoccupation with a false belief that one emits a foul or offensive body odor

Khyâl Cap

● Translates to Wind Attacks

● Panic attacks due to wind-like substance rising up in the body

● Originates in Cambodia

Susto

● Fright Disorder

● Distress and misfortune prevalent among some Latinos in US, attributed to a frightening event that causes the soul to leave the body and results to unhappiness and sickness, as well as functioning in key social roles

● Cause: individual believes that he or she has become the subject of black magic

● Similar to Maladi Moun

● Also known as fright or soul loss

● Soul leaving the body in response to frightening experience ● Originates in Latin America

Ataque de Nervios

●Syndrome among individuals of Latino Descent, characterized by symptoms of intense emotional upset, including acute anxiety, anger, or grief; screaming; attacks of crying; trembling; heat in the chest rising into the head; and becoming verbally and physically aggressive

● Translates to attack of nerves

● Anxiety-related

● Panic Attack with manifestations of shouting uncontrollably and bursting into tears

● Often a response to stressful events or family difficulties ● Observed among Hispanic Americans

Kyol Goeu

● Translates to Wind overload

● Panic attack

● Too much wind or gas in the body, which may cause blood vessels to burst

● Characterized by orthostatically triggered syncope or fainting episodes, particularly prevalent among Khmer refugees in the US

Zou huo hu mo

● Chinese idiom that describes a state of being obsessed or possessed

● Undesirable somatic or psychological symptoms (Dissociation and paranoia) experienced during or after qigong

● Translates to walking fire enters demonic

Shinbyeong

● Translates to spirit sickness or divine illness

● Anxiety and somatic complaints

● Possession by ancestral spirits

● Linked to the Korean shamanic tradition

● Also called spirit sickness

● Originates in Korea

Taijin Kyofusho

● Disorder of Fear / Fear of offending others

● Anxiety of extreme self-consciousness regarding appearance to avoid offending others

● An intense fear that one's body parts or functions displease, embarrass or are offensive to others

● Originates in Japan

Ufufunyane

● Attributed to the effects of magical potions (given by rejected lovers), demons, or spiritual possession

● Symptoms include sobbing, paralysis, temporary blindness, trance-like states, loss of consciousness and nightmares with sexual themes

● Prevalent in Zulu- and Xhosa-speaking communities in Southern Africa

Amafufunyana

● Used by Xhosa traditional healers to explain certain aberrant behaviors and psychological phenomena, often associated with symptoms of schizophrenia

● Involves a person’s stomach speaking a language that the person doesn’t understand

● Stomach may also deliver threats and dish out orders to the victim

● Other symptoms include fatigue, nightmares, sleep difficulties, and agitation

● Observed in Zulus and the Xhosas of South Africa

Hikikomori

● A condition where individuals, typically adolescents or young adults, withdraw from social life and confine themselves to their homes for extended periods

● Often last for six months or longer

● Extreme social isolation

● Originates in Japan

Wendigo Psychosis

● Insatiable craving for human flesh, even when other food is available

● Individuals develop an obsession with becoming a wendigo ● This obsession may range from a fear to a delusional belief, and can be associated with suicidal and homicidal thoughts

● Mainly found among Northern Algonquian people

Zār

● A culturally bound syndrome or a spiritual possession practice prevalent in Northern and Eastern Africa, and the Middle East

● Individuals are believed to be possessed by spirits, often leading to dissociative episodes or altered states of consciousness

● Some develop long term relationship with the possessor

Kufungisisa

● Overtinking; idiom of distress and cultural explanation among the Shona of Zimbabwe

Dissociative Trance

● Counterpart of DID in eastern countries; sapi