Culture Bound Syndromes in Psychiatry

Culture-Bound Syndromes

Gururumba

• Found in New Guinea, common among married men
• Characterized by burglarizing neighboring homes

Grisi Siknis

• Prevalent in Central and South America
• Hysterical condition affecting females aged 15-18 years
• Patients view others as devils
• Highly contagious

Falling Out

• Common in the Southern US
• Sudden collapse with temporary blindness despite eyes remaining open

Ghost Sickness

• Found in Native American populations
• Preoccupation with death and the deceased
• Protracted or pathological grief or depression

Shin Byung (Spirit Sickness)

• Prevalent in Korea
• Anxiety and somatic complaints resulting from possession by ancestral spirits

Zar

• Found in Northern Africa and the Middle East
• Spirit possession leading to long-term relationships with the possessor

Shenjing Shuairou

• Chinese folk diagnosis for a range of mental health disorders
• Typically mood or anxiety disorders with somatic symptoms

Shenkui

• China's version of Dhat Syndrome
• Severe anxiety and hypochondria related to loss of semen through urine, nocturnal emission, or masturbation

Dhat Syndrome

• Found in India
• Severe anxiety and hypochondria related to loss of semen through urine, nocturnal emission, or masturbation

Koro

• Prevalent in Asia, particularly China
• Anxiety that one's genitalia is shrinking, potentially leading to death

Saora

• Found in Southeastern India
• Occurs in response to social pressure to lead a certain way of life
• Characterized by memory loss, fainting, and inappropriate crying or laughing
• Attributed to supernatural beings who want to marry the afflicted persons (young men and women)

Maladi Moun (Humanly Caused Illness)

• Found in Haiti
• Illness sent by others out of envy and hatred

Wendigo Psychosis

• Present in various cultures
• Insatiable craving for human flesh, even when other food is available

Clinical Lycanthropy

• Present in various cultures
• Delusion of transforming into an animal

Piblokto

• Found in the Arctic
• Dissociative episode characterized by prolonged extreme excitement followed by seizures and coma

Kufungisisa (Thinking too much)

• Found in Zimbabwe
• Disorder of Distress, causing conditions akin to anxiety and depression

Latah/Imu/Mali-Mali/Jumping French Men of Maine

• Found in Southeast Asia, Japan
• Exaggerated startle response, experiencing trance-like dissociation, echolalia, and echopraxia

Amok

• Found in Southeast Asia, Scandinavia
• Dissociative Condition, characterized by violent, disorderly, or homicidal rage accompanied by amnesia

Olfactory Reference Syndrome

• Preoccupation with a belief that one is embarrassing oneself and offending others with a foul body odor

Taijin Kyofusho

• Found in Japan
• Disorder of Fear, characterized by anxiety of extreme self-consciousness regarding appearance to avoid offending others

Khyal Cap (Wind Attacks)

• Found in Cambodia
• Panic Attack due to wind-like substance rising up in the body

Susto

• Found in Latin America
• Fright Disorder, characterized by the soul leaving the body in response to a frightening experience

Ataque de Nervios

• Found in Hispanic American populations
• Anxiety-related, characterized by Panic Attack plus manifestations of shouting uncontrollably and bursting into tears

Kyol Goeu (Wind Overload)

• Found in Cambodia, as described by Devon Hinton
• Panic attack, characterized by too much wind or gas in the body, which may cause blood vessels to burst

This quiz covers various psychiatric syndromes unique to specific cultures, including symptoms and geographic locations. Test your knowledge of culture-bound syndromes!