Mass psychogenic illness
Spread of illness without organic cause / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Mass hysteria" redirects here. For the band, see Mass Hysteria (band).
Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for contagion.[1] It is the rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance involving excitation, loss, or alteration of function, whereby physical complaints that are exhibited unconsciously have no corresponding organic causes that are known.[2]
Quick Facts Other names, Specialty ...
Mass psychogenic illness | |
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Other names | Mass hysteria, epidemic hysteria, mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder |
Dancing plagues of the Middle Ages are thought to have been caused by mass hysteria. | |
Specialty | Psychiatry, clinical psychology |
Symptoms | Headache, dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, cough, fatigue, sore throat |
Risk factors | Childhood or adolescence, female sex, intense media coverage |
Differential diagnosis | Actual diseases, mass delusions, somatic symptom disorder |
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