Writers Den

Zar

This is the belief in possession by a spirit,
causing shouting, laughing, headbanging,
singing, or weeping. Individuals may show apathy and withdrawal, refusing to
eat or carry out daily tasks, or may develop a long-term relationship with
the possessing spirit.

Schizophrenia

• delusions

• hallucinations

• disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or
incoherence)

• grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

• negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia
or avolition

Two (or more)symptoms/behaviors
present for asignificant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if
successfully treated).

Susto

Found
in Latin American groups in the United States and labeled “fright” or “soul
loss” among some people from the Caribbean. Symptoms are tied to a frightening event that makes the soul leave the
body, causing unhappiness and sickness.

Schizophrenia

• delusions

• hallucinations

• disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or
incoherence)

• grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

• negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia
or avolition

Two (or more)symptoms/behaviors
present for asignificant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if
successfully treated).

Spell

This is a trance in which individuals communicate
with deceased relatives or spirits. At times this trance is associated with
brief periods of personality change.

Schizophrenia

• delusions

• hallucinations

• disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or
incoherence)

• grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

• negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia
or avolition

Two (or more)symptoms/behaviors
present for asignificant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if successfully
treated).

Sin-byung

This is the syndrome of anxiety and bodily
complaints followed by dissociation and possession by ancestral spirits. The
syndrome is characterized by general
weakness, dizziness, fear, loss of appetite, insomnia, and gastrointestinal
problems.

Schizophrenia

• delusions

• hallucinations

• disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or
incoherence)

• grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

• negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia
or avolition

Two (or more)symptoms/behaviors
present for asignificant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if
successfully treated).

Rootwork

Symptoms
are known in the Southern United States
and the Caribbean. They include anxiety, such as fear of poisoning or death,
ascribed to those individuals who put “roots,” “spells,” or “hexes” on others

Schizophrenia

• delusions

• hallucinations

• disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or
incoherence)

• grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

• negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia
or avolition

Two (or more)symptoms/behaviors
present for asignificant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if
successfully treated).

Qi_gong

A
short episode of symptoms, such as auditory and visual hallucinations, occurs
after engaging in Chinese folk practice of qi-gong,
or “exercise of vital energy,” which resembles meditation

Schizophrenia

• delusions

• hallucinations

• disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or
incoherence)

• grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

• negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia
or avolition

Two (or more)symptoms/behaviors
present for asignificant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if
successfully treated).

Locura

Symptoms
include incoherence, agitation, auditory and visual hallucinations, inability
to follow rules of social interaction, unpredictability, and possible
violence.

Schizophrenia

• delusions

• hallucinations

• disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or
incoherence)

• grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

• negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia
or avolition

Two (or more)symptoms/behaviors
present for asignificant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if
successfully treated).

Latah

Symptoms
include hypersensitivity to sudden fright, often with nonsense mimicking of
others, and trancelike behavior. Over time, the person with these symptoms
becomes so sensitive that trances can
be triggered by a falling coconut.

Schizophrenia

• delusions

• hallucinations

• disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or
incoherence)

• grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

• negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia
or avolition

Two (or more)symptoms/behaviors
present for asignificant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if
successfully treated).