skandalon

Widespread throughout Latin America, susto is a folk illness associated with a broad array of symptoms. It is considered by susceptible populations to be a sickness caused by the separation of soul and body which is precipitated by a supernatural force. Most studies of culture-bound diseases have relied on descriptive approaches that focus on pathologies derived from medical textbooks. This study takes an interdisciplinary approach, looking for explanations of susto in the interaction of social, physiological, and psychological factors.

✖ Via Susto. A Folk Illness by Arthur J. Rubel, Carl W. O’Nell, and Rolando Collado-Ardon, University of California Press, 1991, 195 p.

Previously on Skandalon : Hwabyeong, yet another culture-bound somatization disorder.

Both hwabyung and susto are quoted by the same character in Don DeLillo’s novel Cosmopolis.

• Jun 09, 2010 link notes tagged: illness pathology cultural soul sickness separation Cosmopolis DeLillo

Hwabyeong or Hwabyung, literally “anger illness” or “fire illness”, is a Korean culture-bound somatization disorder, a mental illness. It manifests as one or more of a wide range of physical symptoms, in response to emotional disturbance, such as stress from troublesome interpersonal relationships or life crises. It most often occurs in females in their menopausal years.

✖ Via Wikipedia: “Hwabyeong” article

• Apr 19, 2010 link notes tagged: illness communication disorder symptom stress depression relationship interpersonal lost

art photo vintage bw medecine illness mental woman archive collection schizophrenia hysteria case reblog

✖ Via A Morning’s Work: Medical Photographs from the Burns Archive & Collection, 1843-1939 by Stanley Burns (Twin Palms Publishers; 1 edition, February 1998) : “Catatonic Schizophrenic”, 1894, Dr. H. Cruschmann, Leipzig, Germany

About the book:

“Burns is an ophthamlic surgeon, but his true passion is vintage photography. He has assembled a collection of more than half a million images and has authored or coauthored works on memorial photography, medical photography, and hand-colored daguerreotypes. Here he presents 127 images in as many pages and then another 50 or so pages of notes, providing specifics of the photographs and extensive discussion of the condition or medical practices shown. More than a few gruesome images are included, though the warm tones of the printing and the antique dress have an anesthetizing effect on the viewer. There are also a good number of images depicting obsolete mid-19th-century practices. The chronological arrangement does impart a sense of progress as we move from images of horrible deformity through pictures of amputation during the Civil War to photos of reparative surgery following World War I. This stunning documentation of a world-class collection belongs not only where there is an interest in the history of photography but also in medical teaching and history collections.” (Amazon)

• Mar 05, 2010 link notes reblogged from liquidnight [via] tagged: art photo vintage BW medecine illness mental woman archive collection schizophrenia hysteria case

The finding, published in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, suggests that loneliness is not a character trait, as in “that person is such a loner,” but more of a state such as hunger, which evolved as a cue to motivate our ancestors to go find food. “We’re fundamentally a social species so we need others with whom we can cooperate and work,” Cacioppo said. As such, loneliness may have been a cue to look out for anyone who might ostracize you, he added.

✖ Via LiveScience: “Loneliness Spreads Like a Virus” By Jeanna Bryner, Senior Writer, Dec. 1st, 2009.

• Jan 09, 2010 link notes [via] tagged: communication lost alone loneliness science social human life society diffusion contagion imitation personality illness disorder