favourite wiki of the week

This week I have been obsessed with culture-bound syndromes, thanks to stumbling on an article about Wendigo Psychosis.

Wendigo Psychosis exists in Algonquian cultures, and it seems to have once been fairly frequent, although as the cultures now mingle with the European American cultures it is no longer a problem. The disorder stems from the Algonquian belief in the evil Wendigo spirit, which could possess humans, especially those who practised cannibalism. The Wendigo gorges on human flesh, but is always starving and emaciated. The tales and customs surrounding the Wendigo strengthened the taboo of cannibalism, and encouraged moderation in all things - the Wendigo could possess those who were too greedy, as well as those who ate human flesh, even to save their own lives.

Wendigo Psychosis takes the form of an intense craving for human flesh, terror of becoming a cannibal, and can lead to cannibalistic feeding frenzies, as in the case of one Swift Runner who killed and ate his entire family. Some sufferers of the syndrome requested to be executed before they turned into Wendigos, or, more rarely, ended up being executed once they began to exhibit threatening behaviour. This happened in the few instances that treatment from a traditional healer or a European doctor had no effect.

Koro is another culture bound disorder found in SE Asia, sufferers of which believe their nipples (in the case of women) or penis are shrinking or retracting into the body, and that this will be fatal. Injury can occur if the sufferer takes measures to prevent the retraction. It can be treated with psychotherapy, although in China, unsurprisingly it is seen as yet another reason to eat animal penises.

Perhaps the strangest is Taijin Kyofusho - a Japanese social anxiety disorder. Sufferers dread social contact due to their intense fear of offending or harming others. The reason I found this the strangest is that it is said to affect up to 20% of the population of Japan. To me that suggests a disorder of the culture and society rather than a disorder of those individuals. The treatment also seems slightly bizarre - devised 100 years ago, the Morita method uses patient isolation, bed rest, manual labour, and lectures on the importance of self acceptance. So, the treatment for wanting to isolate yourself is isolation... Lately medication and talking therapy have been included in the treatment, luckily for that one in five socially awkward Japanese.