Mass hysteria is a group of people who feel ill or show symptoms without a medical explanation. The reason for the hysteria may vary, but ‘fear of’ is the general characteristic. The group often thinks they have been exposed to a dangerous substance. The group is usually close-knit and separate, a school, workshop or office. A nocebo is the opposite of a placebo. Only in the case of a placebo does a fake medicine make you healthy, while a nocebo makes you sick.
Contents
- Mass hysteria = Mass psychogenic illness
- How does mass hysteria begin?
- Characteristics of mass hysteria
- Mass hysteria but really sick
- How to cure mass hysteria
- What is the nocebo effect
- Mind over matter
- Nocebo: I will do evil
- Nocebo and color
Mass hysteria = Mass psychogenic illness
Mass hysteria is often described in English as mass psychogenic illness, mass hysteria or epidemic hysteria. Dutch terms include mass psychogenic disease, mass sociogenic disease and mass panic disorder. Mass hysteria is not a fad of recent years. Descriptions of groups of people becoming ill without cause are centuries old and occur in all cultures.
How does mass hysteria begin?
It usually starts with one person in the group feeling ill. Often there appears to be a trigger in the patient’s environment, for example a strange smell or food that seems spoiled. Sometimes just the suspicion is enough. The smell can therefore only exist in the imagination of the bystanders. Other factors usually play a role as well. During times of stress, mass hysteria is more common. The groups that are susceptible appear to be isolated, a school or a class, but also all workers in one factory hall.
Characteristics of mass hysteria
A list of features should always begin with the observation that not all of them need be present when an outbreak of hysteria occurs.
- Many people get sick at the same time
- The cause of the complaints cannot be found
- People smell a specific odor or think of poisoning
- Symptoms often include: nausea, fainting, abdominal pain, headache, hyperventilation or rash
- The group is quite closed, a sports group, a class or an office.
- Media attention makes the complaints worse or spread.
And
- ordinary, healthy people can become involved in hysteria.
Mass hysteria but really sick
People who become involved in an outbreak of mass hysteria are sick. At least, they really have a headache, feel really nauseous and really faint. All symptoms of a disease are present, but these are not caused by a disease. Mass hysteria is in the head. It shows how people react to extreme stress. Because an outbreak causes stress. The media suddenly appears, doctors appear, measurements have to be taken, tests and ambulances are at the door. Enough reasons to think that something is really wrong and that your health is threatened. Stress and the associated anxiety do make people ill. This is quite normal, many people feel nauseous before an exam due to exam stress.
How to cure mass hysteria
Getting people out of the situation in which they became ill is sufficient. Keeping victims away from people who are not yet ill. In addition, victims who are ill should keep away from the commotion of the press and researchers. The symptoms often disappear when doctors tell them that there is no serious illness and when tests show that there is no external source.
What is the nocebo effect
An outbreak of mass hysteria is sometimes compared to the nocebo effect. A nocebo is the opposite of a placebo. Only in the case of a placebo does a fake medicine make you healthy, while a nocebo makes you sick. If you believe in a medicine it will make you better, if you think it will make you sick, then it will make you sick. In both cases it takes place in your head.
Mind over matter
The nocebo effect shows how much the brain determines our physical well-being. In a small study of blood thinners, half of a group were told that a side effect could be stomach pain. No information was given to another group. It turned out that the group with the most information mentioned many more side effects than the group that had received no information. The study also showed that patients are very sensitive to negative messages about a medicine.
Nocebo: I will do evil
Nocebo means something like, I will hurt/do evil. That’s exactly what it does. If you think it will make you sick, then it will make you sick. It differs little from mass hysteria, except in numbers. A nocebo effect may be personal, but mass hysteria is not.
Very little is known about the consequences of the nocebo effect because research into it is difficult. It is simply not ethically responsible to give a medicine to sick patients and tell them that it will make them sicker. This makes it easier for the placebo.
It becomes clear that we thrive on positive experiences and that negative experiences and opinions can make us sick. So it’s better to visit a doctor you trust and take medication you believe in. Perhaps you should not read the side effects of medications in the package leaflet too often. Although… first ask the doctor if there is anything in it that you absolutely need to know.
Nocebo and color
A rather bizarre nocebo effect has to do with the color of drugs. One study showed that patients found red and orange pills uplifting and blue ones made them depressed. But the Italians make it even better. Italian women sleep great on blue sleeping pills while the Italian man is kept awake by it. Declaration? The color of the Italian football kit is blue.