Convents were in particularly prime grounds, ripe for eruptions of contagious mass delusion. ThoughtCo The Cat Nuns of Franceīefore the modern era, many outbreaks of mass hysteria occurred within religious institutions. Following are twelve of history’s most remarkable outbreaks of mass hysteria. Indeed, many outbreaks proved just as dramatic or deadly as the one presaging the Salem Witch Trials, or even more so in their pernicious impact. While most outbreaks of mass hysteria are more or less harmless, there have been quite a few throughout history that was far more bizarre. Engraving of three women suffering from the 1518 Strasbourg Dance Craze. They usually explode in a rapidly contagious outbreak that engulfs the community or a large portion thereof, before subsiding over a period of weeks or months. They often are caused by longstanding stresses and fears within a community, with symptoms slowly building up and emerging over a prolonged period of time, ranging from weeks to months. Mass hysterias are sociogenic, mental illnesses that propagate and spread rapidly within a community, with psychological symptoms sometimes coming out and manifesting themselves as physical conditions. There were no physical causes – it was all in the kids’ heads. An example of a more prosaic mass hysteria incident occurred in 2012 when a student in Leroy high school in upstate New York began twitching and convulsing, and within a short while, dozens of other students started twitching and convulsing as well. Most are familiar with some of history’s most dramatic mass hysterias, such as the one surrounding the Salem Witch Trials, but other outbreaks have come and gone, without garnering as much attention or causing as much harm as that of Salem. Mass hysteria can strike anywhere, anytime.Mass hysteria, or collective delusion outbreaks, are more common than people realize. My subsequent research proved my theory that when stressed out, the mind can make the body sick, and in a group setting, it can really get out of control. I nearly gave up my study until I attended the actual show-a little worried that the outbreak might recur-when one of the mothers sought me out and supported my theory of mass hysteria-she was convinced that her daughter's physical symptoms were in fact psychological. The school seemed to be blocking my efforts to get to the bottom of things, and the parents took offense that a psychiatrist was suggesting that their kids might have had a psychosomatic illness. The health department couldn't find a cause and gave the "all clear," but the community was in an uproar. The principal told me that it started with one popular child who fainted and suddenly the rest of them went down like dominoes. The kids were rehearsing a performance when suddenly 30 of them grabbed their stomachs and fainted. In the "Fainting Schoolgirls" incident from my new book, The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head: A Psychiatrist's Stories of His Most Bizarre Cases, I was investigating a sudden outbreak of illness in a suburban grade school. If the "popular" girls faint first, the less popular will likely follow their lead. The social hierarchy of the group can also play out in the spread of symptoms.
The sheer force and power of group dynamics tend to take over, and people get swept up in the symptoms of the crowd. And if others around you grab their stomachs and fall to the floor, your fear level may heighten, your knees might buckle, and you may fall to the floor as well. A gurgling stomach can be mistaken for a sign of food poisoning. In a heightened state of anxiety, victims often notice and misinterpret normal physical sensations. If the carbon dioxide depletion is treated by simply breathing into a paper bag, the symptoms rapidly disappear.
Low carbon dioxide levels in the body cause muscles in the extremities to spasm, which can explain the numbness, tingling, and muscle twitching that some victims experience. When people get excited and scared, they may hyperventilate or start breathing too quickly thus, exhaling too much carbon dioxide. Psychosomatic specialists have come up with additional physiological explanations for some of the symptoms of mass hysteria outbreaks.
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