Psychogenic death: individual effects of sorcery and taboo violation
Can social causes directly effect physiological processes? In many parts of the world, there are reports that those who have broken a ritual prohibition or hold that they are victims of sorcery give up and die, a phenomenon labelled by anthropologists as voodoo death. The mechanisms for this remain...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
2003
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| In: |
Mental health, religion & culture
Year: 2003, Volume: 6, Issue: 3, Pages: 195-202 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Can social causes directly effect physiological processes? In many parts of the world, there are reports that those who have broken a ritual prohibition or hold that they are victims of sorcery give up and die, a phenomenon labelled by anthropologists as voodoo death. The mechanisms for this remain controversial. The features include: lethargy, lack of motivation, extreme guilt, social withdrawal, reduced appetite and thirst, and ultimately death. Although a belief in the power of sorcery is rare among indigenous white British people, it is not uncommon among ethnic minorities and may be diagnosed as a delusion. The author reports two cases from his own clinical experience in a Western setting that raise the question as to whether the phenomenon is similar to depression and what can be done about it. In one case, the victim made a rapid recovery once the curse was removed. Is death really an individual or a social phenomenon? |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9737 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Mental health, religion & culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13674670310001633478 |