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Wikipedia on Culture-specific syndromes

In medicine and medical anthropology, a culture-specific syndrome or culture-bound syndrome is a combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are considered to be a recognizable disease only within a specific society or culture. There are no objective biochemical or structural alterations of body organs or functions, and the disease is not recognized in other cultures. While a substantial portion of mental disorders, in the way they are manifested and experienced, are at least partially conditioned by the culture in which they are found, some disorders are more culture-specific than others. The term culture-bound syndrome was included in the fourth version of the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders'' which also includes a list of the most common culture-bound conditions . American psychiatrist and medical anthropologist Arthur Kleinman has contributed much to the understanding of these syndromes. More »
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Anorexia nervosa
:''For the symphonic black metal band, see ''Anorexia Nervosa (band)'' :''For other uses, see'' Anorexia Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes an eating disorder characterized by low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Individuals with anorexia often control body weight by voluntary starvation, purging, vomiting, excessive exercise, or other weight control measures, such as diet pills or diuretic drugs. More »
Culture-bound syndrome
In medicine and medical anthropology, a culture-specific syndrome or culture-bound syndrome is a combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are considered to be a recognizable disease only within a specific society or culture. There are no objective biochemical or structural alterations of body organs or functions, and the disease is not recognized in other cultures. While a substantial portion of mental disorders, in the way they are manifested and experienced, are at least partially... More »
Bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa, commonly known as bulimia, is an eating disorder. It is a psychological condition in which the subject engages in recurrent binge eating followed by intentional purging. This purging is done in order to compensate for the excessive intake of food, usually to prevent weight gain. Purging can take the form of vomiting; inappropriate use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics or other medication; or excessive physical exercise. The word ''bulimia'' comes from the Latin from the Greek... More »
Jerusalem syndrome
The Jerusalem syndrome is the name given to a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences, that are triggered by, or lead to, a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single religion or denomination, but has affected Jews and Christians of many different backgrounds. The best known, although not the most prevalent manifestation of the Jerusalem syndrome, is the phenomenon... More »
Penis panic
Genital retraction syndrome , generally considered a culture-specific syndrome, is a condition in which an individual is overcome with the belief that his/her external genitals—or also, in females, breasts—are retracting into the body, shrinking, or in some male cases, may be imminently removed or disappear. A penis panic is sometimes a mass hysteria event or panic in which males in a population suddenly exhibit symptoms of genital retraction syndrome. More »
Munchausen syndrome
:''This article is about the self-inflicted factitious disorder. For the type of abuse commonly known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, see Fabricated or Induced Illness.'' Munchausen syndrome is a psychiatric disorder in which those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma in order to draw attention or sympathy to themselves. It is in a class of disorders known as factitious disorders which involve "illnesses" whose symptoms are either self-induced or falsified by the ... More »
Fabricated or Induced Illness
Fabricated or Induced Illness is the formal name of a type of abuse in which a caregiver feigns or induces an illness in a person under their care, in order to attract attention, sympathy, or to fill other emotional needs. It is also known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy , due to its similarity to Munchausen syndrome, in which a person feigns or induces illness in ''themselves'' for similar emotional reasons. In FII a caregiver, usually a parent, guardian, or spouse, feigns or induces an... More »
Exercise bulimia
Exercise bulimia is a subset of the psychological disorder called bulimia in which a person is compelled to exercise in an effort aimed at burning the calories of food energy and fat reserves to an excessive level that negatively affects their health. The damage normally occurs through not giving the body adequate rest for athletic recovery compared to their exercise levels, leading to increasing levels of disrepair. If the person eats a normally healthy and adequate diet but exercises in... More »
Paris syndrome
Paris syndrome is psychological disorder unique to the interaction of Japanese nationals working and vacationing in Paris, France. First noted in the French Nervure journal of psychiatry by A. Viala, H. Ota, M.N. Vacheron, P. Martin, and F. Caroli in 2004, it is classified as a form of Stendhal syndrome . From the estimated one million yearly visitors the number of reported cases is "a dozen cases a year," and a small number of the afflicted are repatriated to Japan. More »
Muscle dysmorphia
Muscle dysmorphia is a disorder in which a person becomes obsessed with the idea that he or she is not muscular enough. Those who suffer from muscle dysmorphia tend to hold delusions that they are "skinny" or "too small" but are often above average in musculature. Sometimes referred to as ''bigorexia'' or ''reverse anorexia nervosa'', it is a very specific type of body dysmorphic disorder. Muscle dysmorphia can cause people to: *Constantly examine themselves in a mirror *Become distressed if... More »
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