Mass hysteria is a phenomenon where groups exhibit physical symptoms or irrational beliefs. It is more common in small, isolated communities and can be anxiety or motor-based. It has been documented since antiquity and has caused moral panic resulting in riots and torture.
Mass hysteria is a phenomenon in which a group of people simultaneously exhibit similar hysterical symptoms. Technically, it involves physical effects, such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, or a trance-like state or seizure-like movements. However, the term is also commonly used to refer to any mass delusion, in which a group of people are ruled by irrational beliefs or moral panic.
Many cases of mass hysteria are controversial, as alleged sufferers and even some observers believe the term does not fully explain the phenomenon; for example, in the case of an alleged religious miracle or demonic possession affecting a large group of people. Additionally, many people are reluctant to believe that the intense physical symptoms they experienced were “all in their head.”
This phenomenon is more common in small, close-knit communities, especially if they are isolated. Closed areas such as schools, factories and hospitals are typical environments. There are two main types of mass hysteria: anxiety hysteria and motor hysteria.
Anxiety hysteria has a shorter duration, usually lasting a day. Symptoms may include nausea, lightheadedness, headache, dizziness, and physical weakness. Often, this type of mass hysteria begins with a single group member reporting something like a strange smell in the room. Others pick up on a perceived threat and begin exhibiting psychosomatic symptoms.
Motor hysteria is characterized by nervous twitches or spasms, trance states, and histrionic outbursts. It is slower to come on than anxiety hysteria, developing gradually over a few days or weeks, but can take weeks or months to subside. Motor hysteria also commonly has a more serious and long-standing cause than anxiety hysteria; for example, brutal living conditions or excessive discipline.
Mass hysteria has been documented since antiquity, although it was not understood until recently as a sociopsychological rather than a supernatural phenomenon. Throughout history, it has often been the cause of moral panic resulting in widespread riots and even torture and executions, such as in the case of witch hunts and trials. While the phenomenon is better understood today, it remains mysterious and disturbing, and those who have been subject to mass hysteria do not always find the modern psychological explanation sufficient.
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