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Mysticism and psychosis: the fate of Ben Zoma.

This paper examines the link between psychosis and mystical study through the cases of four young men who 'entered the garden' of Jewish mystical speculation and subsequently became psychotic. The role of such study as a precipitating factor is suggested, as three had no signs of disturbance prior to their mystical studies. All had suffered personal losses, and their choice of mystical texts and rites showed that their attraction to mysticism included a search for atonement for guilt they felt over their loss. The features of normative mysticism are presented with each case and it is apparent that hallucinations, grandiose and paranoid delusions, and social withdrawal, are phenomena that do not distinguish the psychotic from the mystic. Diagnosis of psychosis is made on the basis of duration of the state, ability to control entry into the state and the associated deterioration of habits, particularly the neglect of daily religious duties. These findings emphasize the need for the examining psychiatrist to be aware of the cultural background, despite the presence of seemingly florid psychopathology. Four eminent Rabbis entered the garden of mystical speculation. Ben Azzai glimpsed and died. Ben Zoma glimpsed and was damaged (lost his sanity). Elisha ben Avuyah lost his faith. Rabbi Akiva departed in peace.

Adult↗

Mental illness complicated by the santeria belief in spirit possession.

Santeria, a religious system that blends African and Catholic beliefs, is practiced by many Cuban Americans. One aspect of this system is the belief in spirit possession. Basic santeria beliefs and rituals, including the fiesta santera (a gathering at which some participants may become possessed), are briefly described, and four cases in which the patients' belief in possession played a role in their mental illness are presented. The belief in possession can complicate the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, but it should not be considered a culture-bound syndrome. Rather, it may be a nonspecific symptom of a variety of mental illnesses and should be evaluated in the context of the patient's overall belief system and ability to carry out usual activities.

Adult↗

Nine suicide pacts. A clinical study of a consecutive series 1974-93.

BACKGROUND: Suicide pacts are rarely discussed in the medical literature. We report here the medical and social aspects of a consecutive series of double or pact suicides. METHOD: Coroners' records were examined for 722 consecutive suicides. Data were extracted from them and from medical and psychiatric records. RESULTS: Nine pacts (2.5% of suicides) were located: 11 of the 18 people appeared to have been mentally ill at the time of death and three more had a history of mental illness. Five had a significant medical history (three cancer). CONCLUSIONS: Mental disorder is common in those who enter suicide pacts (mainly depression, with alcohol dependence rare). Motivations for suicide appear to be relief of mental disorder and pain.

Adult↗

A case of koro in a refugee family: association with depression and folie à deux.

Koro, a folk syndrome involving fear of genital retraction, is known to occur in epidemic fashion and is usually associated with anxiety symptoms. The author describes a sporadic case of koro accompanied by psychotic depression in a refugee. The refugee's wife, who was also suffering a major depression, also believed that the patient was undergoing genital retraction with a potentially fatal outcome. The cultural, familial, and acculturative stresses associated with the syndrome are described. Resolution of the koro syndrome and its associated psychopathology required interventions on biomedical, psychological, familial, and sociocultural levels.

Acculturation↗

The searching sun: the Lyeime Movement--crisis, tragic events and folie à deux in the Papua New Guinea highlands.

An historical crisis movement from the highlands of Papua New Guinea re-examined from a psychiatric point of view raises the possibility that the two leaders suffered from mental disorder. The principal prophet apparently had paranoid schizophrenia. As a middle-aged man he established the cult which spread rapidly in the Enga area in the 1940s at the time of first contact with outsiders. A surviving brother, who had also been an important figure in the movement, suffered a similar illness--an example of shared psychotic disorder or folie à deux.

History, 20th Century↗

Antisocial personality by proxy: the Norton-Sims syndrome.

An antisocial personality disorder by proxy is defined by a proposed set of diagnostic criteria and a general description of proxy and perpetrator characteristics. Subtypes, dynamics, and features of this proposed disorder are described, and five-factor personality model (Costa & Widiger, 1994) loadings for the proxy and perpetrator are hypothesized. The relationship to abuse trauma and the five-factor personality model are discussed along with implications and suggestions for future research.

Adult↗

Is there a shared somatic disorder? Communication of non delusional symptoms in Nigeria.

In a setting in which somatic symptoms without obvious organic causes are prevalent and in which doctors do not have very convincing explanations to offer, people in prolonged contact with such patients may appear to develop similar symptoms but claim the original patient as the source of their symptoms. At times, it is the original patient that detects the similarity and raises the question of contagion. Based on a study of four Nigerian patients, the author proposes the possible existence of a shared somatic disorder, comparable in many ways to induced psychotic disorder (DSM-III-R) and reopens the discussion on the whole concept of sharing/communication of psychiatric symptoms.

Adult↗

Psychosis associated with demonstrable brain disease.

Sixty-five psychotic patients with unequivocal evidence of brain pathology and a variety of neurological disorders were assessed with respect to phenomenology and outcome. No relationship was found between site of brain pathology and type of psychotic disorder. A majority of patients had a syndrome indistinguishable from schizophrenia without coarse brain involvement and shared similar variables predicting outcome of psychosis, thus raising important issues concerning their nosological status.

Adolescent↗