THE PHENOMENON OF MASS PSYCHOGENIC ILLNESS AMONG THE BASOTHO IN LESOTHO

What is it about?

The sudden onset of psychological distress among a group of people, without any organic basis, also known as psychogenic illness or mass hysteria, has buffled clinicians and the public alike for millennia. Various media in the African setting often report episodes of psychogenic illness in schools and communities. Clinicians, without training in psychiatry or without access to proper guidelines, often find it difficult to establish psychogenic diagnosis. This study explored the phenomenon of psychogenic illness in Lesotho with the goal of establishing guidelines that may facilitate better management of mass psychogenic illness outbreaks. Findings indicated that psychogenic illness episodes are contagious and have predictable physical and psychological symptoms that need to be managed by people who are informed about the condition and the cultural context of the affected. Guidelines presented in this paper may assist community leaders, school teachers, nurses and clinicians to improve the management of psychogenic illness episodes.

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Why is it important?

The guidelines presented in this study are invaluable to those handling psychogenic illness and researchers in psychiatry.

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