an apple a day. keeps the doctor away...

medical knowledge for today.

im currently doing a special study module on social cultural and ethnic aspects of psychiatry in medical school and it's interesting to note that different social environments may in fact create varying mental health problems. whilst exploring more around the topic, i came across so many amazingly-freakishly-weird culture bound mental illness around the world...

there are loads out there. in fact my lecturer went through syndromes after syndromes.. illnesses over illnesses.. tonnes and tonnes of them, but i decided to just pick up a few that's more associated with our culture :):) and of course one that's totally wayyy offf ours but OMGAWDDD! i just had to talk about that. disgustingly funnnyyyyy....

read on....
you know you wanna know.. comm'on!


1. KORO aka genital retraction syndrome:
Originating in China, Malaysia, Indonesia :)

male patient is gripped by the fear that his penis is shrinking and gradually being absorbed by his body. Women too, can be afraid for their nipples or vulva.

What Happens???

A man goes to urinate and notices that his penis becomes smaller. Usually this happens because he's in a cold place or because he's upset about something. (fyi. both anxiety & exposure to cold cause male genitals to shrink.. RELAX it's just temporarily) But rather than shrugging the incident off, the man only grows more anxious, particularly since koro is considered deadly. As panic mounts, the man grabs his genitals before they can retract into his body and calls for help.

and... "If no one is around to help hold onto his penis (!!!!!!), he may even use mechanical devices--including cords, chopsticks, clamps, or small weights--to keep the penis from retracting."

wtfwtfwtfwtf... i personally hope no one finds this hot. it's just ewwwwwww. fine. i'll give it a WOW! kinda ewwww...

2. PIBLOKTOQ aka Arctic hysteria:
the syndrome is found throughout the arctic!!! among the Greenland Eskimos
an abrupt dissociative episode accompanied by extreme excitement of up to 30 minutes' duration and frequently followed by convulsive seizures and coma lasting up to 12 hours.

During the attack, the individual may tear off his or her clothing running around naked, break furniture, shout obscenities, eat feces (buggeerrr!!!), flee from protective shelters, or perform other irrational or dangerous acts.


3. BRAIN FAG aka Studiation madness
the fag is primarily experienced by stressed-out students (me me me!!) in Nigeria and other parts of Africa (alright maybe NOT!) in reaction to the alien pressures of Western-style book learning. Symptoms include difficulties in concentrating, remembering, and thinking, as well as burning or crawling sensations under the skin and visual disturbances. Most imptly, it induces sleep whenever u open ur book to study!! (that's absolutely true for me again!!)


4. LATAH
in malaysia!! malaysians who suffer from latah(usually middle-aged women), when started or surprised will burst into a 30-minute orgy of screaming, dancing, and hysterical laughter, punctuated by shouted obscenities.

Though often unpleasant for the latah herself family and friends find the outbursts entertaining and slyly provoke them in order to see a show. Startled women tend to mimic those around them, aping relatives or imitating things they see on TV.

last but not least. we have our very own SINGAPORE culture bound syndrome..


5. WEI HAN ZHENG (what the hell is this supposed to mean? i think it's some hanyupinyin and that's about how much i can make out of it)
among the singaporean chinese. "fear of being cold' effected persons wear heavy coats, clothing in Singapore heat.

whattt?? that's it. and u call that a syndrome?

at least we have our own tooo. hahhha we never lose to malaysia :P

geeeshhhhh..
such a long post!! im so tired now >_<

p.s. 19th comm or any other interested singsoc members.
coming fri phadthai 11 to 4 am. drinks menu for the night: malibu/ chivas/ cointreau... and of course my darling bacardi. drinks will be sponsored by me :) but of course if you come for the night u gotta chip in for the room. text me if u're joining!!

sabr!na -doctor who