Mass Psychogenic Illness
The DSM-IV-TR does not have specific diagnosis for mass psychogenic illness but the text describing conversion disorder states that "In 'epidemic hysteria,' shared symptoms develop in a circumscribed group of people following 'exposure' to a common precipitant."
Read more about this topic: Conversion Disorder
Famous quotes containing the words mass and/or illness:
“When over Catholics the ocean rolls,
They must wait several weeks before a mass
Takes off one peck of purgatorial coals,
Because, till people know what’s come to pass,
They won’t lay out their money on the dead—
It costs three francs for every mass that’s said.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“Murderous desire, hatred, distrust are nowadays the accompanying signs of physical illness: so thoroughly have we embodied our moral prejudices.—Perhaps cowardice and pity appear as symptoms of illness in savage ages. Perhaps even virtues might be symptoms.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)