Mass psychogenic illness and social networks: changing the pattern of outbreaks?

Re:Mass psychogenic illness and social networks: changing th... by 8bitsrule on Thursday December 19, 2024 @12:49AM (#42458787)

The phrase raises two questions. Let's grant that there's such a thing as a 'psychogenic' (non-physical) event. But then: is it a 'disorder', or an 'illness'? When population A starts using such a label on population B, that in itself can lead to dangers for population B. (Much of history has resulted from this kind of labelling. (Witch-hunts, for one easy example. Disagreements of differing religions for another.)

'Disorder' is a very vague label ... as is 'sick'. The parameters need careful definition; what guarantees that happens?

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Re:Mass psychogenic illness and social networks: changing th... by anon373839 on Thursday December 19, 2024 @06:00AM (#42460321)

I don’t see that this distinction even needs to be made. Whichever word you choose, the focus should be on the fact that a person’s {mental, physical} health is suboptimal in some way. And the question then is: what sort of intervention will help — psychological or physiological?

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Re:Mass psychogenic illness and social networks: changing th... by retrochameleon on Thursday December 19, 2024 @11:57AM (#42463354)

Disorder has a clear clinical definition.

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Re:Mass psychogenic illness and social networks: changing th... by coldtea on Sunday December 22, 2024 @09:08AM (#42486406)

Which is mostly soft-science made up, and changes when the politics/ideology changes...

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Re:Mass psychogenic illness and social networks: changing th... by mystified5016 on Sunday December 22, 2024 @01:15PM (#42488048)

Tell me you don't understand science without saying you don't understand science

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Re:Mass psychogenic illness and social networks: changing th... by coldtea on Sunday December 22, 2024 @02:27PM (#42488452)

You keep using this term "science". I don't think it means what you think it means.

If you think the DSM is science the way Physics and Chemistry are sciences, I have a bridge to sell you...

Perhaps in the 50s you'd be onboard with lobotomy too, because 'yay, science' (and after all "they corrected it, didn't they?").

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Re:Mass psychogenic illness and social networks: changing th... by rcxdude on Sunday December 22, 2024 @04:07AM (#42485237)

"Psychogenic" doesn't mean non-physical, it means "caused by the mind". That doesn't make the effects not real: they, at the minimum, affect the subjective experience of the person suffering from them, and in a lot of cases more than that. The main difference is in how one should try to treat the problem (just saying "it's all in your head" isn't usually effective)

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