2003/11/01 by Simon Dein · 1 citation
Psychology · Medicine · #Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies #Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health #Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments #Phenomenon #Taboo #Psychology #Curse #Ethnic group #Lethargy #Delusion #Social psychology #Psychoanalysis #Psychiatry #Sociology #Philosophy #Anthropology
paper · doi:10.1080/13674670310001633478
openalex publication_date 2003/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Can social causes directly effect physiological processes? In many parts of the world, there are reports that those who have broken a ritual prohibition or hold that they are victims of sorcery give up and die, a phenomenon labelled by anthropologists as voodoo death. The mechanisms for this remain controversial. The features include: lethargy, lack of motivation, extreme guilt, social withdrawal, reduced appetite and thirst, and ultimately death. Although a belief in the power of sorcery is rare among indigenous white British people, it is not uncommon among ethnic minorities and may be diagnosed as a delusion. The author reports two cases from his own clinical experience in a Western setting that raise the question as to whether the phenomenon is similar to depression and what can be done about it. In one case, the victim made a rapid recovery once the curse was removed. Is death really an individual or a social phenomenon?