Despite the efforts of researchers, the human psyche continues to be one of the most mysterious areas of knowledge. Many mental illnesses and even epidemics still do not have a clear unambiguous explanation. They seem to go beyond the usual concepts of human ailments and seem to many to be absolutely incomprehensible.
The dance plague
One of the most famous mass mental illness occurred in 1374 at once in several villages located near the Rhine River. Hundreds of their residents took to the streets for many days in a row and danced, while people almost did not sleep and did not eat.
After a few months, the disease stopped, but cases of the "dancing plague" were encountered several more times. In 1518, an outbreak of this incomprehensible disease occurred in the city of Strasbourg (now the territory of France, also near the Rhine). One of the women suddenly began to dance in the street. Several dozen and then hundreds of townspeople gradually joined it.
The city authorities did not know what to do, since the dancers did not break any laws. Local doctors recommended to continue dancing, because they believed that only this activity would cure patients from an incomprehensible ailment. Two large halls were specially opened in the city, where musicians played for the dancers.
The epidemic also lasted several months and led to the death of dozens of people - from heart attacks and exhaustion. Then she passed as unexpectedly as she appeared.
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In total, at least seven cases of mass dance psychosis have been noted in medieval documents, which affected tens of thousands of Europeans. Scientists called such a disease choreaomania (from the Greek words choreia - "dance" and mania - "passion"). In 1952, researcher Eugene Backman put forward a version that hallucinogenic mold spores, which forms in stacks of dry rye and then gets into the bread.
But already in our time, University of Michigan professor John Waller has challenged this point of view. He pointed out that the dancers did not just shudder in convulsions, but purposefully performed dance movements. The hallucinatory mold could hardly have had such an effect. At the same time, the testimony of witnesses noted that the dancers did not seem to want to dance - and after all, the actions of a person in a state of trance usually bring him satisfaction.
Waller suggests that mass hysteria is primarily associated with stress. In the Middle Ages, the Rhine region near Strasbourg experienced bad times. Crop failures gave way to epidemics of smallpox and leprosy, people died of disease and hunger. Residents of the city and nearby villages experienced constant fear for themselves and their loved ones.
At the same time, a legend about St. Vitus, a Christian martyr, in front of whose statue you need to dance in order to gain health, was popular in the region. But at the same time, if a person causes the displeasure of the saint, he makes him dance again and again. That is, according to John Waller, people subconsciously sought salvation from death in such dances.
Psychosis in Tanganyika
In the winter of 1962, another massive mental illness occurred in a school in Tanganyika. It began when several girls-students in the village of Kashash started laughing for no reason. This phenomenon was so contagious that by the end of the day more than half of the students aged 12 to 18 were laughing incessantly at school. Classes had to be canceled, the school was closed for several days.
But such a measure did not stop the epidemic - after a few days, massive psychosis spread among adolescents in neighboring settlements. Doctors suggested that in connection with the closure of a school in the village of Kashash, parents took some teenagers to other educational institutions - and they infect healthy children.
The assumption about the infectious nature of the disease did not find any confirmation: most of the continuously laughing adolescents were examined, but they did not reveal any anomalies, as well as traces of the presence of any psychotropic drugs in the body. The cause of the disease remained unknown.
Attacks of hysterical laughter in children lasted from two weeks to several months. Sometimes they were accompanied by sobs and even outbursts of aggression. Later, the mass psychosis became weaker and after some time completely stopped.
In total, the epidemic of laughter struck more than 1000 adolescents, it lasted 18 months - and no scientific explanation has yet been found for what happened.
Wanderlust
Scientists call another mental illness common in adolescents dromomania (from the Greek dromos - "running"). This vagrancy that prevails in many minors is widely described in fiction. Teenagers tend to dream of adventures that can happen far from their home, so children often leave it in search of mysterious treasures, new friends, etc.
But sometimes adults are overwhelmed by such irresistible desire. A similar epidemic was observed in France during the years 1881-1909. The first case examined was of a locksmith from Bordeaux, Jean-Albert Dada. In 1881, being drafted into the army, he was sent to Belgium as part of his unit - and there he suddenly felt an irresistible desire to travel. Jean-Albert left Belgium for Prague, then Berlin, then East Prussia, from where he moved to Moscow.
In the same year 1881, the murder of the Russian emperor Alexander II took place, so Dada was arrested in Russia and exiled to Turkey as a suspicious person. In Constantinople, he was sent through the French consulate to Vienna and helped to get a job in his specialty.
But Jean-Albert also left Vienna. In 1886, in France, he was admitted to a hospital, after which the story of an unusual vagabond became widely known. In a collection of articles published a few years later, "The Mad Traveler", doctors tried to assess his mental state. It was noted that Jean-Albert Dada made all his movements without remembering at all where he was and what he was doing.
Scientific works have drawn attention to this problem. It turned out that there were at least a dozen similar travelers in France at that time. The symptoms of the disease were identified and described. First of all, the person made the decision to change their place of residence suddenly. He forgot about all plans and obligations, in some cases he even got up from the table and left during a meal.
The second characteristic feature of "adult" dromomania was a complete lack of preparation. People left without money, forgot their documents, did not worry about their luggage.
Scientists have come to the conclusion that such a mental illness is caused by emotional stress, under the influence of which a person seeks to change the living space. Dada himself and some of his followers spoke of their feelings as an irresistible feeling of anxiety that disappears only during the movement. Such a person does not care about the goal and destination of the trip; the main thing for him is the continuous opportunity to change his place of stay.
Sometimes such tramps, after several years of wandering, return home - and may even later realize and condemn their act. But there are times when wandering takes the rest of his life and ends with the death of the wanderer.
Scientists note that the pathological desire to change places is often associated with nervous disorders or brain injuries, but even more often it manifests itself in people who like to fantasize.
It is believed that the famous writer Maxim Gorky suffered from dromomania, and his mother and grandmother also had a passion for escapes. Gorky could not live in one place for a long time and, even being a respectable Soviet writer, constantly sought to leave his home and go somewhere.
Movement hysteria
Since 1400, various documents have documented cases of unexpected mass madness among women living in monasteries. It is known that in one of them the novices suddenly imagined themselves to be cats. They meowed and tried to climb trees.
This unusual behavior continued for several days, after which the priests were forced to conduct a rite of exorcism. Another similar case occurred in 1749 in the German city of Würzburg, where the nuns were observed en masse with sudden fainting spells at the mouth, one of them was then accused of witchcraft and executed.
Already familiar to us, Professor John Waller, studying the possible causes of the collective insanity of the nuns, came to the conclusion that they were caused by massive stress combined with a religious trance. Since 1400, the strictest living conditions began to operate in European monasteries, and women were most often sent there by force.
The Catholic religion of that time was actively engaged in the extermination of the dark forces, and it was believed that it was the woman who was their bearer. Therefore, nuns and novices subconsciously felt themselves to be instruments of the devil, and during religious ecstasy they could feel this obsession, which they expressed in completely inadequate movements.
As you can see, incomprehensible mental illnesses and epidemics are most often associated with the stresses in which a person lives. Therefore, strive for the positive in everything - and let both mysterious and well-known ailments pass you.
Victor SVETLANIN