Culture-Bound Syndromes: Ghost Sickness

Ghost sickness is an illness found in many Native American cultures and characterized by a preoccupation with death. Found in tribes from the Southwest and Southern Plains, it is characterized by an intense fear of ghosts and results in the development of elaborate rituals to defend against these spirits of death. These cultures believe that after death, a vital force or spirit containing good qualities and elements that control the individual's impulses exits the body. Upon death, this spirit is believed to move toward heaven or toward the sky, leaving behind its evil or rage to wander the earth. These cultures believe that the final destination of ghosts is an afterworld–but sometimes, the ghosts do not want to reach this destination because they feel the loneliness of those who are in mourning or experience loneliness themselves for the loss of family, home, or possessions. In some cultures, ghost sickness is believed to be very dangerous; the ghosts of the recently departed are believed to cause illness or even death among the living.

Although ghosts are believed to cause other illnesses, the most common is known as ghost sickness. Ghost sickness is thought to be caused by the touch of a ghost, who comes up behind an individual and tries to pull him or her back. The individual hears a sound as he or she feels the touch of the ghost and is immediately overwhelmed by terror. If the individual turns to look over his or her shoulder, it is believed that the right side of the body will be twisted into a spasmodic palsy or muscular spasm. Symptoms of ghost sickness include cannibalistic fantasies, epileptiform spells, and eating and psychological disturbances. Other symptoms may also include weakness, dizziness, hallucinations, feelings of danger, and anxiety.

To avoid ghost sickness, some cultures take measures to ensure that the recently deceased cannot find their way back to the home in which they lived. For individuals who are already suffering from the illness, treatment consists of gathering the family together to perform peyote ceremonies.