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Mass Hysteria -
People are described as hysterical when they appear to have lost conscious control over their behavior. Screaming and uncontrollable laughter or crying are the usual signs. How does hysterical behavior pass from one person to another? The word hysteria is derived from the Greek for uterus. Hysteria was though to be a weakness of the mind occurring only in women. The belief was that a diseased womb resulted in the loss of control of the body. In the 19th century physicians realized that the condition had a psychological origin. The term was over used and was also associated with hallucinations and trances. Some traditional cultures encourage hysterical behavior. The shaman, or medicine man, was chosen for his role because he was capable of going into trances. In trance he was able to commune with spirits. Tribal societies used hysteria for healing. Ill people were put into trances, they had convulsions and drifted into comas, the intention was that the spirits would help them to recover from the illness while they were in a receptive sate. Fierce drumming and dancing contributed to the atmosphere. MASS hysteria can occur when a large number of people are together in one place and appear to lose self-control. This type of hysteria is evident at rock concerts, political, sporting events and religious rallies. Mass hysteria can also produce a spread of psychological symptoms of illness from person to person. Whole groups of people can become ill with a specific illness and recover quickly. The first person to have the symptoms sets a pattern, others follow. This may happen in schools or institutions and a single charismatic personality often triggers the effect. Mass hysteria was evident in Hitler's rise to power and the Jonestown mass suicide in 1978. Many animals have a method of communication that we do not yet completely understand. Birds are able to stay together in flocks while traveling huge distances. Mass hysteria may be a relic of some similar human capacity to communicate. Another possibility is the scent molecules called pheromones. Pheromones play a part in sexual attraction. These molecules may influence our behavior in other ways. Women living in close contact with each other often have their menstrual periods at the same time. Most everyone has had the experience of "knowing" that something has happened to a friend or close relative. Most everyone have had the experience of "thinking" about a friend or close relative and the phone rings. And most, people will say "Oh I was just thinking about you". While science can not explain mass hysteria or telepathic communication it appears to exist and be a viable form of communication.
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