Shin-byung: This is a Korean folk label for a syndrome in which people display phases that are characterized by anxiety,general weakness, dizziness, fear, anorexia, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems, and believe they are possessed by ancestral spirits. It is also referred to as divine illness. Western physicans do not recognize the illness and inform patients there is nothing wrong with them. This nonexistent diagnosis increases the depression of the person who is suffering from the disease. Although, information on this disease is scarce, all of the information relate the disease to depressive states of the individual and has ancestral roots. There appears to be a strong family support system for the person inflicted with the disease and the family helps the person by contacting spiritual guides, priest, exorcism and helps the person to exist in society. Korean physicans recognize the disease and will medicate the person instead of telling them nothing is wrong with them. The disorder consists of three phases: 1. Prodromal - displays symptoms of weakness, fatigue, dizziness, insomnia, gastrointestinal disturbances, depression, anxiety, and a fear of death. 2. Trance - a unconcious state of being. 3. Possession - where the spirit enters the body and the person possessed tries to be rid of the spirit. Full-possession, where the spirit has total control of the person possessed.
The American Psychological Association has listed Shin-byung as a disorder and is culturally bound. Shin-byung in the DSM-IV is defined as a folk label from the Korean community with experiences of anxiety, sleep pattern issues and ancestral spirit possession. The translation of Shin-byung is divine or god illness.