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Iich'aa

Description

A [dissociative episode] featuring a period of brooding followed by an outburst of aggressive, violent or homicidal behavior aimed at people and objects. It seems to occur only among males, and is often precipitated by a perceived slight or insult.

Symptoms

It is often accompanied by:

Persecutory ideas
Automatism
Anesia
Exhaustion
Premorbid state
Loss of social status
Major life change

It is now rare, and occurs primarily in rural regions.

Traditions and Past

Iich'aa is rooted in Navaho traditions, but it also has sister disorders in Puerto Rico, Malaysia, and the Philippines. This is where we get the english expression "running amok". The disease, or mental illness, almost always occurs in males between the ages of 20-45.

Some authors of the articles referenced described Iich'aa as a diagnosis of people within these cultures who experience a time of feeling "left out" and often times even excluded and isolated from their specific tribes or social groups or communities. The article describes several different was to prescribe medications and what the procedures are for those professionals who deal with people from different cultures and nationalities.

Current Research

New research has taken place to provide information about Iich'aa cross-culturally and to show that it can also occur in highly industrialized regions and not just rural areas.

References

[anthro.palomar.edu/medical/med_4.htm]
[www.mccajor.net/cbs_cul.html]
[www.trickcyclists.co.uk/pdf/Culture_Specific_Disorders]
[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC181064]
[rjg42.tripod.com/culturebound_syndromes.htm]
[homepage.mac.com/mccajor/cbs_sxs.html]
[www.visionandpsychosis.net/Culture_Bound_Syndromes.htm]