“Mass Hysteria in Upstate New York” The general argument made by Ruth Graham in “Mass Hysteria in Upstate New York” is that cases of large groups of people becoming suddenly ill have surfaced because of a massive panic occurring. More specifically, Graham reasons that a large group of teenage girls experienced Tourette’s like symptoms due to mass hysteria. Graham writes, “Typically, symptoms-which can include Brownell’s Tourette’s-like movements, along with nausea, dizziness, cramping, and more-start with one or two victims and spread when others see or hear about them” (1).
There are many theories about how the hysteria may have started, ranging from boredom in the girls to hallucinogenic pods in wheat. This next section will be devoted to a run down of the most common theories and how feasible they are. They will be listed in order of most to least feasible. Number One: Stifling Social
When you think of a blizzard, you usually don’t think of tragic 40 below zero temperatures. You don’t always imagine extremely high winds blowing the snow every which way, making it very difficult to see what’s in front of you. You certainly don’t think of a blizzard to kill 235 people, including 213 children just trying to make it home from school. The Children’s Blizzard of 1888 included many details common to blizzards, had incredible devastation due to the welcoming conditions beforehand, and involved some very surprising circumstances.
In the article Hysteria and the Teenage Girl, it talks about girls who have been experiencing something similar to what the girls in the Salem Witch Trials in the play The Crucible had experienced that is contagious. There were multiple different types of epidemics, such as in 1962, 95 school students in Tanzania experienced a laughing epidemic that lasted for a month. Another one occurred in 1965 that was a fainting episode in Blackburn, England and landed 85 girls in the hospital. Lastly, in 1983, 900 Ara school girls experienced an epidemic that lead people to believe they were gassed but doctors tested them and they hadn’t. These incidences are similar to what happened in 1692 in the Salem Witch Trials.
Their Struggle is Real Students sat in straight long rows as I gently placed a diagnostic assessment on their desk. As I continued placing the diagnostic assessment on each desk, I listened to the moans and groans of my students who resented the assessment. I could hear the females in my classroom sucking their teeth in disappointment, the males mumbling “Wait we Have an Essay”!.I looked out the corner of my eye watching students put their head down. Many students either stared blankly at their assessments with a look of confusion on their face, while other students raised their hand waiting to be called. Before I assisted any of my students, I explained the directions and the purpose of a diagnostic assessment.
During the Ohio Blizzard of 1978, many people were trapped in their homes and without power. The several feet of snow absorbed all cars and some smaller homes. Extreme fog and freezing fog made it difficult for drivers to see. The high wind speeds blew down poles and trees. Three causes of the Ohio Blizzard of 1978 were wind speeds, up to 25 feet of snow, and fog.
Our text defines mass madness as outbreaks in which large large numbers of people apparently share absurd false beliefs and imagined sights and sounds (Comer et al. 2014; p. 37). Mass madness, aka mass hysteria, has occurred throughout time and across the globe. Some historical examples of mass hysteria are the Salem witch trials (1600s), the red scare (1919-1920), and satanic daycare scandals (1980s). There are many examples of mass hysteria in recent times too.
In reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller, it seems unfathomable in today’s world of science and logical reasoning, that such mass hysteria could break out. While we don’t blame supernatural witches any longer for strange behaviors, there are still many cases in recent history that can be paralleled to the Salem witch trials. One example is a 2012 case of over a dozen high schoolers in Le Roy, New York who developed uncontrollable tics with no obvious cause. When I chose to read The New York Times article, “What Happened to the Girls in Le Roy,” by Susan Dominus, I thought the case would give a clear psychological explanation for the cause of the girls’ afflictions, and give insight into why girls in Salem acted the way they did. However, like
The blizzard on January 12, 1888 will forever be known as one of the most disastrous storms in history. The storm earned the name “the children’s blizzard” because so many children lives were taken in this malicious storm. Could something have been done to prevent such a large death toll? Yes. If the proper steps had been taken to warn the people of the approaching bad weather, then many could have taken the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their family and livestock.
In addition family and or relationship issues are another reason students may be
“More than one out of every five (20.8%) students report being
Moreover, Paranoid personality disorder is perhaps the commonest form of paranoia the general public has to cope with. They involves a fixed system of false notion about the world and the people in it (Kantor, 2004).
Informative paper outline: Paranoia and Anxiety Stephany Alvarado West Coast University, Ontario English 240: Written Communication Dr. Sharon Lyn Stein’s July 10, 2023 Abstract Social anxiety and paranoia are mental illnesses that share similarities but are two different mental health conditions. Some obvious similarities that they share are anxious feelings and persistent concerns related to social contact. Social anxiety is known more as a common mental health condition classified by extreme fear and the uncomfortable feeling of being in social positions. Paranoia pertains to a constant and definite belief that other people want to intentionally harm you.
The term “hysteria” (derived from the Greek word hustera “womb) represents
A Psychological Disorder in a Show The Netflix Kdrama, The Glory, accurately portrays PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) in one’s life. In the first episode, we are shown a scene of a group of four students who bully an innocent pupil, the main character, Moon Dong-eun, in the school gym. One of the female students in that group, Lim Ji-Yeon, sears Dong-Eun’s arms and legs with a curling iron while the audience listens to the burning flesh and the thunderous screams from Dong-Eun. Furthermore, the bullies forcefully hold a terrified Dong-Eun down while another person sexually abuses her.
