Put some madness to the method

Different cultures provide different scripts or templates as acceptable ways for an individual to externalise an internal distress. There is no guarantee that one will feel any better after following the script, but at least it is amusing for onlookers. Thus we have a harum-scarum odds-bodkin bundle of amok, latah, disappearing penis syndrome, semen drainage, taijin kyofusho, moth madness, pibloktoq and good old-fashioned Wendigo psychosis*, all coming under the umbrella term** of Culture-Bound Syndromes.

According to the Whackyweedia, "A culture-specific syndrome is characterized by:

1. categorization as a disease in the culture (i.e., not a voluntary behaviour or false claim);
2. widespread familiarity in the culture;
3. complete lack of familiarity of the condition to people in other cultures;
4. no objectively demonstrable biochemical or tissue abnormalities (symptoms);
5. the condition is usually recognized and treated by the folk medicine of the culture."

Speaking on behalf of the editors of Bernouli's Encyclopedia of Imaginary Diseases, it would be nice if the term also covered topics of interest such as Morgellons, chronic pain, multiple personality disorder, CFS or somatoform disorder. Sadly, I can only conclude that the definition "folk medicine" in criterion 5 does not include "pills bought from a pharmacy"; or else "the English-speaking world" does not count as a culture.

Opinions were divided at last night's editorial meeting. One faction favours including culture-bound syndromes in the Encyclopedia anyway. But this would open up a whole can of worms about how to handle all the other DSM-IV categories. The other moeity would have it that Bernouli's great project can safely be abandoned, because the Encyclopedia has infiltrated and merged with the broader world... an occupational hazard among encyclopediasts.

By this stage we'd already had two cans of worms, and a kettle of fish and a side-plate of red herrings, so no-one was particularly hungry any more. The Old Entomologist used to serve crisps and hot chips like any other pub but then the chef got ambitious.

* Must be real since it features in Thomas Pynchon's first story.

** "Umbrella term" is used here as an umbrella term to encompass those phrases like "under the rubric of", "within the ambit", "gamut", "under the aegis" and "encompass".