mass psychogenic illness

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. a condition in which a large group of people report similar physical symptoms that are traceable to psychological factors rather than environmental or physiological factors.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mass psychogenic illness

"This secondary outbreak isn't necessarily mass psychogenic illness, but it involves mass suggestion. When you add in the potential for compensation, I would not be surprised to see tens of thousands of personnel filing reports."

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2021

"When you see mass psychogenic illness, there's usually some stressful underlying situation," he says.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2021

Other researchers and physicians maintain that mass psychogenic illness could explain some, if not all, of the symptoms.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 20, 2018

You could also view EHS as a mass psychogenic illness, in which very real symptoms arise from a socially contagious belief in a nonexistent disease.

From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2013

And because so many students were afflicted with similar symptoms, it was also considered to be mass psychogenic illness, which is another way of saying mass hysteria.

From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2012