Culture-Bound Syndromes in Contemporary Clinical Practice: A Case Report of Spirit Possession Post-accident in Bhangarh, Rajasthan

Description

Page: 709-711

Shradha Khatri (Department of Psychiatry, 174 Military Hospital, Bathinda Cantt, Bathinda, Punjab)

Culture Bound Syndrome, as defined by the American Psychological Association refers to a pattern of a psychiatric disorder, distress, and/or symptoms that are unique to a specific ethnic or cultural population and do not conform to standard classifications of psychiatric disorders. Ghost sickness/possession is a cultural-bound syndrome, characterized by symptoms such as anxiety, nightmares, and a preoccupation with death, believed to be caused by the spirits of the dead or ghosts. To discuss an interesting case study where a young male had a deviation from his normalcy following a trip to the Bhangarh Fort situated in the Aravalli Range, a mountain range in North-Western India, with his friend, a preserved and known haunted monument, by the Archaeological Survey of India. He was referred by his treating physician for Psychiatric evaluation with a history of palpitations, sleep disturbances and incidents of unexplained transient paralysis, after organic aetiology was ruled out. Evaluation and identification of Culture Bound Syndrome (Ghost possession/sickness) is an eye-opening illustration of how local cultural beliefs can shape the understanding and treatment of such conditions. In populations where traditional beliefs are more prominent, such cases are often treated by traditional healers, religious rituals, or local shamans, rather than through mainstream medical interventions.