This is an example of collective hysteria. It's defined as groups of people who all exhibit the same symptoms, though the conditions is non-existent. The brain has been tricked into showing these physical symptoms. This tends to affect women way more than men, though no one knows why.
Mass hysteria is more likely to break out in isolated communities, and situations where there are highly formalized, structured rules. Such was the case in the Catholic boarding school in Mexico. This was also the case of the Dancing Plague of 1518.
That case started in the French town of Strasbourg when one woman began dancing in the street for four to six days. Soon, others joined in and by the month's end, there were 400. These people didn't know why they were dancing, or how to stop.
Physicians called this plague a "natural disease," and concluded that the only way to stop it was to have them keep dancing. Musicians were brought in to these street to encourage the dancing. Eventually, some of these people died from heart attacks, exhaustion, and strokes. A historian said that marathon runners would not be able to handle the intense workout the victims of this plague went through.
People who have mass hysteria are not faking their symptoms. The girls in the boarding school felt real sickness, and the dancers actually couldn't stop.
According to this podcast, the media can play a role in spreading collective hysteria. This is shown by a case in New Zealand. In 2007, a drug was changed so the pill would be a different shape. It still contained the exact same active ingredient. After it was released, people started feeling different side effects. After the media reported on this, even more people exhibited the same side effects. Studies found that the most people felt symptoms in areas it was reported on the most.
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