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The Cause And Effects Of Mass Hysteria And Its Causes

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Why can't we keep control over our minds when we're under pressure? Mass hysteria is a very contagious illness that comes off as paranoia, and the best medicine for it is the truth (The Economist 82). Mass hysteria has been documented since medieval times (The Economist 82), and is still just as prevalent today. This paranoia outbreak can be triggered from multiple things such as: anxiety, stress, peer-pressure, or a feeling of lack of attention. It is possible to stop mass hysteria from spreading by being able to have power over your mind, and by being able to control your thoughts. An outbreak of mass hysteria spread throughout Guatemala in 1994 because of American and Canadian tourist allegedly "snatching children". A woman named …show more content…

This quote supports the idea that anxiety, stress, and peer pressure can create forms of mass hysteria very easily. However, mass hysteria is not always made up like its said to be. It is often caused by people consciously or unconsciously reenacting things that they see their peers doing, like yawning. These two events along with the Salem Witch Trials connect through the fact that our minds and the things that we see can often control our actions and feelings. The Guatemalan "Child Snatching" Mass Hysteria and The Salem Witch Trials both relate because both of those communities showed a deep caring for their children. The Bangladesh School Mass Hysteria relates to The Salem Witch Trials by demonstrating the ways that things like peer-pressure and stress can cause a change in attitude and change your actions. The Bangladesh story never said anything about the girls wanting attention, but there is a possibility that some of them were simply acting along in order to receive more of it. So overall, peer-pressure, stress, anxiety, lack of attention or unconscious thinking can cause one to feel, or pretend to feel sick, attacked, threatened, or alone. There is a solution to stopping mass hysteria, and that is the ability to control your thoughts and mind. The people of Guatemala went crazy whenever they saw any signs of Americans or Canadians showing interest in their kids due to paranoia. The Bangladesh students started to feel

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