<p><strong>Yes</strong>, <strong>definitely</strong>.</p>
<p>I had <strong>anorexia nervosa</strong> for 15 years and I would consider it as a psychogenic mass illness.</p>
<p>Also the atheism is a point worth to discuss, thus anorexia is known as a &quot;religious&quot; practice of e.g. nuns, but  in our time it is more a mixture between societal pressure, genetics, and physiology (hormones, nervous system, brain, organs, emotions).</p>
<p>Also, eating disorders have a different character than a religious practice - fear, grief, and shame are the most predominant emotions and the &quot;movement&quot; is &quot;avoidant&quot;.</p>
<p>I would guess a religion you are connected with might prevent anorexia nervosa actually.  If you have a self-worth, self-love, and feel secure, you definitely have better chances to not get an ED.</p>
<p>But &quot;alone&quot; and with a trauma living in threatening environment not eating or trying to fit into social standards is very pathogenic.</p>
<p>Not eating is a good way of &quot;escaping&quot; unpleasant things - emotions, situations.</p>
<p>There is a huge pressure to have a body which fits or exceeds standards, and women really have tendencies to see each other as enemies.</p>
<p>Women are told that thin is more worthy than normal or obese, and caloric restriction is everywhere. Starved brains are acting similiarly when special conditions occur - here first and foremost trauma and sensitivity to ghrelins activity.
Starvation changes the psyche. It makes you feel less pain.</p>
<p>So women get told to eat less and less and ghrelin works like a drug. Hunger is changing the brain. Starving brains have problems in making logical decisions and often create OCD around how to stay thin, lose more weight, and everything in the brain is filled with how to not eat.</p>
<p>Beyond is often trauma which needs to be seen and integrated.</p>
<p>I was also forced and later voluntarily in eating disorder hospitals in Germany. These stations are full of (mostly) women with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating - mostly comorbid with anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, OCD...  The thought patterns and behaviors and fears of the members are often the same such as the way people try to keep the illness running.</p>
<p>In clinics there is a very special psychodynamic which often leads to even more restrictive and self-harming behaviors because of the &quot;need to eat even less and do even more to lose weight&quot;.</p>
<p>It's a house of similar-looking, starving  women and everyone tries to eat less than her neighbour. It's really similiar to a mass hysteria.</p>
<p>And those thought patterns are definitely settled in society in more or less pathogenic ways.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-06T20:22:31.767Z
Welcome Nora. Your observations and experiences are quite on-point. Here however we require answers to be supported by references with links credible sources (textbooks, academic papers). If you can add some of those to confirm that these are common experiences then that would improve the answer. Please also take our [tour] and refer to the [help] as and when for guidance to our ways. Enjoy the site.
Jiminy Cricket.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-08T16:41:34.913Z
i would for a close look on the topic anorexia/ eds _ behavior, comorbidities, brain and metabolism highly suggest    https://youtu.be/BPVi97z4tbU?si=Qyh68TR4EaGAcF7-   this channel.   https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jeffreydesarbo2584
Nora Müller
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-16T16:22:26.633Z
I'm not an expert, but I don't think ED can be classified as PMI. Psychological Mass Illness is temporary. Eating Disorder is prolonged, not temporary.
Luffy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-06T19:19:25.113Z
2024-08-25T12:46:41.777Z
2024-08-25T12:46:41.777Z
Nora Müller
<p>Like in <a href="https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/25631/33521">this question</a>, I have seen only videos related to spirituality. Are there any instances where atheist people (or person) have been subject to mass hysteria? Do these experiences only happen to religious people?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-17T14:05:24.347Z
Has anyone thought that mass hysteria could be an example of strong emergence?
Luffy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-26T23:22:58.287Z
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_psychogenic_illness has some non-religious examples.
david
<psychology>
Can an atheist ever feel mass hysteria or mass psychogenic illness?
Luffy
# Can an atheist ever feel mass hysteria or mass psychogenic illness?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-08-03)

Like in [this question](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/25631/33521), I have seen only videos related to spirituality. Are there any instances where atheist people (or person) have been subject to mass hysteria? Do these experiences only happen to religious people?

**Tags:** psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Has anyone thought that mass hysteria could be an example of strong emergence?  
> **username_1**: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_psychogenic_illness has some non-religious examples.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-08-06. Score: 0

**Yes**, **definitely**.

I had **anorexia nervosa** for 15 years and I would consider it as a psychogenic mass illness.

Also the atheism is a point worth to discuss, thus anorexia is known as a "religious" practice of e.g. nuns, but in our time it is more a mixture between societal pressure, genetics, and physiology (hormones, nervous system, brain, organs, emotions).

Also, eating disorders have a different character than a religious practice - fear, grief, and shame are the most predominant emotions and the "movement" is "avoidant".

I would guess a religion you are connected with might prevent anorexia nervosa actually. If you have a self-worth, self-love, and feel secure, you definitely have better chances to not get an ED.

But "alone" and with a trauma living in threatening environment not eating or trying to fit into social standards is very pathogenic.

Not eating is a good way of "escaping" unpleasant things - emotions, situations.

There is a huge pressure to have a body which fits or exceeds standards, and women really have tendencies to see each other as enemies.

Women are told that thin is more worthy than normal or obese, and caloric restriction is everywhere. Starved brains are acting similiarly when special conditions occur - here first and foremost trauma and sensitivity to ghrelins activity.
Starvation changes the psyche. It makes you feel less pain.

So women get told to eat less and less and ghrelin works like a drug. Hunger is changing the brain. Starving brains have problems in making logical decisions and often create OCD around how to stay thin, lose more weight, and everything in the brain is filled with how to not eat.

Beyond is often trauma which needs to be seen and integrated.

I was also forced and later voluntarily in eating disorder hospitals in Germany. These stations are full of (mostly) women with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating - mostly comorbid with anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, OCD... The thought patterns and behaviors and fears of the members are often the same such as the way people try to keep the illness running.

In clinics there is a very special psychodynamic which often leads to even more restrictive and self-harming behaviors because of the "need to eat even less and do even more to lose weight".

It's a house of similar-looking, starving women and everyone tries to eat less than her neighbour. It's really similiar to a mass hysteria.

And those thought patterns are definitely settled in society in more or less pathogenic ways.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Welcome Nora. Your observations and experiences are quite on-point. Here however we require answers to be supported by references with links credible sources (textbooks, academic papers). If you can add some of those to confirm that these are common experiences then that would improve the answer. Please also take our [tour] and refer to the [help] as and when for guidance to our ways. Enjoy the site.  
> **username_2**: i would for a close look on the topic anorexia/ eds _ behavior, comorbidities, brain and metabolism highly suggest    https://youtu.be/BPVi97z4tbU?si=Qyh68TR4EaGAcF7-   this channel.   https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jeffreydesarbo2584  
> **username_0**: I'm not an expert, but I don't think ED can be classified as PMI. Psychological Mass Illness is temporary. Eating Disorder is prolonged, not temporary.  

---

