The Psychiatric Tourist

You've probably never heard of koro—the delusion that your genitals are receding into your body. But for folks in East Asia, it's a very real—and understandably frightening--condition.

If koro isn't well-known in the West, it's because some mental disorders—psychiatrists call them "culture-bound syndromes"—are largely specific to particular locales. They may be the ultimate example of how culture, belief, and experience interact in the formation of psychiatric problems.

Lest North Americans develop a cultural superiority complex, consider this: Asians would be baffled by the thought of someone eating a delicious meal and then intentionally vomiting it up. We, of course, call it bulimia. Some other culture-bound syndromes:

SYNDROME LOCATIONS SYMPTOMS

Tabanka Trinidad Depression in men abandoned by their wives.

Amok Southeast Asia Violent rampage, often followed by amnesia.

Piblokto Greenland "Arctic hysteria": extreme anxiety or confusion.

Taijin Japan Fear one's body is kyofusho offensive in appearance or odor.