Koro (psychology)
| Classification according to ICD-10 | |
|---|---|
| F48.8 | Other neurotic disorders |
| ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019) | |
Koro ( Malay , etymologically controversial, perhaps "shrinking" or "turtle (n head)") describes amental disorder that occursprimarily in Indonesia and Malaysia . The disorder is the irrational idea that your penis will shrink or retract into your own body and die from it. An actual penis retraction, let alone a risk of death, does not exist. In China this is called Suo yang ( Mandarin ) or Shuk yang or S [h] ook yong ( Cantonese , "shrinking penis"). In the West, the term genital retraction syndrome (SGR) or genital retraction syndrome is commonly used . Since the syndrome is a mental disorder and is mostly understood as an anxiety disorder , the more precise term genital-retraction anxiety disorder is also used.
Symptoms
Suo Yang can also occur in women with reference to the outer labia or the female breast . However, the disorder usually affects men. Those affected react with massive panic, accompanied by the idea of dying. Typical anxiety-related symptoms such as chills, paleness, sweating, restlessness occur. Another characteristic is holding or pulling the penis with the hands or with the help of special devices.
Cultural background
In China , the syndrome is partly caused by the idea that the balance of yin and yang is disturbed, for example as a result of sexual acts that are regarded as unhealthy, such as sex. B. Sex with prostitutes , masturbation , pollution . These factors lead to a loss of yang that causes the penis to shrink. The sexual dimension is missing from Koro in Indonesia. In addition, there are only other men as assistants z. B. to perform massages in the recovery of the alleged illness, while Suo Yang gives preference to women.
Non-cultural forms
SGR-like phenomena also occur sporadically in western countries. For example, they are referred to as koro-like symptom (KLS) if they cannot be proven to be embedded in specific cultural contexts. KLS phenomena are not independent syndromes, but are to be understood as symptoms of a psychological or somatic ( e.g. urological ) underlying disease or as a result of the effects of psychotropic substances. They are usually not associated with fear of death, and no mechanical devices are used to stop the retraction.
Epidemics
Occasionally SGR appears as a mass phenomenon, for example in 1967 in Singapore . It was reported in the press at the time that meat from pigs vaccinated against swine fever was supposed to induce genital retraction. Not only did pork sales collapse, but hundreds of SGR cases also occurred. The Singapore Medical Association and the Ministry of Health finally managed, with the help of the press, to convince the population of the irrational nature of the panic. 469 cases were documented.
SGR epidemics have also been investigated outside of the Chinese culture, for example in Thailand in 1976 (2000 cases), in India in 1982 and in Nigeria in 1990.
Categorization
Koro and Suo Yang are culturally linked syndromes and are therefore the subject of research, for example in ethnomedicine . On the ICD-10 , Koro is classified under F48.8, “Other neurotic disorders”. In the DSM-IV , the culture-bound SGR form is listed as a typical culture-bound syndrome . In science, the syndrome is mostly viewed as an anxiety disorder , but somatoform disorder , delusion , depersonalization, or obsessive-compulsive disorder have also been cited as possible classifications .
literature
- RW Freudenmann, C. Schönfeldt-Lecuona: The syndrome of genital retraction from the perspective of transcultural psychiatry. In: The neurologist. Volume 76. 2005, pp. 569-580.
Web links
- Peter J. Guarnaccia, Lloyd H. Rogler: Research on Culture-Bound Syndromes: New Directions. In: American Journal of Psychiatry. Volume 156, September 1999. pp. 1322-1327