You must have often seen people suddenly dancing unconscious in many places, especially in pandals or temples. It is generally believed to be the shadow of a ghost, but is it a problem caused by an 'upper shadow' or is it a mental health problem?

These days, schools in Shahdol of Madhya Pradesh and Kapilvastu district of Uttar Pradesh are in the news these days regarding similar matters. According to reports, as soon as they come to school, students start dancing and behaving strangely after seeing each other during the daily prayer held in the courtyard. Given the increase in such cases in the schools of Kapilvastu district, a decision had to be taken to temporarily close the school. Is it a ghost or something else?

Schoolchildren are becoming victims
Local media reports reveal that for the past few days, girls in secondary schools in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh have started behaving strangely as soon as they reach school, just like what is known in the society as 'Mata Aane' situation. Is. The local administration said the matter has just come to its notice. This is being investigated.

In another such case, as soon as they reached a school in Kapilvastu district, many students started screaming, many even becoming unconscious. Given the incidents, the school has been temporarily closed as a precautionary measure. According to reports, the matter calmed down when the children were exorcised in the school. Hence the villagers assumed that the school was haunted by a ghost. What is the reason behind this? Let us understand.

Demonic possession or mental illness?
To understand the reason behind the increasing number of such cases in schools, Amar Ujala contacted Bhopal-based psychiatrist Dr. Satyakant Trivedi. Dr. Satyakant says such cases have been seen for years, sometimes children and sometimes women start dancing and screaming at some special event. Considering it to be a problem of Mother Goddess or ghosts, people keep doing exorcism for a long time due to superstition. But in reality, these incidents have no connection with ghosts, rather it is a type of mental disease which is known as 'mass hysteria'.

The term hysteria is often used to describe emotionally charged behavior in which a person begins to feel out of control. If these incidents start happening simultaneously in many people then it is known as the problem of mass hysteria.

Know about mass hysteria
Mass hysteria is also known as 'collective obsessional behavior' in psychiatry. In this, people of a group start behaving scary in a compulsive form. This is not the case only in India, such cases have been reported in many other countries including the United Kingdom.

Professor at King's College London. Simon Wesley says that mass hysteria is a problem describing hysteria, panic, and abnormal situations in which people watch one person start behaving uncontrollably. Experts believe that these incidents are seen more in the group of women than in men.

What is the reason behind mass hysteria?
The term "mass hysteria" is used for the rapid spread of panic and fear in a group. Dr. Satyakant explains that, in the context of psychiatry, this falls under the category of collective behavior. The tension of the subconscious mind is considered to be the main reason behind this. This could be due to school problems or family stress. The problem of negative states of mind turning into physical symptoms is known as hysteria.

Doctors say that there is a lack of coping skills and expression in women, due to which any problem remains in the mind for a long time and comes out in the form of hysteria. Most of the people suffering from hysteria have been diagnosed with psychiatric conditions like stress and depression.

Dr. Satyakant says, that in the schools of the two states where these cases have been reported, there is a strong need for counseling of the children so that the problem can be properly diagnosed and treated in time. These incidents should not be linked to superstition or ghosts at all. These problems can be easily cured with counseling and general treatment methods.
​(PC: iStock)