Mass Psychogenic Illness

Type: Concept

As of November 2026, Mass Psychogenic Illness has been mentioned in one podcast episode on Morbid | Podcast (Sep 2025). In the "Episode 707: The Tragic Death of Gloria Ramirez" on Morbid, the hosts discuss the California DHS study's conclusion that the symptoms experienced by staff were due to mass psychogenic illness. Ash highlights that this explanation is criticized as biased and insufficient, suggesting that the symptoms were attributed to psychological reasons rather than a thorough investigation of the incident.

Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for contagion. It is the rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance involving excitation, loss, or alteration of function, whereby physical complaints that are exhibited uncon