When you've been sentenced to death by psychogenesis
The dangers of modern voodoo
Walter Bradford Cannon was the researcher that brought us terms like “fight of flight” and developed the theory of homeostasis. A prolific academic. A giant of the hard sciences. But he also contributed to the body of knowledge on the affects of a phenomenon that is more in the realm of the supernatural. Cannon studied instances where individuals were harmed and sometimes even killed by voodoo or what he called psychogenesis.
A psychogenetic death is one in which a person has a physiological reaction to an extremely emotional event such that their physical condition deteriorates to the point of death. One documented case was of a young man whose health spiralled towards near death when the local witch doctor cursed him by pointing his bone stick at him. It was only when the man was told that the curse was a mistake that his condition improved.
There was a Maori woman who found out that fruit she had eaten had come from a forbidden place, breaking her village’s sacred rules and she died within a day (the fruit was not poisoned or spoiled). In fact it is the Polynesian word for forbidden place, ‘tap’, from which we derive the word ‘taboo’.
Psychogenic death often occurs when a taboo as been broken, usually, but not always, in societies with strong superstitious beliefs. The shock of being ‘cursed’ creates such a dramatic response that the body essentially quits. Cannon believed that when people experience such extreme emotions, usually fear, their blood pressure drops to dangerous levels, potentially damaging the circulatory system and increasing the likelihood of sudden death. But keep in mind, nothing physically damaging has happened to these people. They were cursed by someone or something that they believe would bring a bad omen onto them which scared them so severely that their bodies deteriorated in a matter of hours.
The curse was real.
When a group believes so strongly in a taboo and when they enforce said taboo with such extreme prejudice, the psychogenic omen that falls upon the guilty can actually do serious damage.
Unfortunately, this is not just a phenomenon that occurs in “primitive” societies. All of us have the same collective psychology and every society has taboos. Sometimes a person will transgress or be accused of transgressing the norms that a certain group deem sacred and worth defending. This group can, if they choose, inflict a psychogenic punishment that can lead to the complete psychological and physical unraveling of the guilty party. It is an emotional firing squad.
Some figures in modern life will wield so much social and cultural weight that their condemnation will have a truly devastating impact. A religious leader or a celebrity could be especially deadly. A “call out” by a popular social media influencer could have the same affect as the witchdoctor’s curse and when even just a few people join the pile-on it’s as if there were an endless bombing campaign from above.
In the face of a modern curse, many people will experience emotional paralysis and a rapid deterioration of their mental and physical health. Aside from potentially feeling suicidal, there may also be a sense of dread so severe that death seems to be around the corner. It’s hard to eat and almost impossible to sleep. You really do fall apart. All because of a modern spell cast by another.
Unless…
Psychogenic harm is inflicted only because the victim believes strongly in the taboos broken and in the power of the witchdoctor. Most of us, if pointed at with a bone stick by a random man on the street would think nothing of it aside from perhaps recording it for a good laugh. In Cannon’s observations, the young man who was on death’s door after being cursed by a witch doctor recovered immediately after he was told the voodoo was not meant for him and that it was all a mistake.
The voodoo only works if you believe it does.
People shaming you feels awful but the damage can only be as severe as the power you attribute to those who curse you. The gossipers and liars are nothing but ridiculous wannabe witchdoctors who are only “respected” by the duped cowards who fear them. The antidote to a psychogenic attack is skepticism and doubt. The energy is very real but a trained mind can resist and deter its affects by defying their power with a scoff.