What is Collective Hysteria?

In this episode of Stuff You Should Know, Josh and Chuck dive into the fascinating and mysterious world of mass psychogenic disorder, also known as collective hysteria. They explore how groups of people can simultaneously develop real physical symptoms—like nausea, vomiting, and difficulty walking—without any identifiable toxic cause, examining cases from a Mexican boarding school to upstate New York teenagers who developed Tourette-like symptoms. The hosts also discuss the related nocebo effect and how our minds can literally make us sick, while wrestling with the tricky medical and ethical questions these phenomena raise for doctors and patients alike.