"Several cases of susto have been presented in varying degree of completeness from each of these culturally different populations. In each instance, there was an understanding by the people involved that the victim had lost a vital part of himself or herself, and that the vital part was recoverable if appropriate measures were taken. Although the term most universally used in Spanish for this vital part is alma, which has reference to the Christian concept of soul, use of the term [...] now seems inappropriate..." from Susto: A Folk Illness (The text goes on to describe how a kind of literal 'soul' does not seem to be what is identified as lost by researching actual cases. This author then prefers to use indigenous words for the lost substance.) Susto is a cultural illness, specifically a "fright sickness" with strong psychological overtones. Susto comes from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "fright" (i.e. sudden intense fear, as of som...
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