Kids in Spain are evidently becoming afflicted with an illness that is an excellent example of the power of suggestion . . . Teens suffer soap opera virus . . .
An illness that medical officials are calling the “Strawberries with Sugar Virus” is sweeping Portuguese schools as children complain of symptoms similar to those suffered by characters in a television soap opera. More than 300 children have complained of symptoms including rashes, breathing difficulties and dizziness at 14 schools in different parts of the country. Some schools have been forced to close. The outbreak came a few days after the popular “Strawberries with Sugar” teenage television show aired an episode about a life-threatening virus descending on a school. Medical officials believe many children, after watching the show, feared their own minor rashes and wheezes were something serious. Others noted the outbreak came at the same time as end-of-year exams. “What we concretely have is a few children with allergies and apparently a phenomenon of many other children imitating,” said doctor Nelson Pereira, director of the national institute of medical emergencies. “I know of no disease which is so selective that it only attacks school children,” doctor Mario Almeida told local daily Correio de Manha.
Children are highly imaginative and can be wonderful hypnosis subjects but this also means that they can sometimes be suggestible in terms of taking on negative constructs. They are a joy to work with – certainly the easiest people to hypnotize as they have not yet built up the same hardened critical factor that adults have but they can also be quite impressionable (one of the reasons parents, teachers, and other adults must be a bit more aware of the things they say to children).
Still this bit of news does illustrate the phenomenon of a suggested illness, mania, or craze . . . which is not always limited to young people or children . . . in the Middle Ages a large number of people were afflicted with the Danse Macabre and literally danced themselves to death. So, while some might make light of the “soap opera virus” so to speak, such things can indeed become quite serious indeed.
All the best,
Brian
STAGE, PERFORMANCE, ENTERTAINMENT HYPNOSIS – June 5-9, 2006
See “training” at http://www.briandavidphillips.com for details!
Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.briandavidphillips.com
