Strange afflictions.

May 8, 2006 8:07 PM

Penis panic, is a type of body dysmorphia, among other strange afflictions. Also known as koro, it may be induced by cannabis, superstition or fear.
posted by nickyskye (23 comments total)

Foreign accent syndrome actually sounds kinda nice.
posted by puke & cry at 8:29 PM on May 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

Penis? Panic!!
posted by loquacious at 8:47 PM on May 8, 2006

This is the perfect companion to the "tu-lip" panic. Get it?!!!!
posted by Falconetti at 8:51 PM on May 8, 2006

I have the opposite fear, that my penis won't stop growing out of my body. This panic seems to strike most forcefully before public speaking engagements.
posted by dgaicun at 10:50 PM on May 8, 2006

Other strange afflictions.
posted by ajshankar at 1:47 AM on May 9, 2006 [1 favorite]

Not clicking the links is not a strange affliction on MeFi.
posted by daksya at 1:55 AM on May 9, 2006

Fascinating.

Also, the list of complaints in the main link, kindly repeated by ajshankar, reads like a list of bands. But only twirly progressive rock bands or hardcore death metal bands, nothing inbetween.
posted by jack_mo at 3:30 AM on May 9, 2006

I always thought a good band name would be "Fragile-X"

www.fragilex.org/html/what.htm
posted by Gungho at 4:10 AM on May 9, 2006

Ondine's Curse sounds terrifying.
posted by chrismear at 4:25 AM on May 9, 2006

I used to want to eat the Keds logo when I saw it on TV. Mmm.
posted by VulcanMike at 4:47 AM on May 9, 2006

Can we combine this thread with this one to get a real-time, online, penis-status monitor?
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:59 AM on May 9, 2006

I've been off and on fascinated by Jerusalem Syndrome since the heady days of the imminent Y2K panic. I remember reading an article that Jerusalem had put a buncha money and personnel aside because they were expecting a spike in onsets of the disorder due to the elevated number of pilgrims coming to commemorate the beginning of the 3rd millennium.
posted by illovich at 6:26 AM on May 9, 2006

Great one more thing to look forward in life!
posted by Tiffanyfinch2003 at 6:37 AM on May 9, 2006

Koro, particularly cannabis-induced Koro, is not limited to Eastern cultures. Several factors may interact to create symptoms. These include previous knowledge of cannabis-induced Koro ...

sounds psychosomatic. that first link is great. thanks.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:18 AM on May 9, 2006

1. Penis.
2. Panic.
3. ???
4. Profit!
posted by The Bellman at 8:21 AM on May 9, 2006

It can be contagious, sparking off "penis panics", such as the one that overtook Singapore in 1967 in which thousands of men became convinced that their penises were being stolen...

what
posted by found missing at 8:39 AM on May 9, 2006

I've always been a fan of gourmand syndrome, an eating disorder where the patient craves and seeks out gourmet food.
posted by fungible at 8:43 AM on May 9, 2006

This post should have a NSFH (Not safe for Hypochondriacs) warning.
posted by semmi at 9:47 AM on May 9, 2006

I would be scared to shake hands with anyone I didn't know in africa. I think you would have to be looking like a maniquin after that hand shake. Scary.
posted by cdavidc at 10:57 AM on May 9, 2006

cdavidc, I think you're taking your fear *way* over the top. I've met and shaken hands with lots of people I didn't know from different countries in Africa, no mannequin effect afterwards, lol.

found missing: thousands of men became convinced that their penises were being stolen

Yup, pretty weird.

Documented as having happened all over the world. Lots of papers on any of these syndromes if one puts the name into the search box at PubMed.

semmi, oops, you're right, lol.

fungible, thought you were joking about the Gourmand Syndrome, nope, it's in PubMed and everything. That reminds me of the disturbing movie, La Grande Bouffe.

On the first link I loved the silly image of a family portrait with the one-eyed alien in the middle, under symptoms of the bizarre Capgras Syndrome.
posted by nickyskye at 11:14 AM on May 9, 2006

I had Doki Doki Panic in 1987, then Nyan Nyan Panic in ‘88. Don’t get me started on Gals Panic or Mad Panic Coaster.

I like the “Dr. Strangelove” reference in alien hand syndrome.
posted by Smedleyman at 11:43 AM on May 9, 2006

Damn, dgaicun beat me to it. I was about to ask 'Howcum nobody gets the opposite fear, that "anytime now it'll drag on the floor?"' I'm glad to see there's at least one other Mefite who's not insecure about his "manhood."

Has anybody heard of penis reduction pills, exercises or surgery? Not that I need it, really, I'm just wondering.
posted by davy at 10:42 PM on May 9, 2006

You'd think that when people in Benin saw some dude screaming that his penis was missing and pointing at a hapless tourist, they might ask the accuser to drop his pants just for a moment so they could verify his claim before putting a tyre full of petrol around the tourist's neck and burning him alive.

Hey, everybody! The next time you need an example of why the scientific method makes the world a better place, use this one!
posted by dansdata at 1:05 AM on May 13, 2006