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. 2001 Dec;38(4):403-432.
doi: 10.1177/136346150103800401.

Kyol Goeu ('Wind Overload') Part I: A Cultural Syndrome of Orthostatic Panic among Khmer Refugees

Devon Hinton  1 , Khin Um, Phalnarith Ba
Affiliations

Kyol Goeu ('Wind Overload') Part I: A Cultural Syndrome of Orthostatic Panic among Khmer Refugees

Devon Hinton et al. Transcult Psychiatry. 2001 Dec.

Abstract

Certain cultural syndromes seem to increase the risk of panic attacks by generating catastrophic cognitions about symptoms of autonomic arousal. These schemas create a constant anxious scanning of the body, hence facilitating, maintaining, and producing panic. As a case in point, a Khmer fainting syndrome,'wind overload' (kyol goeu), results in dire expectations concerning the autonomic symptoms experienced upon standing, thus contributing to the high rate of orthostatically induced panic observed in this population.

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