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Nervios

Kevin Verbael - Harvard College - kverbael@fas.harvard.edu

Casandra Laserna - Anthropology 1795 - Final Project

A brief introduction

• An “ataque de nervios” is a brief episode of intense stress on the mind and body that is similar to the concept of a panic attack.

Diagnosing AdN

Diagnosing AdN (Oquendo)

• Occurs in Hispanics following stress• Duration: hours, days, up to a week• At least two of:

– Sudden, impulsive behavior– Dissociative experiences or amnesia– Disturbances in communication (e.g. no speech,

screaming, speaking in tongues)– Brief hallucinations– Intense affect (e.g. fear, anxiety, or anger)

Diagnosing Panic Attacks (DSM-IV)

• A discrete period of intense fear or discomfort, in which four (or more) of the following symptoms developed abruptly and reached a peak within 10 minutes:

• (1) fast heart rate (2) sweating (3) shaking (4) shortness of breath (5) feeling of choking (6) chest pain (7) nausea (8) feeling dizzy or faint (9) feelings of unreality or of being detached from oneself (10) fear of losing control (11) fear of dying (12) numbness (13) chills or hot flushes.

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Questions

• What is an ‘ataque de nervios’?

• How do people use the phrase and diagnose others? How should we, as anthropologists consider this definition?

• How does an ataque de nervios differ from a panic attack? In what ways does it overlap?

Sources

• Oquendo, Maria. “Differential diagnosis of ataque de nervios” 1993.

• Shoes image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bohista/2625403389/sizes/l/