thumb|[[Peruvians|Peruvian women demonstrating traditional herbal treatments for susto.]]
Susto (, ) is a cultural illness primarily among Latin American cultures. It has been found in Mexico, Central America, and among Mexican American communities in the United States. Susto is often referred to as “fright sickness” and can occur when a person experiences a sudden scare that causes their soul to leave the body. It is described as a condition of "chronic somatic suffering stemming from emotional trauma or from witnessing traumatic experiences lived by others." Researchers also describe susto as a cultural concept of distress, which means that culture shapes the way people understand, express, and respond to illness.
Symptoms
Susto has roots in Indigenous and colonial traditions that connect health to the soul and emotional balance. It is believed that when someone is suddenly frightened, their soul leaves their body, causing weakness, sadness, and illness. Symptoms of susto are thought to include nervousness, anorexia, insomnia, listlessness, fever, depression, and diarrhea. People who have experienced susto have also reported feelings of sadness, tiredness, loss of appetite, anxiety, and sleeping difficulties. Research shows that susto can appear more often in communities facing stress, poverty, or major life changes, suggesting that the condition reflects both cultural beliefs and emotional distress connected to difficult life experiences.
Various herbal treatments have also been documented, which include rubbing the affected person with an egg or medicinal herbs to cleanse them of the condition. Rubbing a guinea pig on the affected person in order to absorb the perceived illness has also been recorded. Because susto is seen as a cultural reaction to fear and stress, its symptoms can be difficult to fit into Western psychiatric categories.