Amok
Amok describes a dissociative or depressive presentation, historically associated with South-East Asia, in which a period of brooding withdrawal is followed by a sudden outburst of violent, often indiscriminate aggression toward others, with the person appearing to have little or no memory of the episode afterward. As with other syndromes originally described as culture-bound, comparable presentations have since been recognised in a broader range of settings than the term originally implied.
Illustration
After several withdrawn, sleepless days following the loss of his livelihood, a man is later found to have attacked several bystanders without apparent provocation before being restrained, and once calm again, he is unable to give any coherent account of the episode or explain what triggered it.
References
- Casey, P. & Kelly, B. (2019). Fish's Clinical Psychopathology, 4th ed. Appendix I, 'Psychiatric Syndromes'.