The symptoms attributed to
tarantism, a traditional syndrome allegedly caused by tarantula bites, include 'anxieties', 'anguish', 'extreme restlessness', 'inner unease' or 'melancholy', as described by the 18th century physician Francisco Xavier Cid, but also hanging upside down from trees in imitation of spiders, lying in tombs, throwing yourself into wells, wearing red dresses, handling swords and obsessively looking at themselves in the mirror. Other common symptoms, such as loss of consciousness, convulsions, lack of control, aggression and delusions, make
atarantados behave similarly to those possessed by demons or the victims of evil spells,
according to witchcraft historian Maria Tausiet.
The syndrome takes its name from southern Italy, probably from the city of Taranto, where the Mediterranean
Tarantola (
Ischcolus) is still found today, but it appears in other parts of Europe, as evidenced by the 'Dancing Epidemic of 1518' in Strasbourg, which affected hundreds of people, or the Spanish Tarantism itself, with its
own characteristics - whose casuistry extended into Alto Aragon, as well as in southern Italy, until the twentieth century.
The exuberance of the symptoms, together with the surprising effectiveness of the symbolic 'cure' - that is, the fact that the performance of the Italian
tarantella, or the Alto Aragonese
jota, often in the midst of joyful community rituals, served as musical therapy for the distress of the 'stung' - aroused the scepticism of doctors and theologians, with the Church's attitude oscillating between different degrees of integration and tolerance.
Comment: While some cases of long-covid may be due to priming and hysterization, it's important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and label any illnesses that we don't understand as psychosomatic. Particularly when there have been noticeable changes in the blood of patients with long-covid such as
micro clotting or unusually high levels of
autoantibodies in patients with covid.
Viral illnesses can cause brain and nervous system problems through the depletion of nutrients including B vitamins such as thiamine and niacin. This could explain why patients with long-covid are reporting improvement in symptoms after taking high doses of these nutrients. See also:
As always, it will be different for each person and a multitude of factors could be contributing to long-covid such as lockdowns, vaccines, and poor diet/ health leading to "immune deficits" and nutrient depletion. For some, there may be a psychosomatic element to their illness, it would be no surprise given the long-term stress, anxiety, and fear that many have felt for the last two years.
Comment: Note the warped personality types displayed by the hacker above, and the official below, both who are seemingly working to destroy Canada's freedom movement:
See also:
- The Nice Revolution, Canada's (second) populist movement?
- Justin Trudeau sparks outrage after accusing Jewish conservatives of supporting swastikas
- Paris sends in thousands of riot police as trucker's Freedom Convoy arrives for protest against Covid passports & mandates
And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Canadian PM Flees Freedom Convoy as Washington Seeks War in Europe