‘The Ghost Pushes You Down’: Sleep Paralysis-Type Panic Attacks in a Khmer Refugee Population

Devon E. Hinton · Vuth Pich · Dara Chhean · Mark H. Pollack

117 citations0/0 files storedTranscultural Psychiatry

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Migration, Health and Trauma Sleep and related disorders Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Abstract

Among a psychiatric population of Cambodian refugees (N = 100), 42% had current--i.e. at least once in the last year--sleep paralysis (SP). Of those experiencing SP, 91% (38/42) had visual hallucinations of an approaching being, and 100% (42/42) had panic attacks. Among patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 45), 67% (30/45) had SP, whereas among those without PTSD, only 22.4% (11/45) had SP (chi2 = 20.4, p < .001). Of the patients with PTSD, 60% (27/45) had monthly episodes of SP. The Cambodian panic response to SP seems to be greatly heightened by elaborate cultural ideas--with SP generating concerns about physical status, 'good luck' status, 'bad luck' status, sorcery assault, and ghost assault--and by trauma associations to the figure seen in SP. Case vignettes illustrate cultural beliefs about, and trauma resonances of, SP. A model to explain the high rate of SP in this population is presented. SP is a core aspect of the Cambodian refugees response to trauma; when assessing Cambodian refugees, and traumatized refugees in general, clinicians should assess for its presence.

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References

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2013The relationship of PTSD to key somatic complaints and cultural syndromes among Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic: The Cambodian Somatic Symptom and Syndrome Inventory (CSSI)2005Sleep Paralysis as Spiritual Experience 2014Posttraumatic stress in emergency settings outside North America and Europe: A review of the emic literature 2016A clinician’s guide to recurrent isolated sleep paralysis 2013Baksbat(Broken Courage): A Trauma-Based Cultural Syndrome in Cambodia 2020Sleep disorders in migrants and refugees: a systematic review with implications for personalized medical approach

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