Mass social media-induced illness presenting with Tourette-like behavior 2022 Fremer et al

Currently, we are facing a new manifestation of functional neurological disorder presenting with functional Tourette-like behavior (FTB). This study aimed to show characteristics of this phenotype presenting as an outbreak of “mass social media-induced illness” (MSMI) and to explore predisposing factors.

Between 5–9/2021, we prospectively investigated 32 patients (mean/median age: 20.1/18 years, range: 11–53 years, n = 16 females) with MSMI-FTB using a neuro-psychiatric examination, a comprehensive semi-structured interview and aspects of the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostic System. In contrast to tics, numbers of complex movements and vocalizations were nine times greater than of “simple” symptoms, and of vocalizations one and a half times greater than of movements. In line with our hypothesis of MSMI, symptoms largely overlapped with those presented by German YouTuber Jan Zimmermann justifying his role as “virtual” index case in current outbreak. Typically, symptoms started abruptly at a mean age of 19 years and deteriorated gradually with no differences between males and females.

In all patients, we identified timely-related psychological stressors, unconscious intrapsychic conflicts, and/or structural deficits. Nearly all patients (94%) suffered from further psychiatric symptoms including abnormalities in social behavior (81%), obsessive-compulsive behavior (OCB) (47%), Tourette syndrome (TS) (47%), anxiety (41%), and depression (31%), about half (47%) had experienced bullying, and 75% suffered from coexisting somatic diseases.

Our data suggest that pre-existing abnormalities in social behavior and psychiatric symptoms (OCB, anxiety, and depression), but also TS in combination with timely-related psychological stressors, unconscious intrapsychic conflicts, and structural deficits predispose to contagion with MSMI-FTB.

Open access, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.963769/full

 

Very abnormal to frame a hypothesis as a fact in the abstract. Because of course it's not a hypothesis, it's an assumption asserted as fact that is the starting point, a conclusion in search of evidence.

Most of the assertions are fully speculative, how in the hell can anyone seriously claim that they have evidence of "unconscious intrapsychic conflicts", whatever that even means? This is the same stuff that our BPS overlords did, speculating about this and that as possible explanations that are then presented as a validated thing, how we may have unconscious desires not to work, or whatever.

The "functional overlay" scam is probably the worst bit of pseudoscience that psychosomatic medicine has ever put out. And now clearly the cat is out of the bag and banging left and right. "Yes, some of them may have TS, but they also have functional tics, we can tell by the way we define it as such".

You can tell how strong the mythology plays here, that they call it "mass" social media-induced something, in a clear nod to mass hysteria. Because for all the pretense about not saying those horrible things anymore, they're still saying them, just using different words and labels, and it's not even a secret.