FILIPINO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND PSYCHO-MEDICINE

A. FILIPINO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
1. AMOK
• Person suddenly loses control of himself and goes into a killing frenzy, after which he/she
hallucinates and falls into a trance.
• After he/she wakes up, he has absolutely no memory of the event.
• In 1849, amok was officially classified as a psychiatric condition as the majority of individuals
who committed amok were, in some sense, mentally ill.
• Beramok
- is considered to be the more common of the two and is associated with the depression and
sadness resulting from a loss and the subsequent brooding process.
- Loss includes, but is not limited to, the death of a spouse or loved one, divorce, loss of a job,
money, power, etc.’
• Amok
- The rarer form is believed to stem from rage, insult, or a vendetta against a person, society, or
object for a wide variety of reasons.
• In contemporary Indonesia, the term amok (amuk) generally refers not to individual violence, but
to frenzied violence by mobs.
• In the Philippines, amok also means unreasoning murderous rage by an individual.
- In 1876, the term juramentado was introduce for the behavior (from juramentar - "to take an
oath"), surviving into modern Filipino languages as huramentado.

2. BANGUNGOT
• A relatively common occurrence in which a person suddenly loses control of his respiration and
digestion and falls into a coma and ultimately to death.
• The person is believed to dream of falling into a deep abyss at the onset of his death.
• This syndrome has been repeatedly linked to Thailand's Brugada.
CAUSES:
• Many Filipinos believe ingesting high levels of carbohydrates just before sleeping causes
bangungot.
• It has only been recently that the scientific world has begun to understand this syndrome. Victims
of bangungot have not been found to have any organic heart diseases or structural heart problems.
• However, cardiac activity during SUNDS episodes indicates irregular heart rhythms and
ventricular fibrillation.
• Older Filipinos recommend wiggling the big toe of people experiencing this to encourage their
heart to snap back to normal.

FOLK BELIEFS
• This phenomenon is well known among the Hmong people of Laos, who ascribe these deaths to
a malign spirit, dab tsuam (pronounced "da cho"), said to take the form of a jealous woman.
• Bangungot is depicted in the Philippines as a mythological creature called batibat.

OTHER RELATED SLEEP PHENOMENON

• A succubus is a female demon or supernatural entity in folklore (traced back to medieval legend)
• The male counterpart is the incubus.
• Religious traditions hold that repeated sexual activity with a succubus or incubus may result in
the deterioration of health or even death.

B. FILIPINO PSYCHO-MEDICINE
Filipino psychomedicine, or sikomedikal na sikolohiya in Filipino, is the application of basic psychology
to native healing practices loosely considered as 'medicine'.

1. HILOT- The use of massage to aid a pregnant mother in the delivery of her child.
2. KULAM- Hex or bewitchment other is term barang of cebuano.
3. LIHI - An intense craving for something or someone during pregnancy.
4. PASMA – A concept that explains how init (heat) and lamig (cold) together can result in illness,
especially rheumatism.
5. SUSTO - Soul-flight.
- Derived from Latin American traditions as a condition of being frightened and "chronic
somatic suffering stemming from emotional trauma or from witnessing traumatic experiences
lived by others".
Symptoms of Susto are thought to include nervousness, anorexia, insomnia, listlessness, fever,
depression, and diarrhea.
6. PAGTATAWAS - A method of diagnosing illness wherein alum (called tawas) is ritualistically
used by the albularyo or medicine man for diagnosis of a variety of health conditions.
As it cools, its softened form spreads on the water surface and assumes a shape that may suggest
the cause of the illness, often one of several indigenous forces: dwarfs, devils, or other evil spirits
(na-nuno, na-kulam, na-demonyo).
The water in the vehicle is then used to anoint the ailing part or parts of the body to counteract the
evil forces or illness. The tawas is then discarded and thrown westward, preferably into the setting
sun.
7. USOG - A concept that explains how a baby who has been greeted by a stranger acquires a
mysterious illness. Apparently derived from the Spanish tradition of Mal de Ojo.
8. GABA - The Cebuano concept of negative Karma.
 LOVE: THE FILIPINO WAY

• Courting is called “Panliligaw”

• Panliligaw or Ligawan are the Tagalog terms for courtship, which in some parts of the
Tagalog- speaking regions is synonymous with pandidiga or digahan.
• Manliligaw: Nililigawan
• Filipina maiden “Dalagang Pilipina” - Discreet and Friendly
• The traditional Dalagang Pilipina - (Filipina maiden) is shy and secretive about her real feelings
for a suitor and denies it even though she is really in love with the man
• Traditional Filipina maiden (Dalagang Pilipina) is expected to be conservative and demure. .
e.g A portrait of Leonor Rivera, Jose Rizal’s “lover by correspondence”, and the basis for the
Noli Me Tangere character Maria Clara.
TUKSUHAN (Teasing)
• is the usual term associated with pairing off potential couples in Filipino culture.
• It is a way of matching people who may have mutual admiration or affection for each other.
• Basted (from English busted) - is the Tagalog slang for someone who fails to reach 'first base' in
courting a girl because she does not have any feelings for him to begin with.
• However, if the girl 'encourages' her suitor (either by being nice to him or not getting angry with
the 'teasers'), then the man can court in earnest and the tuksuhan eventually ends.
• To call a man TORPE means he does not know how to court a girl, is playing innocent, or does
not know she also has an affection for him.
• Dungo – extremely shy
• Duwag – coward
• If a man is torpe, he needs a tulay (bridge) - anyone who is a mutual friend of him and the girl he
loves— who then conveys to the girl his affection for her.
• Some guys are afraid of their love being turned down by the girl.
• In Tagalog, a guy whose love has been turned down by the girl is called:
- sawi (romantically sad)
- basted (busted), or
- labless (loveless).

LIGAWAN (Courtship)
• In the Philippines, if a man wants to be taken seriously by a woman, he has to visit the family and
introduce himself formally to the parents of the girl.
• During the old times and in the rural areas of the Philippines, Filipino men would make
HARANA (serenade) the women at night and sing songs of love and affection.
• Friendly dates are often the starting point, often with a group of other friends.
• Later, couples may go out on their own, but this is still to be done discreetly. If the couple has
decided to come out in the open about their romance, they will tell their family and friends as
well.
• Furthermore, men will usually perform household chores to please the woman’s family, in a
practice known as PANINILBIHAN (to serve).
• Filipino women are expected to be pakipot (playing hard to get) because it is seen as an
appropriate behavior in a courtship.
• It is also one way by which the Filipina will be able to measure the sincerity of her admirer. Some
courtships could last years before the woman accepts the man's love.

Magkasintahan
• After these romantic gestures, and going on several successful dates, women may then formally
accept the man’s love, and officially become magkasintahan, or boyfriend and girlfriend.
• In the olden days, the road from being magkasintahan to being mag-asawa (married couple) was
expected to be a long and winding one, especially when gaining the family’s consent.

Pamamanhikan
• After a long courtship and being together, if the couple later decide to get married, there is the
Filipino tradition of pamamanhikan, where the man and his parents visit the woman's family and
ask for her parents’ blessings to marry their daughter.
 • e.g. A diorama’s depiction of the pamamanhikan, or the traditional meeting of the couple’s
families to ask for the bride-to-be’s hand in marriage. (Source: Retro And Soul Wordpress)

Tampuhan
• e.g a classic painting by Juan Luna, 1895. This painting depicts sweethearts having a lovers'
quarrel.
• The Tagalog term tampo has no English equivalent.
• Magtampo is usually translated as 'to sulk', but it does not quite mean that. 'Sulk' seems to have a
negative meaning which is not expressed in magtampo.
• A woman may also show tampo if she feels jealous or neglected by her beloved.
• Tampuhan is basically a lovers' quarrel, often manifested in total silent treatment or not speaking
to each other.

Kasalan
• To Prove man’s Pagkalalake (Being a man), a Filipino male desire a child, preferably a son.
• A newlywed male is teased as pundido (impotent) if his wife does not conceive within few
months after marriage.
• His indulgence in ―querida system is sometimes tolerated of if his wife cannot bear a son.
• In Filipina Women. a Dalaga (single woman) is expected to remain and keep herself a birhen
(virgin) for the man she will marry.
• She must be watched, chaperoned, and protected from sexual irresponsibility of men. She must be
faithful and loyal to him no matter what happens.
• The Filipina does not take advantage of her sex but takes advantage of the male sex, that is, when
she wants her man to be ―under the saya.

Courtship Today
• Today, women are more vocal and open-minded to show their feelings towards the one they like.
• The family’s impression of the partner is still at place but the process of gaining their trust and
winning their hearts is no longer limited to doing household chores.
• With a mix of modern and traditional, the Philippines is a country rich with wedding and
engagement customs.

Basically, Pinoy Love is

• Ibig connotes desire, wanting, even an impulse to possess the other.
• Mahal implies valuation, therefore, the other is prized, valued highly. It's root meaning has to do
with the monetary cost of goods as in Mahal ang mga bilihin ngayon (Goods are costly now).
• Ibig and mahal are feelings. They express the content of the heart that pursues.
• Irog is fondness or affection for another. When there's a hint of yearning it becomes giliw.
• When there is reciprocity, it becomes sinta. And thus, sweethearts or lovers or magkasintahan
• And when one introduces the other the term of reference is kasintahan.
• If it's friendship, it's kaibigan; a friendship which has a latent possibility for desire ka-ibig-an.

FILIPINO’S LOVE OR PAG-IBIG CAN BE

• Wagas na Pag-ibig (True love or TL)
• Mapagsamantalang Pag-ibig (Exploitative love)
• Matagumpay na Pag-Ibig (Triumphant Love)
• Bigong- Pag-Ibig (Unsuccessful Love)
• Tapat na Pag-ibig (Faithful Love)
• Mapagtiwalang Pag-ibig (Trusting Love)
• Mapaghinalang Pag-ibig (Distrustful Love)