Monkey see, monkey puke

I apologize in advance if some of this if left wanting. The illness of my body has defied the split and vitiated my mind.

“Am I not that very being who now doubts of almost everything; who, for all that, understands and conceives certain things; who affirms one alone as true, and denies the others; who desires to know more of them, and does not wish to be deceived; who imagines many things, sometimes even despite his will; and is likewise percipient of many, as if through the medium of the senses…In fine, I am the same being who perceives, that is, who apprehends certain objects as by the organs of sense, since, in truth, I see light, hear a noise, and feel heat. But it will be said that these presentations are false, and that I am dreaming. Let it be so. At all events it is certain that I seem to see light, hear a noise, and feel heat; this cannot be false, and this is what in me is properly called perceiving (sentire), which is nothing else than thinking.
Meditation II, part 9



Magic, 3-D images, tilt effect, persistence of vision. While illusions can be entertaining, we Cartesians put little faith in our organ senses when our logical minds allow our "common sense" to debunk our perceptions. With the exceptions of anxiety, phobias, naivety, and extreme gullibility, reason precludes hysteria in extreme situations. Sure, our minds may consider worst-case scenarios, but an individual hopefully weighs the variables and probabilities of all outcomes before reacting. Still, when someone yells "fire" we don't take the time to look for flames or wait until we smell smoke; we follow our instincts (and the crowd) and head for the door. Call it herd mentality, collective behavior or contagion theory; it's a reaction to the reaction of others as opposed to a direct threat.

But did you smell smoke? Did you smell it before or after the warning? Now that you think about it, you felt the room getting warmer. Yes, I felt it too! And I thought I heard some crackling, didn't you? Nah, not really. Besides, it doesn't matter now. Clearly none of us are on fire.

What about when the threat isn't confirmed or denied by our organic senses? What if the fire is inside of us? Mass psychogenic illness (MPI) occurs when misinterpreted information of a biological threat results in the manifestation of actual symptoms. Fear over contagion manifests symptoms in others, by word of mouth or line of sight transmission. MPI usually travels quickly and intensifies as the numbers of those affected increase. Emergency and media response can solidify and/or exacerbate the phenomenon. Because the symptoms are genuine, the threat perceived by those afflicted with MPI is reinforced by Cartesian ideology. “There's no way it can be only in my head when it's clearly spread to my body.”

The mind is driving the body to an unhealthy state seems to be the opposite of phenomena where optimism and "healthy thinking" seems to ameliorate a diseased body. But why would a rational mind induce a negative psychosomatic effect? It cannot be a question of will. Descartes declares that, while he imagines things sometimes against his will, he does not wish to be deceived. Perceptions of the senses are nothing else than thinking. If we are Cartesians, what does it mean perceptions of the senses are a consequence of thought and not the other way around? The body is not tricking nor poisoning the mind, but instead the mind poisons the body.

So why is it so hard for those affected by MPI to believe medical professionals when they are told that their symptoms have no biologic etiology? The doctors don't deny that the symptoms and the experience are real. It's not the fear of contagion to which they claim. It's harder to believe that they could be capable of such irrational thought or that the mind could so trick the body.
The cure is to treat the mind and not the body:

Recommended Approach to Patients with Mass Psychogenic Illness
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20001215/2649.html
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-Attempt to separate persons with illness associated with the outbreak.
-Promptly perform physical examination and basic laboratory testing sufficient to exclude serious acute illness.
-Monitor and provide oxygen as necessary for hyperventilation.
-Minimize unnecessary exposure to medical procedures, emergency personnel, media or other potential anxiety-stimulating situations.
-Notify public health authorities of apparent outbreak.
-Openly communicate with physicians caring for other patients.
-Promptly communicate results of laboratory and environmental testing to patients.
-While maintaining confidentiality, explain that other people are experiencing similar symptoms and improving without complications.
-Remind patients that rumors and reports of "suspected causes" are not equivalent to confirmed results.
-Acknowledge that symptoms experienced by the patient are real.
-Explain potential contribution of anxiety to the patient's symptoms.
-Reassure patient that long-term sequelae from current illness are not expected.
-As appropriate, reassure patient that thorough clinical, epidemiologic and environmental investigations have identified no toxic cause for the outbreak or reason for further concern.
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Words like explain, acknowledge, remind, and reassure are an appeal to reason, reinforcing the Cartesian split. The perception of the senses resulted in a conclusion that seemed one of common sense. Now that common sense and the failure of a rational responders must be accepted before returning to the Cartesian control.