Susto In Latino Culture

Susto “Susto” is a term used in Latino culture to represent a “fright” illness sustained after a traumatic experience. When this fright occurs, it is believed that the alma, or soul, leaves the body of the person involved. Although it is not a clinically recognized illness or disorder by western medicine, it is considered a folk illness originating in places such as Central America, Bolivia Peru, and other Latino migrants who live in America today. This fright is considered more common in females than males because of their increased exposure to stress as seen in a study conducted by Carl O’Nell and Henry Selby in 1968. They hypothesized that “the sex which experiences the greater intra-cultural stress in the process of meeting sex role

Most theories discuss the lack of fulfillment of one’s social role as the primary cause of this severe fright. Other theories mention that witnessing the loss of a loved one could induce the fright illness. In addition, living through a natural disaster such as an earthquake, tsunami, or hurricane can hypothetically cause susto. In the journal article Susto Etiology and Treatment According to Bolivian Trinitario People, it discusses the cause being a combination of social and biological factors. The article continues to build upon the social aspect of susto while adding that a person’s personality could make them more susceptible to susto. A study conducted by Roberta Baer and Marta Bustillo in Florida on migrant farmworkers revealed that those who experienced susto scored about the same in psychiatric impairment as their control group. The study was unable to interpret susto in psychiatric terms as a recognized illness but they did discover that those labeled as having susto had a much higher likelihood of dying than those who were not suffering from susto. Of those farmworkers, the study reports that 7% believed that if a child was suffering from susto, it was because the mother was frightened while carrying the

Folk healers, or curanderos, are often called upon to aid in the treatment of susto instead of mental health professionals. The biggest difference between mental health professionals and folk healers is credentials by an accredited facility that is recognized in the western world. In Bolivia, methods of treatment depend on which soul left the body because the Trinitario believed that there were three altogether. Treatment also depends on how the soul left the body such as a severe fright or theft by another person. If the soul was stolen, rubbing salive or sweat from the thief onto the person with susto would cause the soul to return to the body. Another way of returning the soul to the body is by taking the hair or nails of the thief and perform a smoke bath on the inflicted. Trinitario people of Bolivia also believe that a way to prevent susto from occurring is by chewing or carrying garlic. Aromatic plants and pungent herbs are used for preventing susto by forcing evil spirits that could steal the soul to vanish. In the study conducted on migrant farm workers in Florida, the passing of herbs was commonly used to treat susto. These herbs were called “yerba Buena or estajiate”. The sweeping of herbs across the body in combination with reciting prayers were thought to draw out the susto. Many mothers, or senoras, believed that