Idioms of distress are considered as a way a culture express stress, which includes signs and symptoms.
Per Lima, de Jesus & Razzouk (2015) meta-analysis research, they found a common description of the symptoms of the three main Hispanic and Latino idioms of distress, which are: Nervios, Ataques de Nervios y Susto.
Nervios present somatic symptoms like:
- Headaches and Muscle Aches
- Sadness
- Difficulty sleeping
- Insomnia
- Decreased reactivity
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue
- Tension
- Worry
- Agitation
Ataques de Nervios could be related to acute stress and may include:
- Tremors
- Palpitations
- Uncontrollable screaming
- Crying
- Epileptic episodes
- Blurred vision
- Distress
- Distemper
- Depression
- Feeling of heat raising from head to chest
- Feeling suffocation
- Feeling loss of control
- Cold sweat
- Dissociative states
- Hysteria
- Auditory hallucinations
Susto are chronic symptoms attributed to soul loss and could include:
- Fever
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of appetite
- Trembling
- Nightmares
- Lack of motivation
- Fear
- Crying
- Drowsiness
- Sleeplessness
- Feeling weak
- Tired
- Pale
Source: Lima Nogueira, B., De Jesus Mari, J., & Razzouk, D. (2015). Cultural -bound syndrome Spanish speaking in Latin America: The case of Nervios, Susto and Ataque de Nervios. Archives of clinical psychiatry (Sao Paulo) Vol. 42 (6).
