A Southeast Asian trance syndrome, usually characterized by a short-lived (a few minutes to several hours), sudden outburst of unrestrained violence, usually of a homicidal nature, preceded by a period of brooding, and ending with exhaustion. There is typically dissociative amnesia.
or mata elap: (Malaysia) a dissociative episode characterized by a period of brooding followed by an outburst of violent, aggressive, or homicidal behavior directed at people and objects. The episode tends to be precipitated by a perceived insult or slight and seems to be prevalent only among males. The episode is often accompanied by persecutory ideas, automatism, amnesia for the period of the episode, exhaustion, and a return to premorbid state following the episode. Some instances of amok may occur during a brief psychotic episode or constitute the onset or exacerbation of a chronic psychotic process. Similar to cafard or cathard (Polynesia), mal de pelea (Puerto Rico), iich'aa (Navaho), and syndromes found in Laos, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. Similar also to the nascent American folk-category of going postal.