Morgellons

Joni Mitchell has self-diagnosed herself with a syndrome or disease called "Morgellons," which the CDC has defined as "delusional parasitosis." Sufferers can present with real symptoms, but they're self-caused and/or worsened by self-treatment.

Because it it delusional, it can be contagious.

Because of the internet, it has become much more commonplace.

Interesting to consider, the possibility of an epidemic caused by faulty information. Wait, Fox News already did that.

Wow. A disease like that could really bug you.   

So, delusions are contagious...

Some are even self-perpetuating.

SAI2 wrote:

So, delusions are contagious...

More of a fad than a contagion.

Between the ages of about 38 and 46, I had a continuous rash on my forearms, elbow to wrist, which moved around every day. I'd get intense itching in an area the size of a quarter. The next day it'd be an inch away. It wasn't Morgellons exactly, because there was never any hint of fibers, but some of the symptoms were very similar. Was it delusional? Didn't feel or act like it.

Over the course of 6-8 years it eventually migrated all over both forearms (upper side only). Then as suddenly as it appeared it disappeared, and has never returned.

No treatment ever made a difference (pills, creams, sprays). A half dozen doctors found no cause. I changed laundry detergents more than once. Clothing made no difference (other than long sleeves causing irritation). Ice would usually quell the itching temporarily, but it came back as soon as the skin warmed up again.

The only evidence it left behind is that the affected areas do not tan. In the summertime my arms look extremely mottled, with thousands of small white spots covering my forearms. As I have aged, this mottling has become more pronounced, to where you can now see "old man skin" on my forearms year-round.

I still have no idea what it was.

Joni Mitchell just released a 5-CD archive of old radio broadcasts and live recordings, 1963-1967.  They're mostly mono, and the earliest ones aren't very good fidelity.

But it's interesting hearing the 19-year old ingénue, in her pure small voice, singing standard folk songs and a few she has written.  Most of the live sets include her spoken introductions to the songs, talking about how and why they were written.

I went through the archives and picked out 29 songs that were lyrically and/or harmonically interesting.  They came to 1:19:59 -- about ten seconds longer than an 80-minute CD will hold (so I had to drop one song).

She may not be with us all that much longer.  After her aneurism her health has been rocky.  But I'm glad she has allowed these early documents of her career to close out what has been an amazing career by a simply amazing songwriter.

The book I'm reading "Gory Details" has a chapter on Morgellons although it is not identified by that name by this author.  She found out about 27 out of every 100,000 people have delusional parasitosis, and some of them have gone to extreme measures to self-treat.

The delusion is self-reinforcing: when doctor after doctor finds no insects, the patients start distrusting doctors.  Instead they find comfort in the internet, where others like them describe the same symptoms they have, and the same frustration with doctors. When the doctors can't find any bugs and start prescribing antipsychotic drugs, the patients won't take them. "I'm not crazy, it's the profit-driven medical system that's crazy."

I think this same phenomenon is kinda driving the narrative, politically, these days.

As the author said in a different chapter, "The plural of anecdote is not data."