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`Hit by the Wind' and Temperature-Shift Panic among Vietnamese Refugees

Harvard University, devon_hinton{at}hms.harvard.edu

Susan Hinton

Harvard University

Thang Pham

The Southeast Asian Clinic at North Suffolk Mental Health Center, East Boston Site

Ha Chau

The Southeast Asian Clinic at North Suffolk Mental Health Center, East Boston Site

Minh Tran

Arbour Counseling Services, Lowell

Surveying 60 Vietnamese patients with either current or past post-traumatic stress disorder, this article aims to phenomenologically characterize the syndrome of `hit by the wind' in a multidimensional manner. This includes determining the patient conceptualization of the disorder, profiling `hit by the wind' episodes suffered by patients in the previous month, and presenting case vignettes. Eighteen of the 60 patients (30%) suffered at least one episode of `hit by the wind' in the last month; all 18 patients had at least one episode of `hit by the wind' in the last month that met panic attack criteria. For the 18 patients, 33 episodes of `hit by the wind' that met panic attack criteria were experienced in the previous month. For these 33 episodes, the most frequently reported DSM-IV panic attack symptoms were chills (100%; 33/33) and dizziness (88%; 29/33). Flashbacks played a role in the `hit by the wind' episodes for 5 of the 18 patients (28%). In the discussion, a model of how the syndrome of `hit by the wind' generates panic is adduced; also, possible Chinese origins of the disorder are discussed.

Key Words: panic • post-traumatic • refugees • stress disorder • Vietnam

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