Amok
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
This 1930s encyclopedia article describes amok as a mental illness observed among the natives of the Malay Islands, characterized by a twilight state of consciousness, violent indiscriminate destruction, and subsequent amnesia. It notes that Emil Kraepelin considered the condition to be related to epilepsy.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
AMOK, a mental illness observed among the natives of the Malay Islands. After a short period of mood disturbance, and sometimes suddenly, a twilight state of consciousness sets in—the patient starts to run, senselessly destroying everything encountered in the way; upon the termination of the attack, either no memory of it remains at all or only a very vague one. Kraepelin considers amok to be a disease related to epilepsy.
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“Amok.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/amok/