Prairie madness
Encyclopedia
- For the 1970s band, see Prairie Madness (band)Prairie Madness (band)Prairie Madness is a guitar/piano duo that existed in the 1960s and 70s in Los Angeles and Marin Country, California. Their self-titled album and its single, 'Shame The Children' were co-produced by Matthew Fisher, Procol Harum organist, and Joel Sill....
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Prairie madness is a term that describes an affliction that was common in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
among white settlers of the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
during the mid-to-late 19th century. Another common (though, technically incorrect) name for the affliction is "Prairie fever". The madness was a result of the extreme isolation
Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one...
experienced by former city dwellers and farmers more used to hilly and forested country. The affected individual would fixate on the fact that they were surrounded by hundreds of miles of prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
land, with no neighbors or anyone to talk to. When the perceived isolation became too much to bear, mental breakdown
Mental breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
would occur. Breakdowns induced by prairie madness often led to starvation
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
and suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.