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Psychological Phenomena

Kayak Angst

Clinical and Motivational Phenomena

Kayak angst, known in Danish as kajaksvimmelhed or kajakangst and in Greenlandic as nangiarneq or nangierneq in other Inuit languages, is a condition likened to a panic attack that has historically been associated with the Greenlandic Inuit, described specifically as an episode of intense anxiety among seal hunters fishing from kayaks or similar one-person boats. It has also been associated with the Igloolik Inuit of Northern Canada, who are said to experience wild hallucinations of mythical spirits, including visions of a sea ermine.

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