A sudden loss of consciousness or muscle tone, or a trance-like state where the body becomes rigid and unresponsive.
From Greek 'katalepsis' (a seizing), combining 'kata' (down) + 'lepsis' (seizure), used in medicine since ancient times.
Doctors in the 1800s described catalepsis as a mysterious condition where people would freeze in place like statues, unaware of their surroundings—we now understand it as a type of seizure or conversion disorder.
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