User:Cirwin18517/Hysteria

Hysteria

Hysteria is a pejorative term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the 19th century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in females. **The basis for diagnosis, operated under the misogynist belief that woman are predisposed to mental and behavioural conditions.In the 20th century, it shifted to being considered a mental illness. Many influential persons such as Sigmund Freud and Jean-Martin Charcot dedicated research to hysteria patients. Currently, most doctors practicing Western medicine do not accept hysteria as a medical diagnosis. The blanket diagnosis of hysteria has been fragmented into myriad medical categories such as epilepsy, histrionic personality disorder, conversion disorders, dissociative disorders, or other medical conditions. Furthermore, lifestyle choices, such as deciding not to wed, are no longer considered symptoms of psychological disorders such as hysteria.

Historical symptoms[edit]

Historically, the symptoms of hysteria have a large range. Hysteria Patient For example:

• Shortness of breath
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Fainting

• Amnesia
• Paralysis
• Pain
• Spasms
• Convulsive fits
• Vomiting
• Deafness
• Bizarre movements
• Seizures
• Hallucinations
• Inability to speak
• Infertility

Historical Treatment ( new addition )

• Regular marital sex
• Pregnancy
• Childbirth
• Proximal Convulsions/ Orgasms
• Rest Cure

Silas Weir Mitchell and the "rest cure" (new section)

In civilian practice when faced with patients with neurosis and hysteria he developed his “rest cure”. It was based, he said, on moral and physical components described in his book Fat and blood2; the title reflected his experience that women with hysteria were often thin and anaemic. In addition to rest he insisted on removing the patient from their environment, asking them to write their life history, and using exercise, electrical stimulation, and a nutritious diet.

No longer a female illness (new section)

The existence and nature of a purported male hysteria (hysteria masculina) was a debated topic around the turn of the century. It was originally believed that men could not suffer from hysteria because of their lack of uterus. This belief was discarded in the 17th century when discourse identified the brain or mind, and not reproductive organs, as the root cause of hysteria.

Modern perceptions[edit]

For the most part, hysteria does not exist as a medical diagnosis in Western culture and has been replaced by other diagnoses such as conversion or functional disorders. The effects of hysteria as a diagnosable illness in the 18-1900's has had a lasting effect on the medical treatment of woman's health and continues to be a tool of dismissal and exemption from female authority in many industries. The term hysterical, applied to an individual, can mean that they are emotional, irrationally upset, or frenzied. When applied to a situation that does not involve panic, hysteria means that situation is uncontrollably amusing (the connotation being that it invokes hysterical laughter). Hysteria can also impact groups, medically and colloquially referred to as mass hysteria or mass psychogenic illness. Instances of mass hysteria have been recorded throughout history and continue to occur today.

External Links

New York Times VIDEO: Opinion | Hysterical Girl

Bibliography

Pearce, J. M. S. (2004-03-01). "Silas Weir Mitchell and the "rest cure"". Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 75 (3): 381–381. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2002.002386. ISSN 0022-3050. PMID 14966151.

Tasca, Cecilia; Rapetti, Mariangela; Carta, Mauro Giovanni; Fadda, Bianca (2012-10-19). "Women And Hysteria In The History Of Mental Health". Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health : CP & EMH. 8: 110–119. doi:10.2174/1745017901208010110. ISSN 1745-0179. PMC 3480686. PMID 23115576.

Novack, Kate. "Video: Opinion | Hysterical Girl". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-30.