What is female hysteria and how is it treated?
Physicians continued to diagnose women with female hysteria throughout the first two millennia AD and continued to practice external genital stimulation as a treatment for hysteria. According to Havelock Ellis, physician and author of Psychology of Sex, a study estimated that in 1913, 75 percent of women suffered from female hysteria.
How was hysteria treated in the 1870s?
Women with hysteria under the effects of hypnosis, ca. 1870s. Since ancient times women considered to be suffering from hysteria would sometimes undergo “pelvic massage” — manual stimulation of the anterior wall of the vagina by the doctor until the patient experienced “hysterical paroxysm”.
Can a vibrator cure hysteria?
This mass treatment—a cure for the now-defunct medical condition of “hysteria”—was made possible by a new technology: the vibrator. Vibrators allowed physicians to massage women’s clitorises quickly and efficiently, without exhausting their hands and wrists.
What is hydrotherapy for hysteria?
Before physicians used medical vibrators for pelvic massage, hydrotherapy, or water therapy, was one of the first technological advancements in treating hysteria and a precursor to medical vibrating massagers. Hydrotherapy treatment involved the pelvic douche, which was an apparatus that originated in France during the mid 1800s.
What is female hysteria?
Psychiatry. Female hysteria was once a common medical diagnosis for women, which was described as exhibiting a wide array of symptoms, including anxiety, shortness of breath, fainting, nervousness, sexual desire, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in the abdomen, irritability, loss of appetite for food or sex, ...
Why did the number of women with female hysteria decline?
Some medical authors claim that the decline was due to gaining a greater understanding of the psychology behind conversion disorders such as hysteria .
What are the symptoms of hysteria?
French physician Philippe Pinel freed hysteria patients detained in Paris' Salpêtrière sanatorium on the basis that kindness and sensitivity were needed to formulate good care. Another French physician, Francois de Sauvages de La Croix believed some common signs of female hysteria were "tears and laughter, oscitation [yawning], pandiculation (stretching and yawning), suffocating angina (chest pain) or dyspnea (shortness of breath), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), delirium, a close and driving pulse, a swollen abdomen, cold extremities, and abundant and clear urine.”
Why is hysteria called the widow's disease?
Hysteria was referred to as "the widow's disease", because the female semen was believed to turn venomous if not released through regular climax or intercourse.
What did Freud think of hysteria?
He thought that hysteria may have been related to the unconscious mind and separate from the conscious mind or the ego.
What did Charcot's use of photography and the resulting concretization of women's expressions of health and
Charcot's use of photography, and the resulting concretization of women's expressions of health and distress, continued to influence women's experiences of seeking healthcare.
Why do we use the word "hysteria"?
We use the word not with any scientific precision, but because it is the name most commonly given to a kind of enthusiasm that has degenerated into habitual nervous excitement ."'. — Gilman, 320, The American Psychiatric Association did not drop the term "hysteria" until the 1950's.
When did hypnosis cause hysteria?
Women with hysteria under the effects of hypnosis, ca. 1870s. Since ancient times women considered to be suffering from hysteria would sometimes undergo “pelvic massage” — manual stimulation of the anterior wall of the vagina by the doctor until the patient experienced “hysterical paroxysm”.
What was the Victorian advertisement for Pelvic Massage?
Victorian advertisement showing a doctor treating woman’s hysteria by “pelvic massage”. A solution was the invention of massage devices, which shortened treatment from hours to minutes, removing the need for midwives and increasing a physician’s treatment capacity.
How many pages of hysteria were there in 1859?
A physician in 1859 claimed that a quarter of all women suffered from hysteria, which is reasonable considering that one physician cataloged 75 pages of possible symptoms of hysteria and called the list incomplete; almost any ailment could fit the diagnosis.
When was the first vibrator invented?
In 1873 , the first electromechanical vibrator was used at an asylum in France for the treatment of hysteria. While physicians of the period acknowledged that the disorder stemmed from sexual dissatisfaction, they seemed unaware of or unwilling to admit the sexual purposes of the devices used to treat it.
Can a doctor treat hysteria in women?
Yes, the doctor could treat the women in their home. The Fainting Couch or Chaise Lounge became popular for the ladies’ comfort during this “treatment”. Female hysteria was a once-common medical diagnosis, made exclusively in women, which is today no longer recognized by modern medical authorities as a medical disorder.
Who discovered the method of hysteria?
The German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) found in suggestion a method of treatment for his patients suffering from hysteria, practicing both group and individual treatments. He identified in the body a fluid called "animal magnetism" and his method soon became famous as "mesmerism".
What is classical hysteria?
Her explanation of classical hysteria is that the illness manifested itself in young women repressed by Puritanism, and was aggravated by the intervention of Puritan pastors, this leading to dramatic consequences . The incident proves thus that hysteria could be seen as a consequence of social conflicts [27].
What is Janet's contribution to Freud's theory?
The father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud(1865-1939) provides a contribution that leads to the psychological theory of hysteria and the assertion of a “male hysteria”.
What is hysteria caused by?
In 1748 Joseph Raulinpublished a work in which he defines hysteria as an affection vaporeuseand describes it as a disease caused by foul air of big cities and unruly social life. In theory, the disorder can affect both sexes, but women are more at risk for their being lazy and irritable [26].
What is the difference between hysteria and epilepsy?
He emphasizes the difference between the compulsive movements of epilepsy, caused by a disorder of the brain, and those of hysteria due to the abnormal movements of the uterus in the body.
What herbs did Galen use for hysteria?
Galen’s treatments for hysteria consisted in purges, administrations of hellebore, mint, laudanum, belladonna extract, valerian and other herbs, and also getting married or repressing stimuli that could excite a young woman [2,3,7].
What is the oldest medical document containing references to depressive syndromes?
In the Eber Papyrus (1600 BC) the oldest medical document containing references to depressive syndromes, traditional symptoms of hysteria were described as tonic- clonic seizures and the sense of suffocation and imminent death (Freud’s globus istericus).
What was the first technological advancement in treating hysteria?
Before physicians used medical vibrators for pelvic massage, hydrotherapy, or water therapy, was one of the first technological advancements in treating hysteria and a precursor to medical vibrating massagers. Hydrotherapy treatment involved the pelvic douche, which was an apparatus that originated in France during the mid 1800s.
How many women suffered from hysteria in 1913?
According to Havelock Ellis, physician and author of Psychology of Sex, a study estimated that in 1913, 75 percent of women suffered from female hysteria.
Why did Maines develop vibrating machines?
In her book, The Technology of Orgasm, Maines presents her hypothesis that some physicians used and developed vibrating machines to treat women with hysteria to save time and to avoid the laborious task of manual massage on the increasing number of female patients.
What did physicians believe about clitoral stimulation?
Since society and physicians of the time did not correlate external genital stimulation with sexual practice, during the late 1800s, physicians believed that clitoral stimulation through medical pelvic massage could effectively reduce symptoms of hysteria. According to Maines, during the 1800s, the medical community believed ...
Why did physicians use vibrating devices?
Because the apparatus was large, heavy, expensive, and coal-powered, large spas and physicians with large practices primarily purchased and maintained the devices for their guests and patients . While most historians agree that physicians of the time believed vibrators most reliably treated hysteria, they also used vibrating devices ...
Why did Plato write that hysteria was caused by women not having children?
Around the same time, Greek philosopher Plato wrote that hysteria was caused by women not having children, stating that a childless womb would become distressed and move throughout the body, causing health problems.
When did doctors use vibrating massagers?
Until the 1920s, physicians used vibrating massagers as medical devices for treating hysteria at a time when doctors diagnosed women with hysteria as a sweeping diagnosis. Physicians throughout the world used the term hysteria as a medical diagnosis for women who exhibited a variety of symptoms and behaviors.
When did hypnosis cause hysteria?
Women with hysteria under the effects of hypnosis, ca. 1870s. Since ancient times women considered to be suffering from hysteria would sometimes undergo “pelvic massage” — manual stimulation of the anterior wall of the vagina by the doctor until the patient experienced “hysterical paroxysm”.
What was the Victorian advertisement for Pelvic Massage?
Victorian advertisement showing a doctor treating woman’s hysteria by “pelvic massage”. A solution was the invention of massage devices, which shortened treatment from hours to minutes, removing the need for midwives and increasing a physician’s treatment capacity.
What is Pelvic Massage?
Since ancient times women considered to be suffering from hysteria would sometimes undergo “pelvic massage” — manual stimulation of the anterior wall of the vagina by the doctor until the patient experienced “hysterical paroxysm”. Victorian advertisement showing a doctor treating woman’s hysteria by “pelvic massage”.
How many pages of hysteria were there in 1859?
A physician in 1859 claimed that a quarter of all women suffered from hysteria, which is reasonable considering that one physician cataloged 75 pages of possible symptoms of hysteria and called the list incomplete; almost any ailment could fit the diagnosis.
When was the first vibrator invented?
In 1873 , the first electromechanical vibrator was used at an asylum in France for the treatment of hysteria. While physicians of the period acknowledged that the disorder stemmed from sexual dissatisfaction, they seemed unaware of or unwilling to admit the sexual purposes of the devices used to treat it.
Can a doctor treat hysteria in women?
Yes, the doctor could treat the women in their home. The Fainting Couch or Chaise Lounge became popular for the ladies’ comfort during this “treatment”. Female hysteria was a once-common medical diagnosis, made exclusively in women, which is today no longer recognized by modern medical authorities as a medical disorder.
What was the downside of the treatment of hysteria?
Boyle or see the movie. Unfortunately for doctors, hysteria treatment had a downside — achy, cramped fingers and hands from all that massage.
Why did doctors tell wives to have hysterics?
Unfortunately, that probably didn't help too many wives, because modern sexuality research clearly shows that only about 25 percent of women experience orgasm consistently from intercourse.
What was the role of paroxysm in the 19th century?
By the early 19th century, physician-assisted paroxysm was firmly entrenched in Europe and the U.S., and proved a financial godsend for many doctors. At the time, the public viewed physicians with tremendous distrust. Medicine was, at best, primitive. Most doctors had no scientific training.
Why do doctors call women's climaxes paroxysms?
They called them “paroxysms” because everyone knew that women were incapable of sexual feelings, so they could not possibly experience orgasm.
What invention had nothing to do with women's pleasure?
The invention of the vibrator had nothing to do with women's pleasure. Mention vibrators and most people immediately think of women’s sexual pleasure. And no wonder: An estimated one-third of adult American women now own at least one.
What inventions did physicians use to make their hands?
Necessity being the mother of invention, physicians began experimenting with mechanical substitutes for their hands. They tried a number of genital massage contraptions, among them water-driven gadgets (the forerunners of today's shower massage devices), and pumping, steam-driven dildos.
How to treat a woman's genitals?
Fortunately, a reliable, socially acceptable treatment appeared. Doctors or midwives applied vegetable oil to women’s genitals and then massaged them with one or two fingers inside and the heel of the hand pressing against the clitoris .
Why is female hysteria discarded?
While the formal definition of female hysteria has had different manifestations throughout the years, it's since been discarded because of its breadth. Doctors spent years diagnosing women with this made-up condition—and offered all different kinds of treatment, some a bit wackier than others.
Why is hysteria called hysteria?
Thus, the term "hysteria" was often used to diagnose women with inactive or incomplete sex lives. 2. At one point, hysteria was considered to be one of the most prevalent medical issues around.
Why do women want to be doctors?
There are a lot of reasons you might want to have a female doctor. For one, it makes many women feel more comfortable during exams. For another, according to research, female doctors tend to have patients who live longer than their male counterparts. Still, women remain unequal in the medical workforce, with men occupying more prestigious roles ...
When was hysteria declassified as a mental health disorder?
7. Most shocking of all, though, is that hysteria wasn't declassified as a mental health disorder by the American Psychiatric Association until the 1950s.
Where did the word "hysteria" come from?
The term hysteria actually comes from the Greek word for uterus, hysterika, which Hippocrates first used describe illness that laid within the movement of the uterus.
Who invented the vibrator?
In the 1880s, Dr. J. Mortimer Granville officially invited the vibrator, and his electromechanical invention was patented. While there was no "one-size-fits-all" contraption, there were an increasing amount of women who wanted to take the in-office-only device home for some treatment on their own time.
Is hysteria a natural diagnosis?
With so many possible symptoms, hysteria was always a natural diagnosis when the ailment could not be identified. For instance, before the introduction of the electroencephalography (EEG) test, epilepsy was frequently confused with hysteria. Honestly, I don't think the two could be more medically different.
Overview
Early history
The history of hysteria can be traced to ancient times. Dating back to 1900 BC in ancient Egypt, the first descriptions of hysteria within the female body were found recorded on the Kahun Papyri. In this culture, the womb was thought capable of affecting much of the rest of the body, but "there is no warrant for the fanciful view that the ancient Egyptians believed that a variety of bodily complaints were due to an animate, wandering womb". Uterine prolapse was also known.
Middle Ages, Renaissance, and the early modern period
Through the Middle Ages, another cause of dramatic symptoms could be found: demonic possession. It was thought that demoniacal forces were attracted to those who were prone to melancholy, particularly to single women and the elderly. When a patient could not be diagnosed or cured of a disease, it was thought that the symptoms of what would now be diagnosed as mental illness, were actually those of someone possessed by the devil. After the 17th century, th…
18th century
In the 18th century, hysteria slowly became associated with mechanisms in the brain rather than the uterus. This is also when it was noted both men and women could contract hysteria. French physician Philippe Pinel freed hysteria patients detained in Paris' Salpêtrière sanatorium on the basis that kindness and sensitivity were needed to formulate good care. Another French physician, Francois de Sauvages de La Croix believed some common signs of female hysteria w…
19th century
Jean-Martin Charcot argued that hysteria derived from a neurological disorder and showed that it was more common in men than women. Charcot's theories of hysteria being a physical affliction of the mind and not of the body led to a more scientific and analytical approach to hysteria in the 19th century. He dispelled the beliefs that hysteria had anything to do with the supernatural and attempted to define it medically. Charcot's use of photography, and the resulting concretization …
Freud and decline of diagnosis
During the early 20th century, the number of women diagnosed with female hysteria sharply declined. This decline has been attributed to many factors. Some medical authors claim that the decline was due to gaining a greater understanding of the psychology behind conversion disorders such as hysteria.
With so many possible symptoms, historically hysteria was considered a catchall diagnosis wher…
Relationship with women's rights and feminism
The most vehement negative statements associating feminism with hysteria came during the militant suffrage campaign. The American Psychiatric Association did not drop the term "hysteria" until the 1950s. By the 1980s, feminists began to reclaim hysteria, using it as a symbol of the systematic oppression of women and reclaiming the term for themselves. Especially among sex-positive feminists, who believe sexual repression and having it called hysteria is a form of oppre…
See also
• Hysterical contagion
• Male hysteria
• Mass hysteria
• Mass psychogenic illness
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder