Hysteria

Hysteria is a neuropsychic disease belonging to the group of neuroses. It develops in persons with a weakened nervous system under the influence of mental trauma and is the person’s reaction to a situation that he is unable to endure.

The manifestations of hysteria are extremely diverse. It manifests itself in various seizures, paralysis, twitching of certain muscle groups, sensory disturbances, etc. The listed hysterical symptoms can take hold for a long time, and then it is very difficult to get rid of them.

Hysterical seizures sometimes manifest themselves in the form of mild convulsions, but can occur in the form of fainting, an attack of angina pectoris and bronchial asthma, intestinal spasms and other conditions. That is why sufficiently complete information about the patient, his experiences and events that preceded the disease are of great importance for recognizing the true nature of the disease.

With hysteria, patients, on the one hand, always emphasize the excessive severity of their suffering, and on the other hand, they show a kind of indifference to the “paralyzed limb” or “blindness.”

With a long course of the disease, changes in character and behavior may appear. Patients become irritable, selfish, and traits of demonstrativeness and theatricality appear in their actions.

If appropriate treatment is not carried out, then its treatment requires significant efforts not only by the patient and his relatives, but also by a psychiatrist.

It should be remembered that manifestations of hysterical neurosis arise in a situation intolerable to the patient and are a kind of defense. Therefore, denying the disease to others using recommendations such as “pull yourself together” can only lead to a worsening of the condition.

Prevention consists of eliminating factors that adversely affect the nervous system. When the first symptoms of hysteria appear, the patient should consult a doctor.

Hysteria is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders and causes significant social problems, including work disruption, poor living standards and discrimination. However, the true causes and mechanisms of this disease remain unclear. This article will discuss various aspects of hysteria, including its etiology, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. It is important to note that understanding hysteria can improve the quality of life of patients and help healthcare professionals in their work.

Etiology of hysteria

There are many theories that explain the causes and development of hysteria. One of these theories is the theory of psychoanalysis, which connects the onset of the development of hysteria with childhood experiences and suppressed emotions. According to this theory, hysteria is a way of expressing an unconscious conflict between a sense of independence and the desire to be closer to the mother. Other theories, such as the dissociative model and the behavioral model, link the development of hysteria to dysregulation of the nervous system and repeated stressful situations, respectively. Regardless of the cause, hysteria usually develops during adolescence or adulthood and tends to recur later in life.

Hysteria: history of appearance and modern understanding **Hysteria** is one of the types of mental pathology, which is characterized by the presence of symptoms that are not directly related to physical illness, but affect the emotional state and behavior of a person. The name of the disease comes from the ancient Greek word for “uterus”, and is due to the fact that the first mentions of the disease were associated with menstrual irregularities and problems in the female reproductive organ. Later it was believed that hysteria appears only in women and is associated with psychosomatic disorders. However, with the development of medical science, it became clear that the disease can manifest itself in a similar way in men, and is not limited exclusively to the reproductive sphere. Hysteria is usually caused by mental trauma, tension, and overwork. Determining the exact cause of the development of the disease is quite difficult, since it is formed as a result of the interaction of several factors: genetic predisposition, psychological characteristics of a person, social conditions of his life. Identifying each factor separately can be difficult, but the most thorough analysis of all the listed circumstances allows us to more accurately identify risk factors and determine the likelihood of a mental disorder. In addition, the presence of a hereditary predisposition to the disease should also be taken into account. Treatment takes into account the fact that many of our diseases are primarily psychological. Studying the features of this area, scientists highlight several important aspects: * the biological basis of the disease (mechanisms of interaction between emotional, affective and higher nervous activity); * specificity of emotional manifestations in a broad sense; * age and gender characteristics of conditions that determine the manifestations of the disease, including the stages of the process at any life stage; * determination of the type of response to mental influence, the value of this parameter when assessing the patient’s condition;

In psychology, it is customary to distinguish three groups of fears: bio

Hysteria (from ancient Greek ὕστερος, “to come, to return”, hence the English hysteric ← ancient Greek χυστρικός ← χυστρῶ, “to scream hysterically”) is an outdated name for an acute form of neurosis (this independent disease is no longer given as a diagnosis) , which is manifested by psychopathological symptoms reminiscent of those of psychosis (delusions, hallucinations), without signs of confusion. It manifests itself as crises - repeated periodic severe attacks of excitement, during which chaotic motor restlessness, speech agitation, and various non-systemic autonomic disorders develop. Crises can occur as an epileptiform seizure with loss of consciousness, convulsions, or only autonomic disorders in the form of paralysis, palpitations, and pain. There are pseudohallucinations in the form of sound, visual and tactile sensations perceived without the presence of a real object, which patients associate with a certain environment and objects (tactile - with clothes, blankets, walls, electrical equipment, etc.). From the above, a fundamental difference emerges between hysteria and mental illness with clouded consciousness (clouded consciousness excludes words and phrases from the speech act, even those describing the symptoms of the disease).

The Greeks, in their writings, also believed that the cause of mental disorders was some kind of maternal pathology. Most researchers agree that the disease, in particular, was manifested by a tendency to hysterics and the appearance of false memories. Its causative agent was considered to be the influence of the moon, the presence in the body of certain liquid substances capable of flowing between organs, and inflammation of the abdominal area. For this reason, some stages of the disease proceeded similar to intestinal obstruction or other pathologies of the abdominal organs, as a result of which patients experienced alternating diarrhea and constipation, disorders in the field of gynecology and genitalia. One of the first mentions of the disease dates back to the period of Ancient Greece. At that time, it was called “uterus” and was caused by psychological difficulties. The word "hysteria" was introduced into medical practice by the French scientist Charles-Eger Amagnier in 1857 to describe the disease. True, later he was forced to abandon his formulation, because such a diagnosis was not included in the French code. Modern scientists have developed theories of this phenomenon, but accurate and objective studies still do not exist. Many ancient philosophers and thinkers attached great importance to emotions and feelings. Some authors of descriptions of hysteria believe that it is more of a powerful outburst of emotions than an illness. Leaving behind his common sense, the patient behaves like a completely crazy person. In ancient times, some scientists believed that there were some aspects of the psyche that were not