What is hysteria? | Wellcome Collection
The definition and diagnosis of hysteria has quite a history. Explore the beginnings of hysteria in Greece, through to animal magnetism, vibrators and, finally, shell shock in World War I. Words by Sarah Jaffrayaverage reading time 7 minutes 13 August 2015 W hen it comes to explaining hysteria, you might have heard some variation of the following: All of these are simplifications, perhaps even pure misogyny. In fact, the idea of hysteria has changed throughout Western European history: the disease has been a catch-all (tragically) for ailments as wide-ranging as epilepsy, infertility, PTSD, depression and menopause. The simplified urban myths of hysteria make assumptions about the continuity of women’s sexuality. As historian Helen King explains, hysteria is not a single disease entity with a continuous history, nor is it a disease with a continuous set of symptoms. The ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates, perhaps the first to diagnose hysteria, explained the disorder as “suffocation of t
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