May 1, 2025 • 25 mins
Hysteria: Was it just a disease of women? What was believed to have caused it? Why don't we see it today? In this special episode, we will go over the history of hysteria with its appearances throughout history, the theories behind the disease, and the various treatments that were used in an attempt to cure people who had it. Tune in to learn more!
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References:
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history-quackery/history-hysteria
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3480686/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Melampus
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Plato
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hippocrates
https://popehistory.com/popes/pope-innocent-viii/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/the-controversy-of-female-hysteria
*This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you suspect you have a medical condition, please seek out an opinion of a medical professional.*
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The year is 1750. Lately, you have been having periods of shortness of breath.
(00:05):
A fast heartbeat that feels almost as if your heart is trying to jump out of your chest.
When these occur, you are often experiencing periods of heightened emotions.
Your limbs feel cold and you feel close to fainting when this happens.
Concerned, you decide to see a doctor.
(00:30):
[Intro music]
Hello and Welcome to Anatomy Of Illness. This episode is a special episode.
Why? Because why not? Today's episode is about Hysteria.
Today's episode is special because this disease is no longer considered a disease.
So let's go through the history of Hysteria. Buckle up, this one is going to get a little wild.
(00:53):
For the first description of Hysteria, we must travel back in time to 1900 BC.
This is with the ancient Egyptians in the Kahun papyrus.
This papyrus claimed the cause of hysterical disorders in women
was the spontaneous movement of the uterus within the body.
A little bit of anatomical information, the uterus can't just go wandering around the body.
(01:14):
It is physically attached and normally stays where it belongs.
This would not be the only ancient Egyptian mention of Hysteria or Hysterical disease.
Don't worry, the Ebers papyrus from 1600 BC also has mentions of Hysteria.
In this ancient medical text, it referred to the symptoms of Hysteria as being
tonic-clonic seizures, the sense of suffocation and imminent death,
(01:37):
although imminent death was only in some cases.
However, this papyrus did have its own suggestions for cures.
They believed that the uterus had moved from its natural position because apparently,
the uterus was able to do so. The uterus must be forced back into its natural position.
But how do I get my uterus to return from its
little stroll around the body according to the Ebers papyrus?
(01:58):
You use smells. So if the uterus had moved upwards in the body,
they would place something pungent and unpleasant smelling near her nose and mouth.
While something that smelled really nice was placed down the other end.
This of course would be the opposite if the uterus was thought to have moved downwards.
So putting something that smells foul near the vagina
and putting something pleasant smelling near her nose and mouth.
(02:20):
Definitely sounds like an ancient version of aromatherapy and would not have been very useful.
Now we are going to move on to the ancient Greeks.
We are going to start with talking about Melampus,
an important character in ancient Greek mythology, because if it wasn't mythology,
I would have assumed this would be a fever dream or a really strange fanfiction.
So in Greek mythology, Melampus was a seer and a skilled physician able to talk to animals.
(02:45):
The reason behind that is almost as strange as his influence on Hysteria.
So Melampus claimed the rebellion of Argo's virgins.
Argo's virgins had previously refused to honour the phallus
and had previously fled into the mountains to actually avoid it.
I don't blame them. Their actions and behavior were seen as symptoms of madness.
Melampus would cure these women by using Hellebore and then encourage them to have intimacy with men
(03:10):
who were young and strong. This apparently healed the women and caused them to recover their wits.
Melampus claimed the women's madness originated from their uterus being
poisoned by venomous humours due to a lack of orgasms and uterine melancholy.
Again, this is a piece of Greek mythology. However, it is important to the story as this is
where Plato, Aristotle and Hippocrates would all base their opinions on a woman's madness being
(03:35):
caused by or related to a lack of normal sexual life. This is of course evident in the 5th century
with Plato's book Timaeus. In this he claims that the uterus is "sad and unfortunate" when
it does not meet with the man giving rise to new life. Hippocrates, who was also from the 5th
century, was the first to actually use the term "hysteria" to describe the condition. This term
(03:58):
from the Greek word for uterus, "hysteron". Hippocrates also believed that the cause of
this so-called disease was the movement of the uterus. Hippocrates would distinguish between
hysteria and epilepsy, with the compulsive movements of epilepsy coming from the brain
and the abnormal movements of hysteria were caused by the migration of the uterus.
He then also claims that the cause of this so-called restless uterus is due to stagnant
(04:23):
and poisonous humours which had not been expelled due to an inadequate sex life.
According to Hippocrates, a woman's body is cold and wet, whereas a man is warm and dry.
This leads to a woman being prone to putrefaction of humours, which is exactly why the uterus is
prone to getting sick, especially when you deprive it of the benefits arising from sex and procreation,
(04:46):
these being the widening of the canals to promote the cleansing of the body. I don't know why,
but that makes me think of the ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal a few years back.
Anyway, back to Hippocrates. Hippocrates would also claim that this condition would be seen
especially in virgins, widows, single women, and sterile women. Since the uterus was not satisfied,
(05:07):
this bad uterus would not only produce toxic fumes, but would also wander around the body
causing various kinds of disorders such as anxiety, a sense of suffocation, tremors,
and even in some cases convulsions and paralysis. Because of this, he suggested that these unmarried
women and widows must get married and live a satisfactory sexual life within their marriage,
of course. This was not the only interesting suggestion to come out of the ancient Greek times,
(05:31):
no. There was also the Euripides’ myth, which offered a collective cure or prevention for
melancholy of the uterus or hysteria. This was in the Dionysian ritual of the Maenads.
Women suffering from the anxiety caused by hysteria could go through the Maenad experience.
This trance state was guided by a Dionysian priest known as a satyr. After this ritual,
the women would supposedly be cured of their conflict relating to sexuality,
(05:56):
which was believed to be typical in hysteria. But what even was this Maenad experience?
Wine and orgies, of course. We are talking about the cult of Dionysus. That is kind of what he is
known for. Now we move to ancient Rome to visit with Cornelius Celsus in the first century BC.
Celsus gives a description of hysteria in his book De Re Medica, in which he states,
(06:18):
"In females, a violent disease arises from the womb and next to the stomach. This part is most
sympathetically affected or most sympathetically affects the rest of the system. Sometimes also
so completely destroys the senses that on occasions the patient falls, as if in epilepsy.
This case, however, differs in that the eyes are not turned, nor does froth issue forth. Nor are
(06:39):
there any convulsions. There is only deep sleep." Celsus would not be the only ancient Roman with
opinions on hysteria. No, there was also Claudius Galen in the second century AD. He would have very
similar opinions to Hippocrates on hysteria. Galen would claim that "hysterical passion is the name,
but various and numerous are its symptoms." Galen would also make comments on the works of
(06:59):
Hippocrates in his work titled In Hippocratis Librum De Humoribus. In this, Galen would state,
"Ancient physicians and philosophers have called the disease hysteria from the name of the uterus,
that organ given by nature to women so that they might conceive. I have examined many hysterical
women, some stuporous, others with anxiety attacks. The disease manifests itself with
(07:21):
different symptoms, but always refers to the uterus." Galen would also suggest several
treatments for hysteria. These would include purges, the use of various herbs like hellebore,
mint, laudanum, valerian, and belladonna extract, getting married, as per usual,
and also avoiding or repressing stimuli that could excite a young woman. Please don't go eating
hellebore or belladonna, as these are both very dangerous plants. They're highly toxic.
(07:45):
Moving on from Galen to Soranus, who lived between the first and second century AD.
Soranus is often viewed as one of the founding fathers of scientific gynecology and obstetrics.
He would write an entire treatise on women's diseases. "Women's disorders arise from the
toils of procreation. Their recovery is encouraged by sexual abstinence, and perpetual virginity is
(08:06):
women's ideal condition. Fumigations, cataplasms, and compressions are ineffectual. The hysterical
body should be treated with care. Hot baths, massages, exercise are the best prevention
of such women's diseases." His approach was very different. He promoted caring for the woman,
rather than just throwing poisons and sticking weird smelling stuff up her nose. He actually
(08:28):
said, you know, care and rest, not mild torture. Now with the fall of the Roman Empire, we now get
into the Middle Ages. With much of the Middle Ages, there would be minimal progress in health
in general. However, there were the occasional positive moments. One of these being in the 11th
century in Salerno, Italy. With Trotula de Ruggiero, she is often considered the first
(08:48):
female doctor in Christian Europe. She was considered to be an expert in women's health
conditions. She believed that women were more vulnerable than men. She would explain how the
suffering that was related to gynecological diseases was intimate. Women, often out of shame,
do not reveal their troubles to their doctor. She based many of her theories of hysteria on the work
of Hippocrates. She would also recommend the use of sedative type remedies like musk oil and mint.
(09:11):
Trotula would not be the only woman who was a doctor at this time. There was also Hildegard
of Bingen in Germany. She was an abbess, a mystic, and also a doctor. A lot of her work attempted to
reconcile science with faith. Although due to this, science often suffered. She would use
humoral theory, which is the theory of the four humours of Hippocrates. She would claim that the
attributes and origins of black bile come from the original sin. She believed that melancholy was a
(09:35):
defect of the soul originating from evil. And doctors have to accept that this disease is,
of course, incurable. Hildegard had many interesting beliefs surrounding melancholy and
hysteria. Speaking of interesting, you can check out our interesting merch at merchanatomy.com.
But anyway, moving on. Back to Hildegard's interesting opinions. She would claim that men
with melancholy were perverse and ugly. Women with it were slender and minute. Unable to hold
(10:00):
thoughts and infertile due to a weak and fragile uterus. Most of her medical and scientific beliefs
were based on religion. This is the beginning of much of the religious undertones that would emerge
within the belief of hysteria as a condition and the treatment of women with this so-called
disease. This would really be emphasised with the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.
(10:20):
He would support the ideas of Aristotle, which were that the woman is a failed man.
Saint Aquinas would blame much of this perceived inferiority as a consequence of sin.
He would also claim that some old women were evil-minded. They would gaze on children in a
poisonous and evil way. And demons, with whom the witches enter into agreements, interacting through
their eyes, the idea of a woman witch, which we shall call the demonological vision, almost
(10:46):
becomes insuperable. Preachers disclose the Old Testament's condemnation of wizards and necromancers
and the fear of witches. This spreads in the collective imagination of the European population.
With the 13th century and continuing on through the Middle Ages, the treatment of women deemed
as having hysteria would change. Rather than various medications and marriage, the main
(11:06):
treatment methods used would change to religious practices. But what religious practices? Well,
the practice of exorcisms. This was due to the basis of the problem being believed to be demonic
possession. In early Christianity, exorcism was seen as a cure for hysteria. Whereas later on, this
became more of a punishment in the late Middle Ages as hysteria began being viewed as sorcery.
(11:26):
Now we move to 1484 with Pope Innocent VIII. An interesting character, he would create a papal
bull, which is an official document titled Summis Desiderantes Affectibus. This document encouraged
the witch hunt and pushed an obligation of punishing, imprisoning, and correcting heretics.
Two years later in 1486, we would have the publication called Hammer of Witches,
(11:48):
also known as Malleus Maleficarum. Again, emphasis on Maleficarum as this means witches,
does not mean wizards. It was very woman-based. Why does this text matter in the history of
hysteria? Well, in the Malleus Maleficarum, if a doctor cannot find the cause of a disease,
it must be caused by the devil. The devil is a great expert in human nature and may interfere
(12:12):
more effectively with a person who is susceptible to melancholy or hysteria. Hysteria is a women's
disease and who more than women are more prone to melancholy. This disease is the basis of
female delirium. The woman feels persecuted and the devil himself is the cause of this
mal-de-vivre or bad life. This deprives women of confession and forgiveness leading them to death,
(12:33):
either by their own hand or also at the hands of others as we will soon see. Women who were
often most targeted were elderly or single. Sorcery would become a scapegoat for all manner of issues.
Sprenger and Krämer would write a text called "Foemina" translating to "who has less faith".
This text was horrifically condemning towards women and to those with depressive illnesses.
(12:56):
During this time, thousands of women would be tortured. This would be the basis of
evidence and confessions that would lead to their deaths. Now we move into the Renaissance period.
This is where science and medicine would start to re-emerge and the witch hunts would begin to
die down. This is where we would meet Giovanni Battista Codronchi. In the 16th century, he
criticised how hysteria was being treated at the time. Codronchi would prohibit the practice of using
(13:20):
genital stimulation. He was a proud supporter of the existence of demons and witch hunts.
Yeah, he was still, you know, mined back in the medieval times. So, Codronchi was one of the few
during the Renaissance who wished to continue the medieval period of persecution. Moving on to
Girolamo Cardano, and Giovanni Battista della Porta. Now, both of these doctors also had an
(13:42):
interest in sorcery, but did not see it as a case of demonic possession. Sorcery being again blamed
for some of the symptoms of hysteria. They actually identified the causes behind certain
behaviours. Some of these were caused by certain fumes, polluted water, and various substances.
Another important doctor of this time would be the Dutch physician Johann Weyer. He had a desire
(14:03):
of proving that witches were actually just mentally ill, and that these so-called witches
needed to be treated by doctors and not interrogated by priests. Witches again at the
time were people that were being accused of being witches, and also often accused of having hysteria.
In 1550, Dr Weyer would become the personal doctor to Duke William of Cleves. The Duke found that
many of these so-called witches would have symptoms that his family members, who were said to become
(14:26):
insane, also had. This led him to believing in Dr. Weyer's theory. In 1563, Dr. Weyer would publish
his book De Prestigiis Daemonum, which called out and rebutted the Malleus Maleficarum. For this,
many of his colleagues called him insane and a heretic. However, he was not.
Now we move to the modern period. Here we meet Thomas Willis. Now Willis would introduce his
(14:49):
thoughts on the cause of hysteria. He would not blame the uterus for the cause of hysteria.
Instead, he claimed that the cause was related to the brain and the nervous system.
In 1680, Thomas Sydenham would also have his own comments on hysteria. This was in his treatise,
“Epistolary Dissertation on the Hysterical Affections”. In this, he discusses the history
of hysteria, describing a massive range of ways that hysteria has manifested in people.
(15:12):
He recognized that hysteria and hysterical symptoms may simulate most forms of diseases.
Sydenham would go between somatic and psychological causes for hysteria. However,
he would deny the uterus as the primary cause of hysteria. Now we travel to Salem in 1692,
as this is where there would be an outbreak of what would be accused to be hysteria and witchcraft.
(15:34):
Yes, we are talking about the Salem Witch Trials. 19 women were hanged as witches and more than
100 others were held in detention facilities. Some of the symptoms that were recorded as occurring
in these girls were sudden movements, harsh or loud noises, and staring. One explanation
for this by Marion Starkey, who examined the Salem Witch Trials after the Second World War,
(15:55):
stated that this could be caused by the repression of the strict puritanism,
leading to the symptoms appearing, becoming worse with the priest's intervention.
In 1748, Joseph Raulin would share his opinions on hysteria, claiming it to be an affection
vaporeuse or a disease spread through polluted air. He believed that the disease was caused by
the polluted air in big cities and everyone was able to get hysteria. However, women were
(16:20):
just more susceptible to the condition. Now we move into the 18th century.
This is where we would meet Frans Anton Mesmer. He had his own unique ways of treating hysteria,
in both groups and in individuals. He claimed he found a fluid in the body called animal magnetism.
With this, he would do a technique he called Mesmerism or Magnetism. He would place his hands
(16:42):
on the diseased parts of the body and through what he believed was magnetic action, really this was
just the power of suggestion. I do have a YouTube video on it if you would like to check that out.
Moving on to Jean-Martin Charcot, the French father of neurology. He would study the
effectiveness of hypnosis in hysteria. Charcot would claim that hysteria was caused by hereditary
(17:04):
degeneration of the nervous system. This would make it a neurological disorder. He managed to
demonstrate that the condition was actually more common in men than women, so it was not
caused by the uterus at all. Now we move into the Victorian era which spans between 1837 to 1901.
Here women would carry smelling salts in their handbags. They were inclined to smell these in
(17:25):
times of heightened emotions. As with the Hippocratic belief that pungent odors were
necessary to get a wandering womb to return to its home was still commonplace. French neuropsychologist
Pierre Janet, who worked with Charcot, would open a laboratory in the same hospital as Charcot
with his support. Here he would convince doctors that the power of suggestion and hypnosis were
(17:45):
an extremely powerful tool for therapy and investigating illness. Janet had his own
beliefs of what caused hysteria. The person's idea of the disease becomes a physical disease,
so if they believe they have the symptoms they will physically express them. The reason for
hysteria was the subconscious. Janet had five core hysteria symptoms to his theories. Anesthesia,
(18:05):
amnesia, abulia - this is lack of motivational drive, motor control diseases, and change in
character. Now we're moving on to Sigmund Freud. He would provide contributions to the idea of
hysteria and reinforce the idea of male hysteria existing. Freud wrote in 1897, "After a period
of good humour, now I have a crisis of unhappiness. The chief patient I am worried about today is
(18:28):
myself. My little hysteria, which was much enhanced by work, took a step forward." In 1889,
Freud would publish Studies on Hysteria with Joseph Breuer. This is where the very beginnings
of Freud's psychoanalytical theories can be found. He had yet to really formulate them,
but the basics are found in this text. In this text there would be reference to the case of a
(18:50):
woman with hysteria called Katrina. She was diagnosed as having globus hystericus. Not long
after this, the idea of the Oedipus complex would appear. This was after a male study on hysteria.
Before Freud, the thought behind the cause of hysteria was a lack of conception and motherhood.
It was considered to be a consequence of not fulfilling their purpose. Freud would change
this. The cause of hysteria was a lack of libidinal evolution according to him. So the lack
(19:15):
of reproduction was a consequence and not a cause of hysteria. Taking a few steps back to between
1860 and 1890 and away from France, we are going to Sardinia for a moment. More specifically the
Managu Hospital in rural Siddi. In this span of 30 years, they admitted 10 women who were said to
have hysteria. Depending on the case, it depended on whether it was just normal hysteria or if there
(19:36):
were other symptoms like convulsions, constipation, or even intermittent fevers. In some cases there
were even more complicated conditions where it aligned with other diseases. In the simple cases,
they used a variety of treatments including antispasmodics, sedatives, and a variety of
natural concoctions. One of these concoctions was a mixture of barley, tamarind, belladonna extract,
liquid laudanum, and valerian. In one case, they even used leeches as part of the treatment.
(20:01):
Again, belladonna is highly toxic. You should not be using this on your skin or taking this
as a drug. This is not good for you. They would use a variety of natural remedies in attempt to
treat and cure hysteria. During the 19th century, those who had the physical or bodily symptoms of
hysteria were beginning to be diagnosed with a condition known as Briquet's syndrome.
(20:22):
In the early 20th century, we would have the case of Giovanna M or shall I say the end of her case.
Giovanna was taken to the psychiatric hospital called Villa Clara in 1833 at the age of 10.
This was due to her having headaches or a cranky head as she described it. This hospital boasted
being one of the most advanced in psychiatric therapy at the time. But what did that mean?
(20:44):
Well, for those receiving treatments there, it meant cold baths, purges, leeches, and blisters
on the neck from other treatments. In 1836, so three years later, Giovanna would be moved to
another part of the hospital, the basement of another building. Her description of this place
was that it was "as dark as the tomb, the only place on the island where the mad or insane or
(21:05):
the maniacs or the idiots, as we were called, were locked up. We were 50 people in chains,
in the smell of our own excrement, with rats gnawing at our ulcers."
Giovanna would eventually be diagnosed with hysteria and consecutive dementia.
She would be subjected to a rather interesting treatment regime as she described “tonics,
two eggs and milk, balneotherapy, rhubarb tinctures, potassium iodide,
(21:29):
lemonade and laudanum, insulin and laxatives, a lot of purgatives, always for everything.”
Balneotherapy is a type of bath therapy. Giovanna lived for 80 years in the psychiatric
hospital, passing away at 90 years old in 1913. 80 years in a psychiatric hospital for a headache,
which became a diagnosis of hysteria. Moving on to 1955. In the year of 1955,
(21:52):
between July and November, there was an epidemic that went through the staff at the Royal Free
Hospital. But what was this? Well, it was called the Royal Free Disease. This disease
caused neurological, psychiatric, and various other symptoms in 292 members of the staff at
the hospital, with an assumed but never found infective agent causing the condition. In 1970,
(22:13):
McEvedy and Beard would suggest a different cause for this. The Royal Free Disease was a hysteria
epidemic. Their arguments were that it was largely affecting the young women on staff,
and some of the symptoms, like the sensory loss in part or all of a limb, are seen in hysteria.
This was not the only mention of hysteria in the 20th century. In fact, there was much interest
(22:33):
in hysteria in wartime doctors. So we're going to go back to 1919. In 1919, Hurst would write,
"Many cases of gross hysterical symptoms occurred in soldiers who had no family or personal history
of neuroses and who were perfectly fit." This was most likely due to the shame of being labeled a
coward and the fear of being killed in battle, leading to the symptoms manifesting. There also
(22:55):
could have been an element of PTSD rather than actually hysteria. In 1942, Hadfield would have
his own observations about the differences between World War I and World War II hysteria symptoms.
“The far greater proportion of anxiety states in this war as against conversion hysteria in the
last war.” This was most likely due to knowing of what the previous war was like, having family who
(23:17):
fought in the previous one. In a 1950 study published by Abse about the 1944 hospitalizations
in an Indian military hospital would demonstrate that 57% of these 644 patient admissions were
actually diagnosed with hysteria. This however was different from the British military. The cases in
1943, there was only 24% being diagnosed with hysteria. There were also other differences
(23:41):
between these as those of the men diagnosed in the New Delhi hospital were considered to be of
high morale and all levels of intelligence. Whereas with the British, the men who were
considered to have gross hysterical reactions and breakdowns were considered to have low stability,
low morale and low intelligence. British soldiers were more commonly diagnosed with anxiety rather
(24:01):
than hysteria. After the war, studies in various non-western countries, especially in India but
also in Egypt, Sudan and Lebanon found that hysteria was actually an expression of emotional
distress. In 1980, the DSM removed hysterical neurosis as a diagnosis. Symptoms that were
considered to be hysterical in nature now often come under various dissociative disorders that
(24:22):
are found in the DSMs. Hysteria, which was once solely a woman's disease, no longer exists.
In part, the symptoms could have been caused due to environmental exposures to toxins,
other mental disorders but also due to the poor treatment of women. In other cases,
hysteria was often blamed and diagnosed in place of real conditions.
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(24:43):
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Otherwise, stick around for the next episode.
The year is 1750. Lately, you have been having periods of shortness of breath.
(00:05):
A fast heartbeat that feels almost as if your heart is trying to jump out of your chest.
When these occur, you are often experiencing periods of heightened emotions.
Your limbs feel cold and you feel close to fainting when this happens.
Concerned, you decide to see a doctor.
(00:30):
[Intro music]
Hello and Welcome to Anatomy Of Illness. This episode is a special episode.
Why? Because why not? Today's episode is about Hysteria.
Today's episode is special because this disease is no longer considered a disease.
So let's go through the history of Hysteria. Buckle up, this one is going to get a little wild.
(00:53):
For the first description of Hysteria, we must travel back in time to 1900 BC.
This is with the ancient Egyptians in the Kahun papyrus.
This papyrus claimed the cause of hysterical disorders in women
was the spontaneous movement of the uterus within the body.
A little bit of anatomical information, the uterus can't just go wandering around the body.
(01:14):
It is physically attached and normally stays where it belongs.
This would not be the only ancient Egyptian mention of Hysteria or Hysterical disease.
Don't worry, the Ebers papyrus from 1600 BC also has mentions of Hysteria.
In this ancient medical text, it referred to the symptoms of Hysteria as being
tonic-clonic seizures, the sense of suffocation and imminent death,
(01:37):
although imminent death was only in some cases.
However, this papyrus did have its own suggestions for cures.
They believed that the uterus had moved from its natural position because apparently,
the uterus was able to do so. The uterus must be forced back into its natural position.
But how do I get my uterus to return from its
little stroll around the body according to the Ebers papyrus?
(01:58):
You use smells. So if the uterus had moved upwards in the body,
they would place something pungent and unpleasant smelling near her nose and mouth.
While something that smelled really nice was placed down the other end.
This of course would be the opposite if the uterus was thought to have moved downwards.
So putting something that smells foul near the vagina
and putting something pleasant smelling near her nose and mouth.
(02:20):
Definitely sounds like an ancient version of aromatherapy and would not have been very useful.
Now we are going to move on to the ancient Greeks.
We are going to start with talking about Melampus,
an important character in ancient Greek mythology, because if it wasn't mythology,
I would have assumed this would be a fever dream or a really strange fanfiction.
So in Greek mythology, Melampus was a seer and a skilled physician able to talk to animals.
(02:45):
The reason behind that is almost as strange as his influence on Hysteria.
So Melampus claimed the rebellion of Argo's virgins.
Argo's virgins had previously refused to honour the phallus
and had previously fled into the mountains to actually avoid it.
I don't blame them. Their actions and behavior were seen as symptoms of madness.
Melampus would cure these women by using Hellebore and then encourage them to have intimacy with men
(03:10):
who were young and strong. This apparently healed the women and caused them to recover their wits.
Melampus claimed the women's madness originated from their uterus being
poisoned by venomous humours due to a lack of orgasms and uterine melancholy.
Again, this is a piece of Greek mythology. However, it is important to the story as this is
where Plato, Aristotle and Hippocrates would all base their opinions on a woman's madness being
(03:35):
caused by or related to a lack of normal sexual life. This is of course evident in the 5th century
with Plato's book Timaeus. In this he claims that the uterus is "sad and unfortunate" when
it does not meet with the man giving rise to new life. Hippocrates, who was also from the 5th
century, was the first to actually use the term "hysteria" to describe the condition. This term
(03:58):
from the Greek word for uterus, "hysteron". Hippocrates also believed that the cause of
this so-called disease was the movement of the uterus. Hippocrates would distinguish between
hysteria and epilepsy, with the compulsive movements of epilepsy coming from the brain
and the abnormal movements of hysteria were caused by the migration of the uterus.
He then also claims that the cause of this so-called restless uterus is due to stagnant
(04:23):
and poisonous humours which had not been expelled due to an inadequate sex life.
According to Hippocrates, a woman's body is cold and wet, whereas a man is warm and dry.
This leads to a woman being prone to putrefaction of humours, which is exactly why the uterus is
prone to getting sick, especially when you deprive it of the benefits arising from sex and procreation,
(04:46):
these being the widening of the canals to promote the cleansing of the body. I don't know why,
but that makes me think of the ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal a few years back.
Anyway, back to Hippocrates. Hippocrates would also claim that this condition would be seen
especially in virgins, widows, single women, and sterile women. Since the uterus was not satisfied,
(05:07):
this bad uterus would not only produce toxic fumes, but would also wander around the body
causing various kinds of disorders such as anxiety, a sense of suffocation, tremors,
and even in some cases convulsions and paralysis. Because of this, he suggested that these unmarried
women and widows must get married and live a satisfactory sexual life within their marriage,
of course. This was not the only interesting suggestion to come out of the ancient Greek times,
(05:31):
no. There was also the Euripides’ myth, which offered a collective cure or prevention for
melancholy of the uterus or hysteria. This was in the Dionysian ritual of the Maenads.
Women suffering from the anxiety caused by hysteria could go through the Maenad experience.
This trance state was guided by a Dionysian priest known as a satyr. After this ritual,
the women would supposedly be cured of their conflict relating to sexuality,
(05:56):
which was believed to be typical in hysteria. But what even was this Maenad experience?
Wine and orgies, of course. We are talking about the cult of Dionysus. That is kind of what he is
known for. Now we move to ancient Rome to visit with Cornelius Celsus in the first century BC.
Celsus gives a description of hysteria in his book De Re Medica, in which he states,
(06:18):
"In females, a violent disease arises from the womb and next to the stomach. This part is most
sympathetically affected or most sympathetically affects the rest of the system. Sometimes also
so completely destroys the senses that on occasions the patient falls, as if in epilepsy.
This case, however, differs in that the eyes are not turned, nor does froth issue forth. Nor are
(06:39):
there any convulsions. There is only deep sleep." Celsus would not be the only ancient Roman with
opinions on hysteria. No, there was also Claudius Galen in the second century AD. He would have very
similar opinions to Hippocrates on hysteria. Galen would claim that "hysterical passion is the name,
but various and numerous are its symptoms." Galen would also make comments on the works of
(06:59):
Hippocrates in his work titled In Hippocratis Librum De Humoribus. In this, Galen would state,
"Ancient physicians and philosophers have called the disease hysteria from the name of the uterus,
that organ given by nature to women so that they might conceive. I have examined many hysterical
women, some stuporous, others with anxiety attacks. The disease manifests itself with
(07:21):
different symptoms, but always refers to the uterus." Galen would also suggest several
treatments for hysteria. These would include purges, the use of various herbs like hellebore,
mint, laudanum, valerian, and belladonna extract, getting married, as per usual,
and also avoiding or repressing stimuli that could excite a young woman. Please don't go eating
hellebore or belladonna, as these are both very dangerous plants. They're highly toxic.
(07:45):
Moving on from Galen to Soranus, who lived between the first and second century AD.
Soranus is often viewed as one of the founding fathers of scientific gynecology and obstetrics.
He would write an entire treatise on women's diseases. "Women's disorders arise from the
toils of procreation. Their recovery is encouraged by sexual abstinence, and perpetual virginity is
(08:06):
women's ideal condition. Fumigations, cataplasms, and compressions are ineffectual. The hysterical
body should be treated with care. Hot baths, massages, exercise are the best prevention
of such women's diseases." His approach was very different. He promoted caring for the woman,
rather than just throwing poisons and sticking weird smelling stuff up her nose. He actually
(08:28):
said, you know, care and rest, not mild torture. Now with the fall of the Roman Empire, we now get
into the Middle Ages. With much of the Middle Ages, there would be minimal progress in health
in general. However, there were the occasional positive moments. One of these being in the 11th
century in Salerno, Italy. With Trotula de Ruggiero, she is often considered the first
(08:48):
female doctor in Christian Europe. She was considered to be an expert in women's health
conditions. She believed that women were more vulnerable than men. She would explain how the
suffering that was related to gynecological diseases was intimate. Women, often out of shame,
do not reveal their troubles to their doctor. She based many of her theories of hysteria on the work
of Hippocrates. She would also recommend the use of sedative type remedies like musk oil and mint.
(09:11):
Trotula would not be the only woman who was a doctor at this time. There was also Hildegard
of Bingen in Germany. She was an abbess, a mystic, and also a doctor. A lot of her work attempted to
reconcile science with faith. Although due to this, science often suffered. She would use
humoral theory, which is the theory of the four humours of Hippocrates. She would claim that the
attributes and origins of black bile come from the original sin. She believed that melancholy was a
(09:35):
defect of the soul originating from evil. And doctors have to accept that this disease is,
of course, incurable. Hildegard had many interesting beliefs surrounding melancholy and
hysteria. Speaking of interesting, you can check out our interesting merch at merchanatomy.com.
But anyway, moving on. Back to Hildegard's interesting opinions. She would claim that men
with melancholy were perverse and ugly. Women with it were slender and minute. Unable to hold
(10:00):
thoughts and infertile due to a weak and fragile uterus. Most of her medical and scientific beliefs
were based on religion. This is the beginning of much of the religious undertones that would emerge
within the belief of hysteria as a condition and the treatment of women with this so-called
disease. This would really be emphasised with the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.
(10:20):
He would support the ideas of Aristotle, which were that the woman is a failed man.
Saint Aquinas would blame much of this perceived inferiority as a consequence of sin.
He would also claim that some old women were evil-minded. They would gaze on children in a
poisonous and evil way. And demons, with whom the witches enter into agreements, interacting through
their eyes, the idea of a woman witch, which we shall call the demonological vision, almost
(10:46):
becomes insuperable. Preachers disclose the Old Testament's condemnation of wizards and necromancers
and the fear of witches. This spreads in the collective imagination of the European population.
With the 13th century and continuing on through the Middle Ages, the treatment of women deemed
as having hysteria would change. Rather than various medications and marriage, the main
(11:06):
treatment methods used would change to religious practices. But what religious practices? Well,
the practice of exorcisms. This was due to the basis of the problem being believed to be demonic
possession. In early Christianity, exorcism was seen as a cure for hysteria. Whereas later on, this
became more of a punishment in the late Middle Ages as hysteria began being viewed as sorcery.
(11:26):
Now we move to 1484 with Pope Innocent VIII. An interesting character, he would create a papal
bull, which is an official document titled Summis Desiderantes Affectibus. This document encouraged
the witch hunt and pushed an obligation of punishing, imprisoning, and correcting heretics.
Two years later in 1486, we would have the publication called Hammer of Witches,
(11:48):
also known as Malleus Maleficarum. Again, emphasis on Maleficarum as this means witches,
does not mean wizards. It was very woman-based. Why does this text matter in the history of
hysteria? Well, in the Malleus Maleficarum, if a doctor cannot find the cause of a disease,
it must be caused by the devil. The devil is a great expert in human nature and may interfere
(12:12):
more effectively with a person who is susceptible to melancholy or hysteria. Hysteria is a women's
disease and who more than women are more prone to melancholy. This disease is the basis of
female delirium. The woman feels persecuted and the devil himself is the cause of this
mal-de-vivre or bad life. This deprives women of confession and forgiveness leading them to death,
(12:33):
either by their own hand or also at the hands of others as we will soon see. Women who were
often most targeted were elderly or single. Sorcery would become a scapegoat for all manner of issues.
Sprenger and Krämer would write a text called "Foemina" translating to "who has less faith".
This text was horrifically condemning towards women and to those with depressive illnesses.
(12:56):
During this time, thousands of women would be tortured. This would be the basis of
evidence and confessions that would lead to their deaths. Now we move into the Renaissance period.
This is where science and medicine would start to re-emerge and the witch hunts would begin to
die down. This is where we would meet Giovanni Battista Codronchi. In the 16th century, he
criticised how hysteria was being treated at the time. Codronchi would prohibit the practice of using
(13:20):
genital stimulation. He was a proud supporter of the existence of demons and witch hunts.
Yeah, he was still, you know, mined back in the medieval times. So, Codronchi was one of the few
during the Renaissance who wished to continue the medieval period of persecution. Moving on to
Girolamo Cardano, and Giovanni Battista della Porta. Now, both of these doctors also had an
(13:42):
interest in sorcery, but did not see it as a case of demonic possession. Sorcery being again blamed
for some of the symptoms of hysteria. They actually identified the causes behind certain
behaviours. Some of these were caused by certain fumes, polluted water, and various substances.
Another important doctor of this time would be the Dutch physician Johann Weyer. He had a desire
(14:03):
of proving that witches were actually just mentally ill, and that these so-called witches
needed to be treated by doctors and not interrogated by priests. Witches again at the
time were people that were being accused of being witches, and also often accused of having hysteria.
In 1550, Dr Weyer would become the personal doctor to Duke William of Cleves. The Duke found that
many of these so-called witches would have symptoms that his family members, who were said to become
(14:26):
insane, also had. This led him to believing in Dr. Weyer's theory. In 1563, Dr. Weyer would publish
his book De Prestigiis Daemonum, which called out and rebutted the Malleus Maleficarum. For this,
many of his colleagues called him insane and a heretic. However, he was not.
Now we move to the modern period. Here we meet Thomas Willis. Now Willis would introduce his
(14:49):
thoughts on the cause of hysteria. He would not blame the uterus for the cause of hysteria.
Instead, he claimed that the cause was related to the brain and the nervous system.
In 1680, Thomas Sydenham would also have his own comments on hysteria. This was in his treatise,
“Epistolary Dissertation on the Hysterical Affections”. In this, he discusses the history
of hysteria, describing a massive range of ways that hysteria has manifested in people.
(15:12):
He recognized that hysteria and hysterical symptoms may simulate most forms of diseases.
Sydenham would go between somatic and psychological causes for hysteria. However,
he would deny the uterus as the primary cause of hysteria. Now we travel to Salem in 1692,
as this is where there would be an outbreak of what would be accused to be hysteria and witchcraft.
(15:34):
Yes, we are talking about the Salem Witch Trials. 19 women were hanged as witches and more than
100 others were held in detention facilities. Some of the symptoms that were recorded as occurring
in these girls were sudden movements, harsh or loud noises, and staring. One explanation
for this by Marion Starkey, who examined the Salem Witch Trials after the Second World War,
(15:55):
stated that this could be caused by the repression of the strict puritanism,
leading to the symptoms appearing, becoming worse with the priest's intervention.
In 1748, Joseph Raulin would share his opinions on hysteria, claiming it to be an affection
vaporeuse or a disease spread through polluted air. He believed that the disease was caused by
the polluted air in big cities and everyone was able to get hysteria. However, women were
(16:20):
just more susceptible to the condition. Now we move into the 18th century.
This is where we would meet Frans Anton Mesmer. He had his own unique ways of treating hysteria,
in both groups and in individuals. He claimed he found a fluid in the body called animal magnetism.
With this, he would do a technique he called Mesmerism or Magnetism. He would place his hands
(16:42):
on the diseased parts of the body and through what he believed was magnetic action, really this was
just the power of suggestion. I do have a YouTube video on it if you would like to check that out.
Moving on to Jean-Martin Charcot, the French father of neurology. He would study the
effectiveness of hypnosis in hysteria. Charcot would claim that hysteria was caused by hereditary
(17:04):
degeneration of the nervous system. This would make it a neurological disorder. He managed to
demonstrate that the condition was actually more common in men than women, so it was not
caused by the uterus at all. Now we move into the Victorian era which spans between 1837 to 1901.
Here women would carry smelling salts in their handbags. They were inclined to smell these in
(17:25):
times of heightened emotions. As with the Hippocratic belief that pungent odors were
necessary to get a wandering womb to return to its home was still commonplace. French neuropsychologist
Pierre Janet, who worked with Charcot, would open a laboratory in the same hospital as Charcot
with his support. Here he would convince doctors that the power of suggestion and hypnosis were
(17:45):
an extremely powerful tool for therapy and investigating illness. Janet had his own
beliefs of what caused hysteria. The person's idea of the disease becomes a physical disease,
so if they believe they have the symptoms they will physically express them. The reason for
hysteria was the subconscious. Janet had five core hysteria symptoms to his theories. Anesthesia,
(18:05):
amnesia, abulia - this is lack of motivational drive, motor control diseases, and change in
character. Now we're moving on to Sigmund Freud. He would provide contributions to the idea of
hysteria and reinforce the idea of male hysteria existing. Freud wrote in 1897, "After a period
of good humour, now I have a crisis of unhappiness. The chief patient I am worried about today is
(18:28):
myself. My little hysteria, which was much enhanced by work, took a step forward." In 1889,
Freud would publish Studies on Hysteria with Joseph Breuer. This is where the very beginnings
of Freud's psychoanalytical theories can be found. He had yet to really formulate them,
but the basics are found in this text. In this text there would be reference to the case of a
(18:50):
woman with hysteria called Katrina. She was diagnosed as having globus hystericus. Not long
after this, the idea of the Oedipus complex would appear. This was after a male study on hysteria.
Before Freud, the thought behind the cause of hysteria was a lack of conception and motherhood.
It was considered to be a consequence of not fulfilling their purpose. Freud would change
this. The cause of hysteria was a lack of libidinal evolution according to him. So the lack
(19:15):
of reproduction was a consequence and not a cause of hysteria. Taking a few steps back to between
1860 and 1890 and away from France, we are going to Sardinia for a moment. More specifically the
Managu Hospital in rural Siddi. In this span of 30 years, they admitted 10 women who were said to
have hysteria. Depending on the case, it depended on whether it was just normal hysteria or if there
(19:36):
were other symptoms like convulsions, constipation, or even intermittent fevers. In some cases there
were even more complicated conditions where it aligned with other diseases. In the simple cases,
they used a variety of treatments including antispasmodics, sedatives, and a variety of
natural concoctions. One of these concoctions was a mixture of barley, tamarind, belladonna extract,
liquid laudanum, and valerian. In one case, they even used leeches as part of the treatment.
(20:01):
Again, belladonna is highly toxic. You should not be using this on your skin or taking this
as a drug. This is not good for you. They would use a variety of natural remedies in attempt to
treat and cure hysteria. During the 19th century, those who had the physical or bodily symptoms of
hysteria were beginning to be diagnosed with a condition known as Briquet's syndrome.
(20:22):
In the early 20th century, we would have the case of Giovanna M or shall I say the end of her case.
Giovanna was taken to the psychiatric hospital called Villa Clara in 1833 at the age of 10.
This was due to her having headaches or a cranky head as she described it. This hospital boasted
being one of the most advanced in psychiatric therapy at the time. But what did that mean?
(20:44):
Well, for those receiving treatments there, it meant cold baths, purges, leeches, and blisters
on the neck from other treatments. In 1836, so three years later, Giovanna would be moved to
another part of the hospital, the basement of another building. Her description of this place
was that it was "as dark as the tomb, the only place on the island where the mad or insane or
(21:05):
the maniacs or the idiots, as we were called, were locked up. We were 50 people in chains,
in the smell of our own excrement, with rats gnawing at our ulcers."
Giovanna would eventually be diagnosed with hysteria and consecutive dementia.
She would be subjected to a rather interesting treatment regime as she described “tonics,
two eggs and milk, balneotherapy, rhubarb tinctures, potassium iodide,
(21:29):
lemonade and laudanum, insulin and laxatives, a lot of purgatives, always for everything.”
Balneotherapy is a type of bath therapy. Giovanna lived for 80 years in the psychiatric
hospital, passing away at 90 years old in 1913. 80 years in a psychiatric hospital for a headache,
which became a diagnosis of hysteria. Moving on to 1955. In the year of 1955,
(21:52):
between July and November, there was an epidemic that went through the staff at the Royal Free
Hospital. But what was this? Well, it was called the Royal Free Disease. This disease
caused neurological, psychiatric, and various other symptoms in 292 members of the staff at
the hospital, with an assumed but never found infective agent causing the condition. In 1970,
(22:13):
McEvedy and Beard would suggest a different cause for this. The Royal Free Disease was a hysteria
epidemic. Their arguments were that it was largely affecting the young women on staff,
and some of the symptoms, like the sensory loss in part or all of a limb, are seen in hysteria.
This was not the only mention of hysteria in the 20th century. In fact, there was much interest
(22:33):
in hysteria in wartime doctors. So we're going to go back to 1919. In 1919, Hurst would write,
"Many cases of gross hysterical symptoms occurred in soldiers who had no family or personal history
of neuroses and who were perfectly fit." This was most likely due to the shame of being labeled a
coward and the fear of being killed in battle, leading to the symptoms manifesting. There also
(22:55):
could have been an element of PTSD rather than actually hysteria. In 1942, Hadfield would have
his own observations about the differences between World War I and World War II hysteria symptoms.
“The far greater proportion of anxiety states in this war as against conversion hysteria in the
last war.” This was most likely due to knowing of what the previous war was like, having family who
(23:17):
fought in the previous one. In a 1950 study published by Abse about the 1944 hospitalizations
in an Indian military hospital would demonstrate that 57% of these 644 patient admissions were
actually diagnosed with hysteria. This however was different from the British military. The cases in
1943, there was only 24% being diagnosed with hysteria. There were also other differences
(23:41):
between these as those of the men diagnosed in the New Delhi hospital were considered to be of
high morale and all levels of intelligence. Whereas with the British, the men who were
considered to have gross hysterical reactions and breakdowns were considered to have low stability,
low morale and low intelligence. British soldiers were more commonly diagnosed with anxiety rather
(24:01):
than hysteria. After the war, studies in various non-western countries, especially in India but
also in Egypt, Sudan and Lebanon found that hysteria was actually an expression of emotional
distress. In 1980, the DSM removed hysterical neurosis as a diagnosis. Symptoms that were
considered to be hysterical in nature now often come under various dissociative disorders that
(24:22):
are found in the DSMs. Hysteria, which was once solely a woman's disease, no longer exists.
In part, the symptoms could have been caused due to environmental exposures to toxins,
other mental disorders but also due to the poor treatment of women. In other cases,
hysteria was often blamed and diagnosed in place of real conditions.
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