Hysterical

Hysterical

Why do we know more about some bodies than others, and how do sex and gender shape our experiences navigating Australia’s health system? ‘Hysterical’ is a new podcast series by SBS News, exploring medical misogyny and discrimination in our health system. We explore why women, trans and gender diverse people are more likely to be dismissed for their experiences of pain, as well as barriers around birth trauma, sexual and reproductive health and delayed diagnoses. Follow us on this investigation into Australia’s health system, as we try to answer these questions and more.

Episodes

Hysterical: Fatima found a 'hidden community' of grieving parents after not getting culturally safe support

November 8, 2024 • 14 mins
Fatima El-Assaad lost her daughter Aya in 2021 after she was born still at 27 weeks, but felt like she wasn't given the appropriate support to navigate her grief. It wasn't until Fatima started speaking to other Muslim parents, that she began to recognise a gap in culturally safe bereavement support. In fact, Fatima's advocacy group The Still Nest, contributed one of thousands of submissions to a world-first New South Wales birth t...
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Hysterical: The condition that meant Bianca was disbelieved and made to feel hysterical

October 23, 2024 • 18 mins
Bianca Millroy lives with functional neurological disorder, or FND - a condition that encompasses a range of neurological symptoms, including limb weakness, tremor, numbness or blackouts, and related to the movement and sensation parts of the nervous system. In this bonus episode of 'Hysterical', Catriona Stirrat speaks with Bianca who shares how her condition was undiagnosed and untreated for 12 of the 13 years she has lived with ...
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Hysterical: The 'distressing' gender gap in health Dr Lea Merone didn't expect to confront

October 2, 2024 • 18 mins
From measuring a woman's health based on her attractiveness, to studies showing women have to prove themselves to be sicker than a man to receive treatment. In this bonus episode of 'Hysterical', Cattriona Stirrat speaks with Dr Lea Merone, a researcher in women's health. She breaks down concepts such as Yentl syndrome and the 'beauty myth', but also shares her own story of confronting the very issues she studies.
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Hysterical: 'It was just overwhelming': mental health among Senate inquiry recommendations

September 19, 2024 • 14 mins
The government is being called to respond to 25 recommendations from a Senate inquiry into perimenopause and menopause. The inquiry heard from hundreds of women across Australia, who shared stories of stigma, dismissal of symptoms and financial barriers. In this bonus episode of 'Hysterical', we hear from advocates and women with lived experience on what they want the federal government to do.
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Hysterical: 'Push through' or quit: The choice facing women with chronic pain in inflexible workplaces

September 11, 2024 • 17 mins
Women are sharing experiences of stigma and discrimination when it comes to flexible working arrangements to manage chronic pain conditions. This is despite the fact at least 3 million Australians are estimated to be suffering with chronic pain, amid a rise in remote and hybrid work arrangements following the COVID pandemic. In this bonus episode of 'Hysterical' we speak to women who have encountered this workplace stigma, and the ...
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Hysterical: Some people experience barriers and bias seeking health care, but what about those delivering it?

August 20, 2024 • 28 mins
Women and trans people clearly experience ongoing barriers and bias in our health system, but what about those on the very frontline of care? Healthcare professionals fight tirelessly to provide quality care to all who need it, but women and trans health workers are reporting bias, discrimination, and even bullying, as they perform this essential work.
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Hysterical: whose bodies do we study, and is our treatment falling behind?

August 13, 2024 • 24 mins
The male body is still treated as the default in medicine, despite progress around women's health issues. This prevailing bias in medical studies and clinical trials can have dire consequences for women and trans people who are vulnerable to misdiagnosis and unknown side affects from medication.
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Hysterical: Ignorance, stigma, shame: why they cause dangerous delays in diagnosis

August 6, 2024 • 32 mins
The average diagnosis for endometriosis is between 7 and 12 years, while a Senate inquiry is currently looking into issues related to perimenopause and menopause. At the same time, there are prevailing gaps in knowledge around other health conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome. So what are the consequences of a delayed diagnosis for women and trans people?
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Hysterical: Why do some groups have to fight for safe and affordable sexual and reproductive healthcare?

July 30, 2024 • 32 mins
It was a historic moment for Australia... as Western Australia became the last state in the country to decriminalise abortion in March this year. The federal government also committed just over $6 million dollars in funding to contraceptive care in the May budget. But there are still barriers around accessing safe and affordable sexual and reproductive health care for women and the LGBTQI+ community.
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Hysterical: a midwife told Sam to take panadol for her pain as her baby went into distress

July 23, 2024 • 29 mins
A world-first New South Wales birth trauma inquiry released at the end of May made 43 recommendations for the state government. These include implementing trauma-informed care, reviewing laws around informed consent and improving mental health support and postpartum services. So what are the birth experiences of people in Australia which led to this inquiry?
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Hysterical: the shocking findings from government inquiries into women's healthcare

July 16, 2024 • 23 mins
Two thirds of women in Australia say they experience gender bias in the health system. That's according to the federal government's End Gender Bias survey, which more than 2,500 women responded to and which forms part of the government's attempts to address medical misogyny. An inquiry into women's pain led by the Victorian Government Department of Health also found women generally experience more recurrent, severe and longer lasti...
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Hysterical: the history of hysteria and the travelling womb

July 9, 2024 • 19 mins
'Hysteria' is a concept dating back to ancient times, which persisted in contemporary medical discourse, including the American manual of mental disorders. The term was finally removed in 1980 but has it actually disappeared from our society?
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Coming soon: Hysterical

July 2, 2024 • 1 min
Have you ever been called hysterical? Or perhaps a doctor has dismissed your pain? And why are women, trans and gender diverse people more likely to confront discrimination, and even bullying and coercion when seeking health care? 'Hysterical" is a new SBS News podcast series investigating whose voices are left behind in our health system... and what is being done to tackle the issue.
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