Hysteria
During the early twentieth century, the number of women diagnosed with female hysteria declined sharply. This decline has been attributed to many reasons. Some medical authors claim that the decline was due to lay people gaining a greater understanding of the psychology behind conversion disorders such as hysteria.
With so many possible symptoms, hysteria was always considered a catchall diagnosis where any unidentifiable ailment could be assigned. As diagnostic techniques improved, the number of ambiguous cases that might have been attributed to hysteria declined. For instance, before the introduction of electroencephalography, epilepsy was frequently confused with hysteria. Many cases that had previously been labeled hysteria were reclassified by Sigmund Freud as anxiety neuroses.
Today, female hysteria is no longer a recognized illness, but different manifestations of hysteria are recognized in other conditions such as schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, conversion disorder, and anxiety attacks.
With so many possible symptoms, hysteria was always considered a catchall diagnosis where any unidentifiable ailment could be assigned. As diagnostic techniques improved, the number of ambiguous cases that might have been attributed to hysteria declined. For instance, before the introduction of electroencephalography, epilepsy was frequently confused with hysteria. Many cases that had previously been labeled hysteria were reclassified by Sigmund Freud as anxiety neuroses.
Today, female hysteria is no longer a recognized illness, but different manifestations of hysteria are recognized in other conditions such as schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, conversion disorder, and anxiety attacks.
Hysteria is a mental disorder arising from intense anxiety. It is characterized by a lack of control over acts and emotions, and by sudden seizures of unconsciousness with emotional outbursts. It is often the result of repressed conflicts within the person. This disease appears in both sexes, but it is far more common in young women between fourteen and twenty-five years of age.
One of the primary reasons cited for women in this age group experiencing traces of hysteria is the fact that their bodies undergo rapid changes during the child bearing period, causing a number of hormonal imbalances that set off these instances of hysteria. When someone is experiencing a bout of hysteria, it is necessary that people around do not panic, and remain calm themselves. A person who gets hysterical would usually cause others to panic, further worsening the situation. Outbursts of hysteria are not uncommon, but it is necessary to identify the stimulant that is causing the hysteria before attempting to assist the person to overcome his or her fears.
One of the primary reasons cited for women in this age group experiencing traces of hysteria is the fact that their bodies undergo rapid changes during the child bearing period, causing a number of hormonal imbalances that set off these instances of hysteria. When someone is experiencing a bout of hysteria, it is necessary that people around do not panic, and remain calm themselves. A person who gets hysterical would usually cause others to panic, further worsening the situation. Outbursts of hysteria are not uncommon, but it is necessary to identify the stimulant that is causing the hysteria before attempting to assist the person to overcome his or her fears.
Symptoms of Hysteria:
Heaviness in the Limbs, Cramps
The symptoms of hysteria include:
There are, however, various other symptoms of hysteria, such as: an inexplicable urge to perform rigorous activities that will help to let off steam. However, when one tries to perform these activities, such as shouting, one experiences an inability to do so, because of a shut-down of the muscular-skeletal system caused by the hysteria.
Heaviness in the Limbs, Cramps
The symptoms of hysteria include:
- heaviness in the limbs,
- severe cramps,
- a strong feeling of ascending abdominal constriction,
- continual sighing,
- difficulty in breathing,
- constriction in the chest,
- palpitations,
- feeling of a foreign body lodged in the throat,
- swelling of the neck and of the jugular veins,
- suffocation,
- headache,
- clenched teeth, and
- generalized and voluntary tensing of muscles of locomotion.
There are, however, various other symptoms of hysteria, such as: an inexplicable urge to perform rigorous activities that will help to let off steam. However, when one tries to perform these activities, such as shouting, one experiences an inability to do so, because of a shut-down of the muscular-skeletal system caused by the hysteria.
Wild Painful Cries, Loss of Consciousness
In severe cases, additional symptoms are noticeable; these may include:
In severe cases, additional symptoms are noticeable; these may include:
- wild and painful cries,
- incomplete loss of consciousness,
- an enormously swollen neck,
- violent and tumultuous heartbeats,
- involuntary locomotor muscle contraction,
- frightening generalized convulsions,
- violent movement,
- A prominence of the veins in the neck area is a frequent occurrence when one experiences hysteria.
- Although you may want to cry out in despair, it is often felt that you are unable to do so, causing you further anxiety and fear that do not help in any way.
Weakness, Emotional Instability
The physical symptoms include:
The physical symptoms include:
- a weakness of the will,
- a craving for love and sympathy,
- a tendency towards emotional instability.
- Hysterical trances may last for days or weeks. A patient in a trance may appear to be in a deep sleep, but the muscles are not usually relaxed.
- Emotional instability and a weakness of the will can become extremely dangerous for persons suffering from hysteria disease, because it causes them to have rash and imbalanced thoughts that are depressive. These thoughts of depression cause them to take drastic steps that cannot be corrected.
Causes of Hysteria:
- The most common causes of hysteria are sexual repression, perverted habits of thought, and idleness. Heredity plays an important part in its causation. A nervous family background and faulty emotional training when young are predisposing causes.
- The emotional situations may be mental, strain, stress, fear, worry, depression, traumatism, masturbation, and prolonged sickness.
- Working on ways and methods of relieving stress from the body is an important part of life today. The pressures of work are usually carried home, where life is made miserable for everyone in the household.
- Being able to deal with your stress is extremely beneficial in dealing with hysteria and other anxiety caused conditions.
- Anxiety being the primary among all the causes of hysteria, it is advisable that people who are probably suffering from the condition be advised to avoid highly stressful situations.
- Hysteria diagnosis cannot be made by just looking at a person who is having a hysterical moment, but would require definite medical testing to be carried out before a diagnosis is pronounced.
Natural Remedies for Hysteria
The black berry fruit is considered an effective home remedy for hysteria. Three kilograms of this fruit and a handful of salt should be put in a jug filled with water. The jug should be kept in the sun for a week. A woman suffering from hysteria should take 300 gm of these fruits on an empty stomach, and drink a cup of water from the jug. The day she starts this treatment, 3 Kg more of these fruits, mixed with a handful of salt, should be kept in another jug filled with water, so that when the contents of the first jug are finished, the contents of the other will be ready for use. This treatment should be continued for two weeks. There are various other well recommended remedies that have been advised for the treatment for hysteria.
- Hysteria Treatment Using Jambul:
The black berry fruit is considered an effective home remedy for hysteria. Three kilograms of this fruit and a handful of salt should be put in a jug filled with water. The jug should be kept in the sun for a week. A woman suffering from hysteria should take 300 gm of these fruits on an empty stomach, and drink a cup of water from the jug. The day she starts this treatment, 3 Kg more of these fruits, mixed with a handful of salt, should be kept in another jug filled with water, so that when the contents of the first jug are finished, the contents of the other will be ready for use. This treatment should be continued for two weeks. There are various other well recommended remedies that have been advised for the treatment for hysteria.
- Hysteria Treatment Using Honey:
Honey is regarded as another effective remedy for hysteria. It is advisable to take one tablespoon of honey daily. Honey breaks down the triglycerides that cause blockages in the valves of the heart, thereby avoiding minimizing or helping prevent the occurrence of high blood pressure. Because the flow of blood through the heart is unrestricted, blood pressure remains normal and hysteria can be avoided, in circumstances where difficult situations arise.
- Hysteria Treatment Using Bottle Gourd:
Bottle gourd is useful as an external application in hysteria. Macerated fresh pulp of this vegetable should be applied over the head of the patient in the treatment of this disease. Bottle gourd has a reputation for being extremely soothing and cooling, as and is therefore used as an external application in the treatment of hysteria. Applying a macerated pulp of bottle gourd on the head will help in soothing and keeping the person calm.
- Hysteria Treatment Using Lettuce:
Lettuce is considered valuable in treating hysteria. A cup of fresh juice of lettuce, mixed with a teaspoon of Indian gooseberry juice, should be given every day in the morning for a month, as a medicine in the treatment of hysteria. While the consumption of lettuce and fresh vegetables may have no direct bearing on the condition itself, consuming lettuce and fresh vegetables can help cleanse the body of any toxins that could be causing health problems further magnifying problems related to hysteria.
- Hysteria Treatment Using Rauwolfia:
The herb rauwolfia is very useful for hysteria. One gram of the powdered root should be administered with one cup of milk in the morning as well as in the evening. Treatment should be continued till a complete cure has been obtained. Herbal treatment of hysteria is another effective method of dealing with anxiety problems. Apart from the fact that they contain no chemical content, they have negligible side effects, as compared to drugs that are manufactured for the treatment of hysteria.
- Hysteria Treatment Using Asafoetida:
Asafoetida has also proved beneficial in the treatment of this disorder. Smelling this gum prevents hysterical attacks. If taken orally, the daily dosage should be from 0.5 to 1.0 gm. An emulsion made up of 2 gm of the gum with 120 ml of water is a valuable enema in hysteria, when the patient resists taking the gum orally. Asafoetida is also known to have very relaxing properties, and is therefore recommended for use in treatment of hysteria. To carry out female hysteria treatment, one needs to assess the cause of the hysteria. Once treatment commences the individual’s medical condition needs to be monitored carefully before any long-term plan is formulated. When women are expecting children, the hormonal imbalance in the body can cause a lot of instability in the emotional composition, causing them to have frequent attacks of hysteria and depression, which is not good for the unborn child.
HYSTERIA – Homeopathy Treatment & Homeopathic Remedies:
The return to consciousness is always accompanied by a sigh and a deep inspiration. Fear and grief are prominent symptoms of the hysteria of Ignatia; it is a long-suffering grief and the patient is aggravated by the constant nursing of it. Another interesting and, one may say, hysterical point about Ignatia is the numerous contradictory items found in its pathogenesis. Thus, we have headache relieved by stooping, soreness of the teeth better by eating, sore throat better from swallowing, fever without thirst and chilliness relieved by uncovering; the cough is even contradictory, for the more the patient coughs the more he wants to cough, and it is only stopped by an effort of the will. In fact, the Ignatia patient is very much like what Sir James Paget described hysteria to be, namely: “It says ‘I cannot.’ ‘I will not’; but it really is ‘I cannot will”. Richet says all mediums are chosen among the “grandes hysteriques”. |
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- Other remedies:
Bibliography:
http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/h/hysteria/intro.htm
http://treatment.hpathy.com/homeo-medicine/homeopathy-hysteria/
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Hysteria.html
http://mindheal.org/hysteria.html
http://www.choosenaturalhealth.net/product/EQUARV
http://www.homeopathycenter.org/remedy/succinum
http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/h/hysteria/intro.htm
http://treatment.hpathy.com/homeo-medicine/homeopathy-hysteria/
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Hysteria.html
http://mindheal.org/hysteria.html
http://www.choosenaturalhealth.net/product/EQUARV
http://www.homeopathycenter.org/remedy/succinum