Freudian view of "hysteria" confirmed

[j d worthington]

So it says on the tin....

Brain scans validate Freudian view of hysteria - Yahoo! News

I wonder, though: a) it's a rather small group (three women) to be making such claims, I'd have thought; b) were no men involved in the study and, if they were, what were the results. It sounds like a valuable piece of information for possible modes of treatment of the disorder, but I'd like to see more on it, myself. Anyone else know of more on this?

 

[SpaceShip]

j.d. with regard to your point (b) did you mean men were studying or being studied. If it is the second option, then I would respond as follows: I believe hysteria is something relating only to women. The word comes from hystericus (of the womb) from which we also get the word hysterectomy (which I must add is not funny at all). Hysteria is also an emotional outburst which can include laughter or tears.

I should imagine there is a similar word relating to men but I don't think it is "hysteria".

 

[j d worthington]

While the origin of the word is connected to women, the term "hysteria" has been used for both sexes, though there was a specific usage of "female hysteria" for a portion of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (now fallen out of favor). There was a more general label of "hysterical neurosis, conversion type", which is what it refers to in this article, as in 1980 it was altered to simply read "conversion disorder."

While the source is not always accurate, this is the description given in the Wikipedia article:

Hysteria is a diagnostic label applied to a state of mind, one of unmanageable fear or emotional excesses. The fear is often centered on a body part, most often on an imagined problem with that body part (disease is a common complaint). People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to the overwhelming fear.

Hence my question was: as there have been many men diagnosed with hysteria over the years, and there are certainly those diagnosed with "conversion disorder" ... why were only women mentioned in this; were any male sufferers studied, and what were the results?

And this gives a bit more of an overview of the condition:

eMedicine - Conversion Disorder : Article by Seth Powsner, MD

 

[Delvo]

The problem could very well be more common among women than men, because of the two types of person have two different ways of responding to a given psychological stress. Some psychological conditions are like that.

 

[j d worthington]

I'll grant that it is (at least popularly) more associated with women, though from the things I've seen over the years -- various studies I had to typeset when working on books for university presses and such -- I'd say that it's always been pretty common to both sexes; and certainly as a lot of the misconceptions about emotional and mental states are gradually eroded, more men have been willing to admit to such problems. And again, I've come across too many cases over the years, in the studies I mentioned above as well as just reading various things, of men being diagnosed with "hysteria" or one of its cognate terms. Which still leaves me wondering; the problem is that the story itself is unclear about these points. And even if it were confined to women, three is an awfully small group to be drawing such conclusions from, it seems to me. I'd say that sounds more like an indication than grounds for a conclusion.

 

[SpaceShip]

And even if it were confined to women, three is an awfully small group to be drawing such conclusions from, it seems to me. I'd say that sounds more like an indication than grounds for a conclusion.

I get your point, j.d. and would agree. Let's hope they continue with their investigations on a larger group of people - men included!