Hello lovely people!
- What’s that? ‘Medicine is sexist’? Goodness,
what new information Jessica, thanks for bringing it up(!)
Well alright Salty Susan, I know this isn’t exactly the first time you’ve ever heard this
concept but the fact is… it’s a fact. And it’s a historic, systemic issue that still
resonates into how femme-presenting people and those in female bodies are treated today.
- oh and everyone else, because that’s how ‘ism’s
work. We’re all harmed in the end. But some A LOT MORE than others.
Lord, that was a pretty heavy intro. If you’re still here and you’re new then I’m genuinely
impressed! Click the subscribe button below for some… equally heavy videos with a smile. And
some fun videos. With a smile. I pretty much always smile. I Think it’s my resting face.
So today we’re going to be talking about Hysteria
- not to be confused with ‘wisteria’, a delightful
lilac plant that can grow charmingly across garden archways and up majestic cottages…
Let’s just keep looking at this wonderful wisteria until we’re
emotionally prepared to discuss hysteria, which is far less calming…
Okay, here we go, what was hysteria then? Well, hysteria was an erroneous
disorder that women were legitimately diagnosed with throughout history.
The symptoms of so-called hysteria varied immensely - over-dramatic behaviour,
abnormal sexuality, depression, eplipeltic-type fits, insomnia, nervousness, anxiety, migraines,
fainting spells - the list goes on and on.
Essentially, women were believed to be suffering from hysteria when they presented
any type of behaviour or emotion that was out of their control that men deemed ‘overwhelming’.
For two thousand years, the understanding of what hysteria was and what caused it was questioned,
scrutinised and theorised. Explanations continued to evolve throughout this time,
up until the 1950s, when it was finally rejected as a medical diagnosis and mental illness,
and removed from the American Psychiatric Association's Manual of Mental Disorders.
So hysteria represents thousands of years of philosophers,
scientists and medical professionals misinterpreting and mistreating female patients
– fun! Let’s find out more!
DISCLAIMER: This video we’ll be talking about discrimination against women,
mental health issues and trauma, so this may be a triggering video for some.
There’s a plethora of safer content on my channel – for example
here’s me and Claudia baking a pear cobbler - no hysteria here!
Although there was one emotionally charged moment when Claudia shared
her frustration that I hadn’t prepared any of the ingredients in advance...but she’s fine!
Not suffering from hysteria. Pregnant...but not hysteric.
Although... Today’s slice of
etymology - the word hysteria comes from the Greek word ‘hystera’ , meaning ‘of the womb’.
So, ‘hysteria’, and its evolution into today’s common word ‘hysterical’,
are truly gendered notions.
If you were to say I’m hysterically funny,
you would really be saying my hilarity is coming from my womb.
I don’t think it does. From Ancient Greek times all
the way until the 17th century, it was believed emotional & physical distress
and the female reproductive system were intrinsically linked.
These long-standing gynaecological hypotheses eventually shifted toward more neurological
theories, and finally psychological ones, with a stop off at demonology on the way.
EGYPTIANS/GREEKS
So first, let’s look at the ways men were obsessed with gynaecology as a cause
for so-called hysteria, specifically their obsessions with *the uterus*.
The earliest record of a form of hysteria can be dated back to the Ancient Egyptians,
in the Kahun Gynecological Papyrus. Written in 1825 BC it represents some of the oldest
medical texts in history. These texts stated that a problemed womb would cause a variety of issues,
from toothaches to blindness, to even “wishes to lie down and not get back up”.
- Newsflash, that’s not your womb - lying down is just really great sometimes.
The Greeks were obsessed with the idea that the womb was the decisive factor in why females
acted differently to men. Plato believed that imbalances in the
womb caused hysterical symptoms, and that having sex would elleivate those imbalances.
This led him to believe that hysteria could be a linked to a dormant sex life. He also
theorised that the womb longs to create children, and when it is barren, it becomes,
I quote “distressed and sorely distubred”. The horror!
The physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia
(why do I do this to myself?)
took an anthropomorphic stance, considering the womb “an animal within an animal” -
which really sounds like the worst safari ever.
He added that the womb “moved of itself hither and thither in the flanks”.
So next time you’re on your period, feel free to say
‘Sorry Simon, I won’t be coming into work today because my womb is running-
- hither and thither in the flanks.’
This was the start of one of the most well known Greek hypotheses about hysteria -
the “wandering womb” [said mysteriously]
Hippocratic writers believed your womb moves about inside you - that it would
just have a mind of its own, going on a stroll around your body. It was argued
that the womb would bump into your other organs, causing physical and mental issues.
If it moved up, you’d be tired. If it moved down, you’d lose sensibility. Or even die.
The exciting adventures of the wandering womb!
Under this theory, a variety of recommendations were made to bring
the womb back into place - taking baths, burning wool under your nose,
or rubbing your inner thighs with a sweet smelling salve...ooh la la.
ROMANS
The focus on the womb as a cause of female hysteria continued into Roman times.
Roman physician, Galen, believed the womb was being suffocated, rather than wandering around.
He hypothesised that the womb could become poisoned, which would in turn affect other
parts of the body and cause ‘hysteric’ symptoms.
He argued that this poison could be treated through
herbs, through purging, or through... marriage.
He identified that cases were most common among virgins, widows and spinsters and so
recommended a large dose of marriage with a regular regiment of marital fornicatio.
Eugh….
This notion of sexual abstinence as a cause of hysteria became commonplace, where symptoms
recorded included insomnia, irritability, and heaven forbid, erotic fantasties.
Interestingly though, Roman physician Soranus theorised the opposite - he
actually recommended sexual abstinence as a cure for hysteria. He didn’t believe
in the wandering womb or that the womb was an animal.
He believed it could become inflamed, particularly from reproduction,
and so he deemed pregnancy and childbearing the cause of hysteria.
And Ii guess we can say that maybe he was lumping in a lot of gynecological issues that
might have actually been the case and maybe he was a little bit right sometimes?
The ideas presented in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman sources reflect how the concept of hysteria
originated. They put emphasis on the uterus as a determinant of female physical and mental health,
and pinponted marital sex and reproduction as critical to a woman’s well-being.
Theories evolved, but the notion that gynecology was the foundation to hysteria, remained.
DEMONS
However, there was one key detour from uterine theories worth mentioning-
- Yes, you heard me, demons!
During the Middle Ages, it was believed that women’s hysterical symptoms were caused by
demonic possession, and those who suffered would be required to undergo religious
exorcism. Women were considered to be spiritually inferior to men - because,
well, sexism - and therefore more likely to be possessed by the devil.
To put it simply, if a physician couldn’t identify a disease, it was assumed it must be the Devil.
- Of course, because an evil spirit reaping havoc inside you is the only plausible explanation.
This theory was upheld by St Thomas Acquinas in the 1200s, who said the very kind words ‘the woman
is a failed man’, and that their inferiority is a result of sin which opens them up to
evil. He didn’t stop there though. He also argued that witchcraft caused hysteria.
- We’ve already got demons, why not add witches into the mix as well, thanks Thomas.
200 years later, in 1486, the book ‘Malleus Meleficarum’,
(I didn’t do great in latin GCEC I think we all know)
translation ‘Hammer of Witches’ was published, and became one of the most well known texts on
witchcraft. It analysed the correlation between sorcery and human temperaments,
stating that the devil is an expert in human nature,
and is able to interfere more effectively with somebody more prone to hysteria.
As women were considered more susceptible to hysteria,
they were more likely to be accused of witchcraft.
And so, hysteria is now confused with sorcery. Allegedly, women accused of witchcraft experienced
symptoms familiar with epilepsy, dissociative identity disorder and hallucinations. Looking
back, it’s unclear whether these women were actually suffering from a mental illness or not.
It may have just been the trauma of being under persecution itself that induced psychotic
episodes, which ironically offered proof to those around them that they were indeed ‘hysteric’.
We can’t win.
Is that thing you know, you try to drown a witch and if she floats it’s
a witch and then you kill her and if she drowns she’s dead.
But she wasn’t a witch.
So… she’s dead.
NEUROLOGY
It wasn’t until the 17th century that demonic possession was discarded as a
cause of hysteria and a new scientific development took place - neurology.
This was really the first time in literally 2000 years that the link between the womb and hysteria
was thrown into question. Don’t be too excited by this progress though, because it was also
believed that women had more delicate nerves than men, and were therefore more susceptible.
- In fairness though, I do have hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies,
so my nerves are a little more sensitive,
but that doesn’t mean it’s all women!!! I do not validate this misogyny!! I got it from my dad!
In the late 18th century, doctor Franz Mesmer
developed the practice of mesmerism, which formed the foundation of hypnosis.
That’s right, Franz Mesmer is the reason we have the word ‘mesmerising’.
You’re welcome.
You can take that fact into your next zoom quiz. Yes, 1 year on,
we’re all still doing those. Still.
Mesmerism, also known as ‘animal magnetism’ was the idea that an invisible force
flows through our nervous systems, abiding by the laws of magnetism.
If the force was not in balance, illness such as hysteria would occur.
Franz Mesmer would therefore use a magnet to bring harmony to this invisible fluid.
Eventually though, he argued he could achieve the same effect
by just moving his hands around a patient’s body. Sounds very legitimate.
Mesmer’s findings heavily influenced the work of Jean-Martin Charcot,
a leading neurologist in the 19th century, whose studies on hysteria brought him great
fame. He believed hysteric symptoms were caused by neurological disorders that affected the brain.
The most revolutionary argument that he brought to the table was the idea that men could also suffer
from hysteria, explaining that it was a condition caused by trauma, commonly seen in soldiers.
Whilst his findings were acclaimed by his fellow scientists and researchers,
he went a step further and decided to try to invoke hysteria himself through mesmerism,
and this is where he lost the trust of his colleagues.
Mesmerism had been long rebuked at this point. It was not cool to practise mesmerism.
Eventually, despite Charcot being considered a pioneer in the field of neurology,
his theory that the hysteria was neurological was refuted.
And guess what explanation came back?
- The womb! Why are men obsessed with our wombs!
In the mid-1800s, obstetrician Dr William Smith believed it was the
menstrual cycle that made you hysteric. The first question to his patients would likely be
“are your periods regular?”
Sound familiar…?
The ovaries too were also deemed a pesky contributor, and so removal of
the ovaries was a common treatment at the time for women with emotional disorders.
This obsession with the female reproductive system determining a woman’s health clearly shows how
society viewed the role of women: that their value only truly lay in their ability to give birth.
This is why it endured for so long - because if a woman’s purpose was solely to give birth,
why would there be any other factor interfering with their emotional wellbeing?
Goodness!!
In Victorian England, there were high reports of hysteria among women
overwhelmed by pregnancy, raising their 8 children and housekeeping.
Thanks to industrialization, there was great social and economic change at this time,
but women’s societal expectations remained the same.
It’s likely that these ‘overwhelmed’ women were purely asserting their indignation
towards the growing injustice within their domestic lives -
buuut that narrative didn’t fit comfortably with men, who wanted to ensure security of
their superior position in society, and so instead these women were just hysteric.
PSYCHOLOGY
It wasn’t until the late 19th century, that the understanding of hysteria
shifted once again, for the final time before it was entirely rebuked, to psychology.
This development was led by Freud, who believed it was not a disorder associated with the womb,
not with the nervous system, not with the devil, but with the mind.
He developed Charcot’s trauma-based explanation, arguing that trauma would disorder the mind,
and result in a whole range of hysterical symptoms - paralysis, amnesia, pain, terrors, fear.
You know the list by now.
Freud actually sat with his patients and talked to them about their traumas. This
wasn’t the norm. Typically hysteric women would be
brought to lectures as an informative and entertaining exhibit for men to gawp at...
So whilst hysteria was eventually debunked as a legitimate disorder, Freud’s immense research into
it did help develop the well known mental health treatment that we know today: psychoanalysis.
So, by the 1950s, after centuries and centuries of theories, it’s finally confirmed, hysteria is
not real. It was officially broken down into all sorts of dissociative and personality disorders,
other mental health disorders, as well as physical hereditary and degenerative disorders.
TODAY
So that’s it, no more ‘women are insane!’ talk, and ‘women’s wombs make them crazy’ talk!
[beat]
- Haha, oh if only...
No, unfortunately misogyny in the medical field is sadly still very much alive. The legacy of
the ‘disease’ still has an impact on how women, those in female bodies and femme presentive people
are still treated in medical and social settings today.
This primarily exists because there is still a huge
lack of trust in the pain women are experiencing.
For two thousand years, women have been told their symptoms are in their head,
or that they’re ‘mad’, or that it’s just their natural erraticism
thanks to their wombs and hormones. That legacy doesn’t get eradicated quickly. And so,
women’s pain is often dismissed as psychological rather than physical.
There are worrying statistics on this with regard to Endometriosis in particular,
symptoms of which include pelvic pain. It can take up to 10
years before those with a uterus are diagnosed correctly with Endometriosis.
One recent study from the Journal of Fertility and Sterility found that the centuries-old correlation
between mental incoherence and the pelvic area is the reason for diagnostic delays for
Endometriosis in modern times - essentially, we have become indifferent to women’s pain.
The same goes for chronic pain. In a survey of over
2400 women, 83% said they felt they have experienced gender discrimation from their
healthcare providers. Chronic illness such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome,
joint disorders, all go amiss because women are told oh it’s nothing, it’s psychosomatic.
I personally have experienced being denied medical help
for a gastroenterological disorder that was causing me extreme pain because the
doctors believed that AS A WOMAN I was probably appreciating the associated rapid weight loss
and causing the issue myself despite having been the one to refer myself to their service!
Like… what?
The more we’re told our pain is nothing, the more women believe that pain is normal,
which only perpetuates the cycle of not receiving accurate diagnoses.
This idea of women ‘being emotional’ is also evident when it comes to receiving medication.
Research has shown that wait times for women to receive medication is often longer than for men.
One study found that women who went to the emergency room with severe stomach pains waited ⅓
longer than men with the same symptoms.
Research by the University of Pennsylvania also concluded that women waited
16 minutes longer on average than men to receive pain medication.
That’s just me feeling pain.
Thanks to the historical obsession with the uterus, people with wombs are also still
told that their pain is ‘probably just our cycles, our hormones, our periods’.
A leading specialist at the Institute for Women’s Health
discussed how one of her patients was told that intense pressure she was feeling in her chest
was just a result of the menopause. It was only when she came in for a second opinion,
that it was discovered it was actually a result of early coronary heart disease.
There are countless similar stories - “oh it’s just period pain” turns out to be a ovarian cysts.
“Your sudden weight change is probably just your period”.
I’m pretty sure if you go down in the comments right now you are going to find
quite a few people who have left their own experiences of this.
We miss important health issues because of this notion that women are hysteric and hormonal.
The history of hysteria shows just how deeply misogyny can affect
medicine and medical research. Because of this, women have to
strongly campaign for their own health and insist that their medical concerns be taken seriously,
not just to get a diagnosis, but to get a correct one.
It’s important to stress that whatever you’re feeling is very
real, be it your mental health, your physical health - any type of pain,
you deserve to be able to share knowing you’ll be trusted and validated.
And oh my god we haven’t even gone in other end in disease of being not only a woman but a woman of
color, a woman who isnt very femme presenting, a woman with a disablity, a woman who isnt straight,
a woman who isn’t thin, a woman who doesnt speak the language of the country as her first language…
I mean, it’s a broken system.
Stevie did a very good video about it actually! I’m gonna leave it in the description.
Trust women’s pain! Don’t just tell us we’re insane!
My new cheer, it’s a song.
Thank you so much for watching today’s video. I hope you are not too brought down by that.
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share with a friend who will enjoy getting righteously angry about misogyny.
Bye friends, I’ll see you next time.