Worry, Laurie Layton Schapira, The Cassandra Complex: Living With Disbelief: A Modern Perspective on Hysteria (1988), https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/Hysteria?oldid=120823. Historyly.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. The following is a list of 15 examples of mass hysteria. 13 Unusual Catholic Mysteries that are Unsolved, 14 Facts about W.EB. (Eds.)(2001). Halligan, P.W., Bass, C., & Marshall, J.C. Hysteria definition, an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping, etc. Sensory disturbances may range from paresthesias (“peculiar” sensations) through hyperesthesias (hypersensitivity) to complete anesthesias (loss of sensation). One of the most popular mass hysteria examples is that of meowing and biting nuns. Other mass hysteria examples are of the dancing plague which took place in 1518. In medieval times in Europe and as late as the end of the 17th century, the finding of such discrete areas of anesthesia on the body of a person was considered proof that the person was a witch. https://www.britannica.com/science/conversion-disorder, How Stuff Works - Healthguide - Conversion Disorder. Hysteria Definition The term "hysteria" has been in use for over 2,000 years and its definition has become broader and more diffuse over time. During those times, nuns were considered to be most vulnerable to hysteria. It is traditionally classified as one of the psychoneuroses and is not dependent upon any known organic or structural pathology. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. ), Treatment of conversion disorder involves psychotherapy, the focus of which is to bring to the patient’s consciousness those feelings, ideas, and conflicts that are causing the symptoms. Something like this is no less than a natural disaster for those who are involved. Updates? Sleepwalking (somnambulism) is also considered to be a dissociative reaction, as are also the occasional dramatic cases of multiple personality. Later, the army warned them and threatened to beat them with rods after which the meowing stopped. But now this gender distinction is based not in physiology, but rather in "constitutionally" defined mental attitudes. Three girls who were studying in a boarding school started laughing uncontrollably, and the contagious nature of this laughter swept over 95 out of 159 students. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Oxford University Press, UK. Psychic symptoms may be equally varied and are usually classified under the broad heading of dissociative reactions. Copyright © (2016 - 2020) Historyly.com. The world has been well aware of mass delirium. Actually, the symptoms of conversion disorder may develop in either sex and may occur in children and elderly people, although they are observed most commonly in early adult life. In each instance neurological examination of the affected part of the body reveals an intact neuromuscular apparatus with normal reflexes and normal electrical activity and responses to electrical stimulation. Charcot’s demonstration of a link between hysterical symptoms, such as paralysis of a limb, and hypnotic suggestion implied the power of mental states rather than…. Sander Gilman, Roy Porter, George Rousseau, Elaine Showalter, and Helen King (1993). They may involve the total skin area or any fraction of it, but the disturbances generally do not follow any anatomic distribution of the nervous system. The clergy believed that these girls were fraternized by the devil, as a result of which all four of them were labeled as witches and were therefore executed. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. It is traditionally classified as one of the psychoneuroses and is not dependent upon any known organic or structural pathology. People started walking the roads with their faces covered in bandage and some claimed financial assistance to cure their disease. Hysteria is a pejorative term that colloquially means ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion; however, in the 19th century hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in females, and then in the 20th century shifted to a mental illness. Most psychoneuroses encountered in actual clinical practice are apt to be “mixed” forms in which symptoms of conversion disorder may be found interspersed with other varieties of neurotic disturbances. A similar incident took place in Germany where the nuns started biting each other. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Conversion disorder, in its clinically pure form, seems to occur more often among the psychologically and medically naive than among sophisticated persons. Motor symptoms vary from complete paralysis to tremors, tics, contractures, or convulsions. The fear is often caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part or most commonly on an imagined problem with that body part (disease is a common complaint.See also Body dysmorphic disorder and Hypochondriasis. Du Bois Life and Contribution, 15 Most Disastrous Pandemics That Changed History, 15 Fearless Female Warriors of Ancient World, 21 Mayan Civilization Facts You Wish You Knew Before. Image Credit: listverse. Other motor disturbances that are at times associated with conversion disorder are loss of speech (aphonia), coughing, nausea, vomiting, or hiccuping. Mrs Troffea of Strasbourg in France danced in the streets for days at a stretch. The sensory and motor manifestations of conversion disorder take many forms and are designated conversion reactions because the underlying anxiety is assumed to have been “converted” into physical symptoms. An incident of meowing nuns was reported in France back in the Medieval age. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Over the years, people from all over the globe have witnessed the manifestation of a particular kind which was exhibited by a large number of people. Contemporary Approach to the Study of Hysteria: Clinical and Theoretical Perspectives. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Cases of classical conversion disorder, such as those frequently described by 19th-century clinicians, have become rare. Conversion disorder, formerly called hysteria, a type of mental disorder in which a wide variety of sensory, motor, or psychic disturbances may occur. A journalist known as James McElhone wrote a very sensationalized story where he mentioned that all kinds of insect bites and bruises on the lip were the cause of the kissing bug. The following is a list of 15 examples of mass hysteria. Which of these scientists helped in the development of azidothymidine (AZT), the first drug used in the treatment of AIDS? Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Similar cases of mass hysteria were noted in different parts of the world as well.

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