Hysteria is a term that refers to a set of psychiatric disorders that, according to their origin, can be called somatization disorder, conversion disorder, dissociative disorder and multiple personality, which share symptoms that normally manifest themselves in cases of extreme anxiety, in which the person has difficulty controlling their emotions and the way they react to them.
Currently, the term hysteria has been little used, as it can cause confusion at the time of diagnosis, in addition to being able to result in prejudice, which can further aggravate the symptoms presented by the person. Treatment for hysteria must involve therapy with the aim of making the person better able to control their feelings and feel relaxed, improving their quality of life.
Symptoms of hysteria
The symptoms of hysteria tend to appear more easily during periods of stress and anxiety, the main ones being:
- Easy irritation;
- Insomnia;
- Emotional dependence;
- Cramps and feeling of heaviness in the arms and legs;
- Paralysis and difficulty moving limbs;
- Increased heart rate;
- Neck swelling;
- Feeling of shortness of breath;
- Frequent headache;
- Fainting;
- Amnesia;
- Tremors;
- Nervous tics;
- Feeling of a lump in the throat;
- Violent muscle movements;
- Anxiety;
- Hallucination;
- Depression.
These symptoms, as well as personality traits, although they are more common in women, can also affect men who suffer from constant anxiety. Typically, symptoms appear in crises, which can last between a few hours, days or weeks.
Other common personality characteristics of people suffering from hysteria are a lack of will, an excessive need to feel love and extreme sympathy, which can vary with emotional instability.
Main causes
The symptoms of hysteria, in most cases, begin when a great deal of affection and emotion is repressed, leading to a great feeling of guilt and anxiety. Furthermore, some hereditary factors may also be involved, as this disorder is more common within the same family.
Hysteria is also more common in people who grew up or live in an unstable family environment with great tension, as it impairs the ability to deal with emotions. In rarer cases, symptoms of hysteria may appear after the death of someone very close.
How the treatment is carried out
Treatment for hysteria aims to promote quality of life by controlling symptoms. Therefore, the most frequently recommended treatments are:
- Psychotherapywhich is carried out in the psychologist’s office through conversations that help the patient find ways to relieve stress and anxiety without developing symptoms;
- Physiotherapywhich helps to alleviate the consequences of some symptoms of hysteria, such as decreased muscle strength due to frequent paralysis;
- Anxiety remedies: Some medications such as Alprazolam and Pregabalin can be prescribed by a psychiatrist to help alleviate the constant feeling of anxiety, avoiding stress attacks that can lead to the emergence of symptoms of hysteria.
All of these techniques can be used separately or in combination with each other, depending on the patient’s symptoms and the results achieved.
Bibliography
- REINERT, Ana Puala P.; RÊGO, Rafisa ML; PIRES, Rômulo Cesar R.; SILVA, Vanalda C. Somatoform disorders (hysterical manifestations) in women treated at a psychiatric hospital in São Luís, Maranhão. Psychology in Research. Vol 10. 2 ed; 93-101, 2016
- ÁVILA, Lazslo Antônio; TERRA, João Ricardo. Hysteria and somatization: what has changed?. J Bras Psychiatr. Vol 59. 4 ed; 333-340, 2010
