Hysteria - What is it? Causes, Symptoms and Cures

Generality

Hysteria is a complex mental disorder characterized by the presence of one or more sensory-motor symptoms (such as, for example, paralysis, blindness and paraesthesia), which cannot be justified by a known neurological or internal disease.

Currently defined as "conversion disorder", hysteria is considered the expression - through disorders of a somatic nature - of inner conflicts that are not confirmed on a physiological basis. The onset, exacerbation and maintenance of symptoms are typically attributed to factors psychic and are favored by moments of emotional tension and stress.
The 'conversion' mechanism underlying hysteria is characterized by the lack of control over acts and emotions, and by the 'exaggeration of the effect of certain sensory stimuli.

Typically, hysterical symptoms consist of obvious deficits that usually affect a motor or sensory function. For example, patients may have: paralysis of an arm or leg, loss of sensation in one part of the body, gait disturbance, asthenia, seizures, blindness, double vision, deafness, aphonia, difficulty swallowing, knotty sensation in the throat or urinary retention. These manifestations are severe enough to cause significant suffering or to impair social and occupational functioning or other important areas.
The diagnosis of hysteria is taken into consideration only after the physical examinations and laboratory analyzes have ruled out the organic disorders that can fully justify the symptoms and its effects. Furthermore, the definition of the pathological condition requires that at the onset of symptoms be associated psychological factors and emotional problems.
Treatment of hysteria begins by establishing a coherent doctor-patient relationship, and is facilitated by introspective supportive therapy; psychotherapy can help, as can hypnosis.