A Look at Hysteria: One of the Reasons for Anxiety

Have you been troubled by some incidents lately?  Do you tend to elaborate on that situation?  Do you feel hysterical about it?  If you do then you must be in the stage of hysteria.  Hysteria, at its worst can result to anxiety.  This is one of the reasons why we have to elaborate on this particular illness.

Young woman sitting in front of laptop screaming

Hysteria is a form of psychosomatic disorder in which the person unconsciously imitates an illness for an ulterior purpose.  To envision this definition, let’s take this as an example. A woman who hates the sight of her husband becomes blind, even if her eyes and visual organs are perfectly normal.  On the other hand, a man who could not stand his wife’s constant nagging becomes blissfully deaf yet his ears and hearing organs were perfect.

Characteristics of Hysteria

There are some things that can be used to best describe hysteria.  To make you look at how this situation develops, it pays to take a look at the following characteristics:

1. Personality. A hysterical personality is characterized by emotional instability, egocentricity, craving for attention and sympathy, and a flair for dramatic conduct.  Sometimes, a person might use flamboyant dresses just to attract attention from others.
2. What the patient usually does. Hysterical patients are great imitators, without realizing it themselves.  Some of them are very good actors that they persuade surgeons to perform unnecessary surgical procedures for which there is no physical justification.

Some soldiers in a state of shock may also be affected by hysteria.  They use protective symptoms such as blindness or paralysis.  These are called protective symptoms because they utilize it to escape from either an intolerable situation or dangerous duties.

Symptoms of Hysteria

If you do not know you that you are in a stage of hysteria, there are things you may utilize in order to detect that you are.  Take for instance the following symptoms:

1. A lump on your throat which you usually feel while swallowing.
2. Dramatic manifestations that resembles an epileptic seizure with the exception that you will not bite your tongue or cause injury to yourself.
3. Hysteria is often associated with deep emotional stress, such as disappointment in love or the death of a loved one.

Misconceptions about Hysteria

There are two myths with regards to hysteria.  You need to know these facts to address the condition accordingly.

1. The first misconception regarding hysteria is that it acquired its name from the Greek word hystera, meaning uterus, due to its cause which was then believed to be located in the womb.
2. Secondly, hysteria was once believed to be a disease that affects women only.

Treatments for Hysteria

The variety of symptoms presented in cases of hysteria covers the extent of medication to be given to the patient.  Changes may be needed once there are developments on the condition.  The hard thing is that it is hard to convince patients to seek treatment.  This is because they think that what they are doing is just but normal and that there is no reason to be worried about the situation.  But then again, the following treatments are necessary:

1. Hypnosis or dream analysis. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychoanalysts explore the subconscious mind by using hypnosis and dream analysis.  Since dreams represent a fulfillment of a wish through symbolism, experts search out the forgotten memories and buried complexes which form the basis of the hysterical symptoms.  This will then be utilized in order to explain the situation to the patient in such a way that he or she will accept it.
2. Motivation and understanding. Many cases of hysteria are terminated through these techniques.  The deeper attitudes and motivations of the patients must be understood to produce a real cure.  Once the person with hysteria is made to understand the basis of her trouble, the symptoms will disappear gradually.  This will then improve the condition of the patient.

Apparently, miraculous cures have been reported from paralyses, blindness, and other crippling diseases which were really instances of hysteria.  Similarly, people confined in their beds for months reasoning out that they could not walk or stand suddenly leaped up and ran outside when shocked by a fire alarm bell.  These can be signs that one is just being hysterical.