Hysteria

Hysteria is a historical medical diagnosis that was applied mainly to women to describe a broad set of symptoms, including fainting, seizures, anxiety, mood disturbances, and various somatic complaints for which no clear physiological cause was identified.

The term derives from the Latin hysteria and the Greek hystera, meaning uterus, reflecting an ancient belief that uterine disturbances caused illness. Over centuries the label broadened, becoming a catch‑all category in Europe and beyond, often shaped by gendered assumptions about female biology and emotion rather than by a single disease process.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, physicians such as Jean-Martin Charcot, Pierre Janet, and Sigmund Freud reframed hysteria in terms of dissociation, conversion of psychological conflict into physical symptoms, and psychodynamic processes. This period saw the rise of theories that linked emotional or sexual trauma to neurological-like manifestations, influencing both medical and popular culture.

In modern psychiatry and neurology, hysteria as a standalone diagnosis has been abandoned. Related presentations are now described under functional neurological symptom disorder (previously conversion disorder) and somatic symptom disorder, with attention to biopsychosocial factors. The concept of mass hysteria, or mass psychogenic illness, describes rapid spread of symptoms in groups and is understood as a psychosocial phenomenon rather than a contagious disease.

Today the term remains part of popular language with pejorative connotations, and scholars emphasize its historical context, the role of gender bias in its use, and the shift toward more precise, evidence-based classifications. See also conversion disorder, somatic symptom disorder, and mass psychogenic illness.