Hysteria is the name used to describe behavioral disorders with a psycho-emotional background from the group of dissociative and neurotic disorders. The characteristic features of hysteria include excessive emotionality, hyperactivity, tearfulness, and the ease of falling into extreme moods expressed in theatrical and extroverted manner. Hysteria is troublesome and burdensome both for the environment and for the hysteric himself, it is perceived as mental weakness and instability. In other words, many people believe that the condition is possible and manageable if the hysterical shows a minimum of goodwill and self-discipline. Meanwhile, hysteria is a serious neurotic disorder, and it is not easy for a hysteric to control it when it occurs, even if he really wanted to.
Hysteria manifested by extreme emotionality and hyperactivity, and the so-called mood swingsthat is, easily moving from euphoria to despair, for example. These moods are shown to the environment in an expressive, sometimes overly theatrical form.
In attack hysteria there is crying, fear, screaming, aggression (also of a passive form – the so-called passive aggression consisting, for example, in refusal, negativity, avoiding a confrontation or fulfilling a request, fulfilling a task or duty). Attack hysteria it is also a disabling of logical thinking, a tendency to quick and thoughtless reactions, and extreme and rapidly changing emotional states.
Hysteria may be associated with disorders of the digestive and cardiovascular systems, menstrual disorders may appear in women. Attacks hysteria are associated with troublesome somatic symptoms such as vomiting, fainting, dizziness, persistent hiccups, petechiae in various parts of the body, tinnitus and urinary retention, diarrhea, or vice versa – constipation. There is excessive sweating and sometimes no reaction to pain stimuli. In attack hysteria temporary blindness, convulsions, deafness and even paralysis may occur.
Hysteria it is often caused by an unjustified fear for one’s own existence and functioning in the world (without rational, objective reasons). Contemporary psychiatry and psychology treats hysteria as an extreme symptom of neurotic disorders that may be caused by traumas and psychological injuries as well as overload of the nervous system.
Cause hysteria there may also be a set of character traits of a given person that make up the so-called hysterical personality. Such traits include a tendency to sudden and unexpected changes in mood, the so-called emotional lability, a lowered stress threshold (a person reacts faster, easier and more strongly to stressful stimuli from the environment), and a general weakness of will and logical thinking. Hysterical personality it is also dependence on the opinion of the environment – such a person makes their own well-being and assessment of the situation dependent on the approval and opinions of other people. Due to the lack of self-acceptance and a sense of security in stressful situations or due to the accumulation of stressful stimuli, such people develop a neurotic attitude, which in some circumstances may take the extreme form of an attack hysteria.
The reasons hysteria they can therefore be internal – conditioned by personality traits, and external – attack hysteria in response to a stressful stimulus or situation. Modern psychology highlights the underlying hysteria the anxiety and frustration that arises when a discrepancy is felt between what one wants and the possibilities of realizing those desires. Among the causes hysteria the lack of warmth and stability in the family home is also mentioned.
Hysteria is cured through psychotherapy. If the cause of this disorder is called hysterical personality, therapy is about raising a person’s self-esteem, self-acceptance and inner discipline.
It is also important to strengthen the ability to think logically and objectively assess the situation. If attacks hysteria are caused by neurotic disorders due to psychological trauma, it is important to get to their source and work through a given event from the past. Surroundings of the affected person hysteria should show kindness and patience, and be aware that these are symptoms of a serious disorder, not of ill-will hysterics.