Hysteria
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hysteria obsolete term functional neurological disorder official clinical information
Hysteria is an outdated and often stigmatizing term once used broadly for emotional distress or physical symptoms thought to have a psychological cause.
Modern medicine uses more specific diagnoses, depending on the presentation, such as:
- Functional neurological disorder (FND), previously called conversion disorder: symptoms such as weakness, tremor, non-epileptic seizures, or altered sensation that are real but not explained by structural neurological disease.
- Somatic symptom disorder: distressing physical symptoms with excessive health-related thoughts or behaviors.
- Panic disorder, anxiety disorders, trauma-related disorders, or dissociative disorders.
- Mass psychogenic illness: rapid spread of physical symptoms in a group without an identified toxic or infectious cause, sometimes historically called “mass hysteria.”
The symptoms are not “made up.” They deserve careful medical assessment to rule out neurological or other physical illness, followed by appropriate psychological and rehabilitative care where relevant.
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