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Hello, I'm Dr. Yella Hewings-Martin

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with Medical News Today.

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In the latest article in our

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Curiosities of Medical History series,

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we looked at "female hysteria,"

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an alleged mental health condition

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that doctors held responsible

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for various symptoms for centuries.

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Female hysteria was, in fact,

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one of the most commonly
diagnosed disorders

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throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.

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But the mistaken notion
that women are somehow

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predisposed to mental
and behavioral conditions

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actually dates back to Ancient Greece.

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A fondness of writing,

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symptoms of post-traumatic
stress disorder or depression,

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and even infertility -
all of these and more

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could easily fall under the
umbrella of female hysteria.

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To cure the so-called condition,

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doctors throughout the ages
prescribed a range of therapies,

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such as bed rest, the
manipulation of a woman's

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magnetic undercurrent, and hysterectomy.

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Hysteria remained an umbrella
term that included numerous

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and widely different symptoms,

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reinforcing harmful stereotypes
about sex and gender.

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The condition started
to fall out of fashion

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in the 20th century, and
the medical community

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no longer recognizes it today.

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However, there were
setbacks along the way.

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The American Psychiatric
Association published

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the first Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual

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of Mental Disorders, or DSM-1, in 1952.

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It did not list hysteria as
a mental health condition.

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However, the condition
reappeared in the DSM-2 in 1968,

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and it wasn't until the
publication of the DSM-3 in 1980

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that it was dropped again.

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For more updates, visit our website

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and follow us on our social platforms.

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I'm Dr. Yella Hewings-Martin.
Thank you for watching.