Overview

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Hysteria is a diagnostic label applied to a state of mind, one of uncontrolable fear or emotional increases. The fear is often centered on a body part, most often on an imagined problem with that body part (disease is a common complaint). People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to the overwhelming fear and anxiety.

Symptoms

·        Heaviness in the limbs

·        Cramps, may be severe

• Strong feeling of ascending abdominal constriction
• Continual sighing
• Difficulty in breathing
• Constriction in the chest
• Palpitations
• Feeling of a foreign body lodged in the throat
• Swelling of the neck and of the jugular veins
• Suffocation
• Headache
• Clenched teeth
• Generalized and voluntary tensing of muscles of locomotion
• Wild and painful cries
• Incomplete loss of consciousness
• An enormously swollen neck
• Violent and tumultuous heartbeats
• Involuntary locomotors muscle contraction
• Frightening generalized convulsions
• Violent movement

·        Weakness

·        Emotional instability

The emotional symptoms include:

·        a weakness of the will

·        a craving for love and sympathy

·        tendency towards emotional instability

Hysterical trances may last for days or weeks. A patient in a trance may appear to be in a deep sleep, but the muscles are not usually relaxed

Causes

·        Stress

• Sexual repression
• Perverted habits of thought
• Idleness

Heredity plays an important part in its causation. A nervous family background and faulty emotional training when young are predisposing causes. The emotional situations may be mental, strain, stress, fear, worry, depression, traumatism, masturbation, and prolonged sickness.

Treatment

Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis)

These berries are valued by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine for their properties as a general tonic and for their ability to counter stress and fatigue.  Although weaker than Siberian and Panax ginsengs, schisandra is both safer and tastier.  Typical dosage is up to 6 580 mg capsules per day or 15-25 drops of tincture in water 2 times per day or 2 cups of tea per day.

Kava-kava (Piper methysticum)

This South Pacific root calms and takes the edge off nerves, but it does so without the loss of alertness that accompanies sedative medications and without the side effects associated with common anti-anxiety drugs. Typical dosage is up to six 400-500mg capsules per day divided into 3 doses, or 15 to 30 drops of tincture in water one to three times per day.  Do not exceed recommended dosages, do not operate a car or heavy machinery while taking kave until you learn how it affects you.  Do not take while pregnant or nursing.  Do not take the herb with alcohol or drugs that depress the central nervous system, such as sedatives and antidepressants or with dopamine prescribed for Parkinson’s disease.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

One of the stronger herbal sedatives, valerian soothes anxiety, relaxes tight muscles and relieves pain when given in low doses.  Because valerian has sedative properties, some practitioners reserve it for evening use and prefer kava for daytime.  Typical dosage is 300-400 mg per day or 20-60 drops of tincture one to three times per day.

Rauwolfia (Rauwolfia serpentine) (AKA Snake Root)

The herb rauwolfia is very useful for hysteria. One gram of the powdered root should be administered with one cup of milk in the morning as well as in the evening. Treatment should be continued till a complete cure has been obtained.

Asafoetida (Ferula assafoetide) (AKA Devil’s dung, Stinking gum)

Asafoetida has also proved beneficial in the treatment of this disease. Smelling this gum prevents hysterical attacks. If taken orally, the daily dosage should be from 0.5 to 1.0 gm. An emulsion made up of 2 gm of the gum with 120 ml of water is a valuable enema in hysteria, when the patient resists taking the gum orally.