What is hysteria, and why were so many women diagnosed with it? - Mark S. Micale

Translator: Louise Kristensen

Do you ever feel tired? Overwhelmed?

Føler du dig nogensinde træt? Overvældet?

Nervous? Depressed?

Nervøs? Deprimeret?

Do you have headaches, dizziness, cramps, difficulty breathing?

Har du hovedpine, svimmelhed, kramper, vejrtrækningsproblemer?

From 300 BCE to the early 1900s,

Fra 300 f.Kr. til begyndelsen af det 20. århundrede,

if you answered yes to these questions and you had a uterus,

hvis du svarede ja til disse spørgsmål og du havde en livmoder,

a European or American doctor would likely diagnose you with hysteria.

ville en europæisk eller amerikansk læge nok diagnostisere dig med hysteri.

No, not mass hysteria.

Nej, ikke massehysteri.

Ladylike hysteria.

Kvindeligt hysteri.

The catch-all term “hysteria” was used by physicians, who were mostly men,

Den omfattende term “hysteri” blev brugt af læger, som mest var mænd,

to describe just about any unexplainable medical condition

til at beskrive enhver uforklarlig sygdomstilstand

suffered by female patients.

som kvindelige patienter led af.

By some interpretations,

Ifølge visse fortolkninger,

being a woman was itself long considered a pathology

blev det at være kvinde i sig selv læge anset som en sygdomstilstand

from which all kinds of problems arose.

fra hvilken alle mulige problemer opstod.

Throughout its long history, hysteria was used as a cultural signifier

Gennem sin lange historie, blev hysteri brugt som en kulturel markør

for what men with authority found contemptible and incomprehensible

for hvad mænd med autoritet fandt foragteligt og uforståeligt

in the behavior of women who lacked, or tried to exercise, power.

ved opførsel blandt kvinder som manglede, eller forsøgte at udvise magt.

The term hysteria is derived from the Greek word for uterus,

Begrebet hysteri kommer fra det græske ord for livmoder,

and was first used in the 4th century BCE.

og blev først gang anvendt i det 4. hundrede f.Kr.

Drawing on earlier Egyptian beliefs, and not a great deal of medical rigor,

Ud fra tidligere egyptiske ideer og uden megen medicinsk stringens,

the Greeks viewed hysteria as a malady of the womb,

opfattede grækerne hysteri som en sygdom i livmoderen,

arguing that the uterus could dislodge and move throughout the body,

med antagelsen at livmoderen kunne flytte sig rundt i kroppen,

causing a variety of ailments.

og forårsage mange dårligdomme.

They believed the uterus wandered because it longed to bear children,

De troede at livmoderen vandrede fordi den længtes befrugtning,

and for that reason,

og derfor

unmarried women were the most likely to get a hysteria diagnosis.

var ugifte kvinder mest tilbøjelige til at få diagnosen hysteri.

The usual prescription was immediate marriage, impregnation,

Den sædvanlige behandling var øjeblikkeligt ægteskab, befrugtning,

or the use of uterine fumigations

eller røgbade af livmoderen

to entice the rebellious organ back into place.

for at lokke det oprørske organ tilbage på sin plads.

By the 2nd century CE,

I det 2. århundrede e.Kr

Roman physicians rejected the wandering womb theory.

afviste romerske læger teorien om den vandrende livmoder.

But they still viewed the uterus as the source of hysteria,

Men de betragtede stadig livmoderen som kilden til hysteri

believing, without much evidence, that it produced a secretion similar to semen,

og troede uden megen bevisførelse, at den producerede et sekret der mindede om sæd,

which— if not released— corrupted the blood and irritated the nerves.

som - hvis det ikke blev udløst - forurenede blodet og irriterede nerverne.

As a result, midwives would often treat hysteria by manually inducing orgasms

Som resultat behandlede jordemødre hysteri manuelt ved at inducere orgasmer

in female patients.

hos kvindelige patienter.

By the late Middle Ages, Christianity had spread throughout Europe,

I den sene middelalder havde kristendommen spredt sig over Europa,

and its influence had likewise infiltrated Western medical practice.

og dens indflydelse påvirkede den vestlige medicinske praksis.

Physicians started to posit that hysteria was a malady not of the womb,

Læger begyndte at hævde at hysteri var en sygdom, ikke i livmoderen,

but of the soul, and reflected Satanic influence.

men i sjælen, og afspejlede satanisk indflydelse.

Doctors continued to dismiss women’s symptoms and pain,

Lægerne fortsatte med af afvise kvinders symptomer og smerte,

now misogynistically shifting the blame to their supposed inherent weak wills

og misogynt skød de skylden på deres indbyggede svage vilje

and susceptibility to sin.

og tilbøjelighed til synd.

This situation worsened through the 16th and 17th centuries,

Situationen forværredes gennem det 16. og 17. århundrede,

as women, especially those who didn’t conform to social expectations,

da kvinder, især dem som ikke levede op til sociale forventninger,

risked being accused of witchcraft, which often carried heavy consequences.

risikerede at blive beskyldt for hekseri, som ofte havde tunge konsekvenser.

In late Victorian Europe and North America,

i det sene victorianske Europa og Nordamerika,

some medical doctors started arguing that hysteria’s true origin

hævdede visse doktorer, at hysteriets sande oprindelse

lay not in the body or soul, but rather, in the mind.

ikke fandtes i kroppen eller sjælen, men nærmere i sindet.

Middle class women, facing intense demands of social respectability

Middelklassekvinder var underkastet strenge krav om respektabilitet

and strict codes of sexual conduct,

og strenge regler for seksuel adfærd,

were often referred to “nerve doctors”

blev ofte henvist til “nervelæger,”

who’d use isolating and unfounded rest cures

som ville bruge isolerende og ubegrundede hvilekure

to treat any emotional and psychological distress.

til at behandle enhver følelsesmæssig og psykologisk nød.

When writing her semi-autobiographical short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,”

Da hun skrev sin semi-selvbiografiske novelle, “Det gule tapet,”

Charlotte Perkins Gilman drew from the distressing treatment she underwent

trak Charlotte Perkins Gilman på den pinefulde behandling hun modtog

for her so-called hysterical tendencies.

for sine såkaldte hysteriske tendenser.

The narrator, suffering from what would now likely be diagnosed

Fortælleren, der led af hvad nu sandsynligvis blive diagnostiseret som

as postpartum depression,

fødselsdepression,

describes being confined alone in an attic

beskriver hvordan hun bliver spærret inde på et loft

and being denied any intellectual activity,

og nægtet enhver intellektuel aktivitet,

including reading or writing.

herunder at læse og skrive.

Around this same time, Sigmund Freud was rising to fame.

Omtrent på samme tid, var Sigmund Freud ved at blive berømt.

He believed hysteria, like other nervous conditions,

Han troede at hysteri som andre nervøse tilstande

was caused by repressed emotional trauma.

blev forårsaget af fortrængte følelsesmæssige traumer.

His treatment required drawing these memories out of the unconscious

Hans behandling involverede at trække disse minder ud af det ubevidste,

so they could be acknowledged and addressed.

så de kunne blive anerkendt og behandlet.

Freud also dismissed the idea that hysteria was unique to women.

Freud afviste også ideen om at hysteri var et kvindefænomen.

Belief in “male hysteria” became prominent during and after the First World War,

Tro på “mandligt hysteri” herskede under og efter første verdenskrig,

but was framed as the more masculine-sounding “shell shock.”

men der blev italesat som det mere maskulint lydende “granatchok.”

Over the 20th century,

Gennem det 20. århundrede

the term hysteria was slowly replaced by specific, less gendered diagnoses,

blev termen hysteri langsomt afløst af specifikke, mindre kønnede diagnoser,

including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and epilepsy.

herunder angst, depression, PTSD og epilepsi.

And hysteria was officially removed

Og hysteri blev officielt fjernet

from the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” in 1980.

fra “Diagnostisk og statistisk manual for psykiske lidelser” i 1980.

Today, most scholars argue that the blanket disease hysteria

Idag mener de fleste forskere at den altomfattende sygdom hysteri

was always a figment of doctors’ imaginations.

altid var et produkt af lægers fantasier.

As outright medical sexism declined, so did its diagnosis.

Efterhånden som medicinsk sexisme aftog, gjorde diagnosen det samme.

Nevertheless, its legacy reflects Western medicine’s

Ikke desto mindre afspejler dens arv den vestlige medicins

long, storied, and ongoing history

lange, rige og vedvarende historie

of misattributing and trivializing women’s pain.

med fejldiagnosticering og bagtellisering og kvinders smerte.