Review: Are Teen Girls Suffering From Hysteria?

A new podcast explores a mysterious case of teens developing Tourette syndrome–like tics and other cases of suspected mass psychogenic illness.

What do teen girls with Tourette syndrome–like tics in upstate New York, U.S. military and intelligence officials with an array of mysterious complaints, some victims of mass poisonings in girls schools across Iran, and Salem girls accused of witchcraft have in common? All may have experienced mass psychogenic events—better known as hysteria.

All also appear in Hysterical, a new podcast from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios. The teens displaying tics in LeRoy, New York, are the main focus of the show, which takes us on a medical mystery tour of their symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments.

Some, including the famed activist Erin Brockovich, suspect environmental causes. Others think it's the result of an immune system gone haywire. The authorities' official diagnosis—mass psychogenic illness—doesn't sit well with many of the patients or their families.

Who can blame them? It's easy to look at the sexist history of hysteria diagnoses and conclude the whole business is bunk.

But Hysterical suggests not only that mass psychogenic illness is likely the right diagnosis but also that it sometimes takes shape in ways that most—especially those caught in its grips—wouldn't label as hysteria. See, for instance, the mysterious "Havana syndrome" that hit intelligence, military, and diplomatic officials for several years. Hysteria may be all around us, if we only open our eyes to it.

Comments

[Chumby]

@ENB - what is a girl?

[Gaear Grimsrud]

Until they become front hole birthing people there's really no way to know.

[Gaear Grimsrud]

JD Vance is wrong about mass psychogenic events.

[Public Entelectual]

All those dismal looks and fretting
Cannot Vance’s life restore;
Like RFK, the worms have et him,
He'll be elected nevermore.

[MasterThief]

Women are especially prone to neuroticism and as social conformists will completely change their behavior and appearance in extreme ways. The amount of time they spend on social media is creating a weird hive mind where they display all sorts of pathological behavior whether or not they actually have it.

[sarcasmic]

The amount of time they spend on social media is creating a weird hive mind where they display all sorts of pathological behavior whether or not they actually have it.

Trump defenders are women? That explains a lot.

[Don't look at me!]

Ideas™ !

[Don't look at me!]

Sounds similar to the “trans” popularity.

[NoVaNick]

Being trans/non-binary is the ultimate rejection of the capitalist system applying a male-female dichotomy on humans. Any attempt to pathologize it as gender dysphoria or hysteria is the white male medical establishment’s attempt to enforce this.
-i actually read this in my college newspaper more than 30 years ago…

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Crazy is as crazy does.

[Its_Not_Inevitable]

I can picture the writers professor sitting back like Montgomery Burns after reading this and saying "Excellent" while tapping his fingers together.

[Gaear Grimsrud]

I read that in the voice of Sideshow Bob for some reason.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

'Review: Are Teen Girls Suffering From Hysteria?'

Um, have you ever spent time with teen girls? (Or pre-teen and post-teen girls?)

And do they suffer from hysteria, or wallow in it?

[Chemlady]

I spent lots of time around teen girls, and most of them are FAR more responsible, rational, and logical than teen boys. I’d say teenage boys rank up there in logic with the girls at a rate of 1:5.

[Raccroc]

Sounds like a clear cut case of the vapours and that they should, as the Montagu recommended, "consult your toilette".

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50592/a-receipt-to-cure-the-vapors

[Ajsloss]

I was thinking it was brain fever.

[Bill McNeal]

Or Space Madness.

[Ajsloss]

My mask protects you and your mask protects me!

[Public Entelectual]

We wish you a merry Musk mask,
and a Ramaswamy New Year

[Use the Schwartz]

For years (decades) I was told by doctors that my severe allergies were psychosomatic.

Assholes.

[soldiermedic76]

Buy them all vibrators. Oh, uhm, is that no longer prescribed for hysteria?

[NoVaNick]

I don’t know, but they are recommended for TDS.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-rise-of-4b-in-the-wake-of-donald-trumps-reelection

[soldiermedic76]

It is one of those odd little historical facts, but one of the cause of hysteria was believed to be the result of sexual frustration in women, and one of the prescribed treatment was for the physician to manually stimulate the female to relieve that sexual tension. As you can imagine, this was pretty popular with female patients (late 19th century). A physician grew tired of his wrists always hurting after a day of "treating" women for hysteria, so he invented the vibrator, so he didn't have to do it himself, just hook her up to a machine and go on to the next patient.

[mad.casual]

(late 19th century)

If only such a "It's just a business transaction." solution had actually worked, we probably wouldn't be having the Mace v. McBride 'debate' right now.

[soldiermedic76]

The thing is that hysteria was most common among upper middle class, and upper class women, than lower class and at least some of the symptoms described are similar to depression. There is probably two things in play. The first is, that the class most affected would be the ones that most likely had a nanny or such to raise their children, and late Victorian upper class women would not have had any gainful employment. So, they didn't raise their own children (largely probably didn't even interact with the children much) and had a ton of free time with nothing to fill it. Lower middle class women would have been busy with raising children and housekeeping, and lower class women would have either been focused on these or working themselves (most employed women would have come from the lower economic echelons). Orgasms very likely did help alleviate some of the depression symptoms and obviously helped with boredom. Orgasms (albeit at the time, medical science didn't recognize the female orgasm and there was debate if women even enjoyed sex*) release endorphins and oxytocin, both of which create a sense of euphoria (and energy in women). Unfortunately, for society, these bored, upper class women tended to fill their time by trying to better society (the main drivers of temperance and such), which they still tend to do.

* The paradox was that, while medical science didn't recognize the female orgasm and debated rather women could derive pleasure from sex, they still felt that a lack of sex contributed to women's mental health issues. They believed women needed to have sex, to maintain good mental health, while at the same time not recognizing women enjoyed sex.

[shadydave]

Women enjoy sex? I'd ask what I'm doing wrong, but clearly it's a lot.

[LIBtranslator]

Back when mystical rednecks had a habit of begging the cops to kick in our doors, laissez-faire hepcat language incorporated colorful expressions that caused them to move out of hearing range. This gave added protection against snoops, narcs, snitches and killjoys. Mystical bigots have now decided it is safer to bully girls, so no surprise that soi-disant experts are trying to "big-word" it into something other than a biofeedback defensive adaptation that repels despicable jerks.

[JonFrum]

" the sexist history of hysteria diagnoses "

Hysteria was a cover term for psychological disturbances found in women at the very beginning of 'scientific' psychology. Like many such diagnoses, it was replaced over time by more carefully shaped categories. That doesn't mean that it was sexist, or even wrong. Today, three quarters of patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder are women. That is not a sexist accusation - it's an observation. While hysteria is not located in the uterus - we all know that now - it was a provisional suggestion over 100 years ago, and yes, we have advanced since then. But there ARE, in fact, psychopathologies specific to both men and women, and it's not -ist to say so. Have you not seen a stream of hysterical women posting video clips recently? Trust your eyes.

[Nobartium]

Repeal the 19th.

[Minadin]

When have they not?

[Longtobefree]

Women will find true happiness in a red gown and a big funny white hat that hides their face.

[Minadin]

What if they just shaved their heads and wore blue bracelets?

[SIV]

Havana Syndrome is an acute form of TDS. It first appeared in State Dept and intelligence officials shortly after the 2016 election.

[Zipcreature]

“Are Teen Girls Suffering From Hysteria?”
I’ve seen The View - YES.

[Zipcreature]

Jordan Peterson says that teen females suffer from ‘social contagions’ at some crazy-high rate compared to Males.
This seems to be true - and explains why so many turn into ‘smart glasses’ young Liberal women screaming how proud they are of aborting their black college-boyfriends (to made daddy man, of course!) baby.
And somehow we adults are supposed to listen to their screeching about gender, the environment, or Ukraine war? Oh hell no!

[shadydave]

Gwyneth Paltrow has the cure:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaginal_steaming

[Chemlady]

There are a ridiculously high number of seizures in the high school where I used to work. Doctors could not diagnose these girls with anything but they would have seizures frequently, and then another one of the girls would see her and then SHE would have a seizure. It looked just like the fits in the Crucible. They weren’t acting-one girl had a seizure while wearing shorts and a t-shirt out in the snow, for like 8 minutes laying on the ground getting snowed on. It was so weird.

[Winston in Wonderland]

This is news?

Anybody who has ever had a teenage daughter knows that when they reach about 12 year of age, they get a bad case of estrogen poisoning that lasts until HS graduation...Or longer.

[Flaco]

Beans