The term Hysteria comes from the Greek word „Hystera“ which is translated to uterus. This already gives us a literal explanation of how the illness, of which the first records of patients date back to Ancient Egypt in 1900 BC, was understood - namely as abnormalities in the uterus and reproductive organs aka female issues🚺 Many many years later, Freud, who became interested in Hysteria after studying under French neurologist Jean Martin Charcot in Paris in 1885, conceptualized his own theories on the illness with his colleague Josef Breuer. Breuer’s patients basically showed the craziest and widest variety of symptoms, all considered hysteric, ranging from depression and migraine to paralyzed legs, arms and hallucinations. Some of these women could be „cured“ through hypnosis, suggestion and talking therapy, which really sparked Freud’s interest in understanding what is going on with these patients and led to an even more extensive research into the innerpsychic world for him. Soooo what exactly is Hysteria? And why does the diagnosis not exist anymore? And why do we use the term „hysterical“ in such a wrong way today? Join us in this week‘s excursion into psychoanalytic history to hear about wondering uteruses, the infamous patient Anna O., and why this, again, was really what started everything! 💫