Paul Briquet introduced one concept in his work, Traite de l’Hysterie that was published in 1859. “Briquet regarded hysteria as a “Neurosis of the Brain” in which a variety of unpleasant environmental events acted upon the “affective part of the brain” in a susceptible and predisposed individual. He considered the brain to be the “seat of hysteria” because it was the source of the multiple manifestations of the condition. Amongst its many other notable contributions, Briquet’s study finally laid to rest hysteria’s historic association with physical disease of the female genitalia.
” According to Luckhurst, (2004) in her translation of “Sigmund Freud and Joseph Breuer: Studies in Hysteria”, it was established that Hysteria is defined as the tormenting of the body by the troubled mind-as among the most pervasive human disorders; yet, at the same time, it is the most elusive (Luckhurst, 2004, p. 328). The study of Hysteria as a psychological disorder has gained popularity among many famous psychologist including Sigmund Freud, Joseph Breuer, Jean Martin Charcot, and Paul Briquet. According to Ward (N. D.) in her work, “Women, Madness, and American Literature:
Sigmund Freud and Hysteria”, she stated that “Sigmund Freud was considered to have contemplated the definitive study on the psyche of hysterics where it was manifested in his observations of Dora, his writing and lecturers are numerous on the topic which was his fascination with the topic of nervous disease lead to idea of the idea of the “talking cure”, better known as his development of psychoanalysis where yet Freud nevertheless perpetuates the myth that nervous diseases belonged exclusively to the realm of the feminine that he had showed through his works than when he refers to hysteria, it is always associated with female subjects that results to his propelling of the ‘hysterical women’ ” According to Freud (1899), the disorder is a form of neurosis in which unconscious conflicts cause anxiety, wherein physical sxs are defense mechanisms that protect a person from having to deal with psychological conflict. Freud (1899) initiated the reduction in anxiety by “conversion” to physical sxs. Physical sxs result in attention, sympathy, avoidance of responsibilities, and avoidance of legal sanctions, money.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, Sigmund Freud also provided for the etiology of hysteria. Let me reiterate further that, According to McComber (1996), Sigmund Freud, the considered father of Psychology provided for the “Etiology of Hysteria” in his famous “seduction theory” which asserted that child sexual abuse was the single cause of adult hysteria. “McComber (1996) further disputes that the failure of Freud to convince his audience can be ascribed not only of their denial of sexual abuse but also to his failure to elucidate how psychoanalysis could comport with conventional models of medical authority. ” According to Davis (1994), in his work, “A Theory for the 90s: Freud’s Seduction Theory in Historical Context.
Psychoanalytic Review”, he stated the argument posted by Freud on the etiology of hysteria as a post pubertal result of having played a passive role in childhood sexual episodes, while obsession-compulsion recommended that the child had been moved to active arousal by childhood seduction thus stating that hysteria is a result of “presexual shock” while obsession neurosis is the consequence of a presexual sexual pleasure” as stated in the works of Mason (1985) and Anzieu (1975/1986). The theories by Sigmund Freud were also based from the works of Charcot and Breuer. According to Webster (2004), “Freud was enormously overwhelmed by the work of Charcot on traumatic hysteria which took from it a concept that one of the major forms of neurosis came about when a traumatic experience led to development of unconscious symptom-formation. He now started to develop this idea, and did so partially by indication to the work of a medical colleague, Josef Breuer.
Freud was exceptionally engrossed in the most extraordinary of all his colleague’s patients, the eminent celebrated ‘Anna O. ’ whom Breuer had instigated to treat in 1880. ” In the work of Webster (2004), the most celebrated case on ‘Anna O’ was properly identified as one of the most noted examples of hysteria. “In the article, Webster (2004) mentioned, “Anna O. was a twenty-one-year-old woman who had fallen ill while nursing her father who eventually died of a tubercular abscess. Her illness began with a severe cough. She subsequently developed a number of other physical symptoms, including paralysis of the extremities of the right side of her body, contractures, and disturbances of vision, hearing and language.
She also began to experience lapses of consciousness and hallucinations. ” (Webster, 2004) “Breuer diagnosed Anna O. ’s illness as a case of hysteria and gradually developed a form of therapy which he believed was effective in relieving her symptoms. He came to the conclusion that when he could induce her to relate to him during the evening the content of her daytime hallucinations, she became calm and tranquil. Breuer himself saw this as a way of ‘disposing’ of the ‘products’ of Anna O. ’s ‘bad self’ and understood it as a process of emotional catharsis. The patient herself described it as ‘chimney sweeping’, and as her ‘talking cure’”. (Webster, 2004)