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).
Sigmund Freud considers past experience as a cause of the psychological disorder manifested in Hysteria. He stated that the illness is the psychological manifestation of the past sexual experience during her childhood, which can be related to sexual abuse. It was also mentioned earlier that sexual deprivation or the inability to reach the peak of orgasm during sexual intercourse are the physical cause of hysteria.
According to research, the most common causes of Hysteria are, psychological disorders, physical disorders, the emotional shock from mental and physical factors such as mental strain, stress, fear, and worry, and finally, drug intoxication which is related with organic brain disease. Medical research established that stress could be a common cause of hysteria. Other common causes are perverted habits of thought and idleness. Heredity can also be an important factor to consider that could be drawn from a family history of nervousness.
Finally, emotional depression, trauma and masturbation and prolonged sickness can also lead to hysteria. According to research, the most common causes of Hysteria are, psychological disorders, physical disorders, the emotional shock from mental and physical factors such as mental strain, stress, fear, and worry, and finally, drug intoxication which is related with organic brain disease. Medical research established that stress could be a common cause of hysteria. Other common causes are perverted habits of thought and idleness.
Heredity can also be an important factor to consider that could be drawn from a family history of nervousness. Finally, emotional depression, trauma and masturbation and prolonged sickness can also lead to hysteria. Demographics of Hysteria According to Briggs (2000), during the year 1859, one fourth of all females suffered from hysteria, which is sensible taking into consideration that one physician cataloged 75 pages of probable symptoms of hysteria and identified the list incomplete; roughly any illness could match the diagnosis.
Moreover, Briggs (2000) claimed that the occurrence of hysteria in the United States avowed the country’s being on equivalence with Europe when an American physician pleasurably articulated that the United States was holding up to Europe in the pervasiveness of Hysteria. According to the DSM-IV-TR, Somatization disorder is rare in males in the United States, although higher rates are seen among males from some cultural and ethnic groups. The DSM-IV-TRestimates that between 0. 2% and 2% of women, and less than 0.2% of men, suffer from Somatization disorder in the U. S. Sex ratios may arise from different rates of seeking treatment.
However, studies of unexplained somatic symptoms in the general population find less striking differences in rates between men and women. Specific symptoms may vary across cultures. For example, the DSM-IV-TR notes that the sensation of worms in the head or ants crawling under the skin are sometimes reported in African and South Asian countries, but rarely seen in North American patients.