HYSTERIA – DESCRIPTION
Hysteria is a not uncommon emotional disorder, yet its true nature is often poorly understood.
It is usually thought to be only an outburst of crying or laughing, the result of sudden severe emotional shock and to be controlled by firm, forceful handling.
But hysteria is a complex emotional disorder where symptoms of illness appear and represent to the patient some advantage, even if he may not be aware of his own motives. It is more common in women.
The term «conversion hysteria» is often used. This means that painful and unacceptable happenings or ideas are repressed from conscious thought and translated or converted into physical terms which are tolerable or even prized.
It is different from malingering, where the person puts on symptoms to gain advantage but is aware all the time of his own deceit.
A malingerer may claim that part of his body has no feeling, yet, if a pin is stuck into this area, he will feel pain, although he may try not to show it.
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