Hysteria

We are informed that she and her husband John have receded to a summer home, when she was diagnosed with a nerves depression, or hysteria, after the birth of her son. This was a common diagnosis for middleclass women in the 1800’s. Today she might have been diagnosed with postpartum depression. A normal cure for this sort of mental illness so fittingly called hysteria, was the rest cure, which essentially meant that the patient were required to abstain from any form of excessive stimulation,…

same physiological symptoms of neurologic disorders but because of its nonorganic nature and lack of psychological stressors, it can be difficult to diagnose.2 Functional Movement Disorders originally stem from a group of disorders labeled as “hysteria”…

Witch Hunts in America. 1. Introduction Most American’s have heard of the Salem Witch Trials, but most don’t know what had happened when Senator Joseph McCarthy announced during a speech that he had the names of over 200 members of the Department of State that are "known communists." (History) The speech was made during a time when fear of communists was at an all-time high in America. As such McCarthy’s accusations sparked a nationwide fear about communist collaborators in the American…

In the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, fear and hysteria overpowered all reason and logic and led to the massacre of nineteen people. Already filled with fear and instinctual need to survive in an unknown world, and with fear of Native Americans and the Devil circling in their heads; this town was destroyed by the introduction of the idea of witchcraft. Accusation after accusation, false confession after false confession, the town authorities who delivered the scourge of God in the fight…

Jane Austen once said, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen 1). In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen initiates the society's corrupted views on love and marriage during the 19th century. Austen wrote this novel during the early 1700’s in England, contributing endless wit, irony, cynicism towards her views on marriage and love during that era. In the novel, Mrs. Bennett contains anxiety for pushing her…

in presidency fields even though he thought he would not make it that far. James Madison was also an well educated individual, due to his intelligence, he completed a four year course in only two years. Although James was diagnosed with Epiletoid Hysteria, he never let anything interfere with his studies. With his determination, James graduated college in 1771 with a bachelor 's degree. When Madison left college he studied law which led him to where he landed working in presidency. After James…

The scene is dark, the only light shown is from a fire and the last breath of the sun as it kisses the earth goodnight. There are girls surrounding the fire with gifts in hand to cast a spell on those their heart’s desire. This is only the beginning of Arthur Miller’s 1996 film The Crucible, directed by Nicholas Hytner. While though this part of history is mostly known for the film version, it actually started as a play written by Arthur Miller in the 1950s. The movie is meant as reminder of the…

As they say history is often destined to repeat itself however, more recently in our lifetime the way in which we communicate information with each other has changed drastically due to the advent of social media. So we must analyze new occurrences as they happen in this fast changing society and find new ways to avoid their downfalls. Scott C Ratzan, Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University and Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Health Communication, in his scholarly article “Ebola…

Miller ties in that the McCarthy Era was very much alike to back when the Salem Witch Trials took place. Both of these events caused mass hysteria and an extremity of accusations for the people of Salem, Massachusetts and America. During the McCarthy Era, McCarthy and the HUAC accused many people of being communists, causing the loss of jobs and harsher punishments, even though they were innocent…

objects, turn people into animals, and invoke spirits. Delving into the darker side of the topic, the taboo word can incite thoughts of animal sacrifices, hexes, blood magic, sexual immorality, and satanic worship. With a history of persecution and hysteria, one may find that the reasoning behind Wiccan stereotypes is far more sinister than the religion itself. It would not do Wicca justice if one were to ignore the complexity and importance of its parent religion, Paganism. Paganism is a term…