The Nature of Hysteria

Why is everyone so familiar with hysteria, yet no one can say exactly what it is? Written by a physician, this book attempts to find answers to the intriguing questions surrounding hysteria. Dr. Niel Micklem focuses not simply on the familiar clinical appearances of the condition, but more on the nature of this elusive ailment as it is revealed by reading the image of its mythical background. Explaining medical entities through psychology has become a familiar exercise. Here the trend is reversed: attention is given to the essence of the disease to establish its implications for medicine.The Nature of Hysteriahas much to say about why hysteria is the cause of such controversy and is why it is difficult to define it as an illness.