What is hysteria, and why were so many women diagnosed with it? – Mark S. Micale

Do you ever feel tired? Overwhelmed? Depressed? Do you have headaches, dizziness, cramps, difficulty breathing? From 300 BCE to the 1900s, if you answered yes to any of these questions and you had a uterus, a doctor would likely diagnose you with hysteria. So, where did this medical diagnosis come from? And why did it persist for so long? Mark S. Micale traces the history of the catch-all term. Lesson by Mark S. Micale, directed by Laura Jayne Hodkin.