The hysterical attack, show or cry for help?

What is popularly called a hysterical attack is a severe loss of self-control, but it generally does not have serious consequences.. Those who show this condition scream, kick, cry, tear out their hair and may even have some sort of convulsions or writhing. They are quite impressive to those who look at them. Is this a way to get attention, or does it represent something serious?

The manifestations of the hysterical attack can be so impressive that In the past there was no distinction between this state and demonic possession. Many hysterics were put through an exorcism ritual or even at the stake after experiencing one or more of these episodes.

Throughout history, the theme of hysteria has always been associated with the feminine. For a long time the idea prevailed that this evil came from female sexual dissatisfaction. The word hysteria itself comes from a root that makes it equivalent to the uterus.

Already in Antiquity, Plato pointed out the following: “In women, what is called the womb or uterus is an animal that lives in it with the desire to make children. When he remains sterile for a long time after the period of puberty, he can hardly be tolerated.”. The solution was to “take a husband” as quickly as possible. Today we know that hysteria and hysterical attacks also occur in many males.

Discontent and hysteria

Hysteria as such has been a phenomenon particularly addressed by psychoanalysis. . In fact, psychoanalysis itself was created from findings in hysterical patients. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since those first approaches, developed by Charcot and Freud, until contemporary times. Now it is rare to find cases of hysterical blindness or strange paralysis.

Hysteria is no longer seen as a problem for women with sexual deficiencies. What is clear is that This phenomenon is strongly linked to dissatisfaction. The hysterical person frequently complains. Hysterics are always dissatisfied. In reality, they compare each reality with an ideal model. Of course, reality loses out in that contrast.

For Freud, there was something repressed in hysteria that returned through somatic symptoms. In other words, something that had happened in the past and had had an impact on the psychic world ended up being relegated to oblivion. This returns through a bodily manifestation, such as frigidity, paralysis, etc.

Lacan sees it differently. For him, the hysteric identifies herself imaginatively with a man, she imitates the man, and from there elucidates what makes her a woman. She does not develop symptoms in the body, but rather catches the symptoms of others.

The attack of hysteria

In addition to what has been pointed out, Lacan affirms that this “contagion” of symptoms among hysterical people is actually an identification. The one identifies with the desire of the other, that is, that desire becomes collective.

These symptoms are a call to the Other. The Other for Lacan is that which is given the characteristics of a “master.”. A figure or speech of power. The Other is the father, or the doctor, or the partner, or the millionaire, etc.

The hysterical person wants that Other to validate them and tell them who they are. In this context, What we call a hysterical attack is the extreme expression of the demand that is made of that Other. In this way, the convulsions of the “possessed” are a demand for the Other priest or church. The “show” of the woman or man who seeks more expressions of affection from her partner also corresponds to this register.

The intensity of that hysterical attack would then correspond to the intensity of the symptom. Sometimes it reaches such a level that it can be confused with a psychosis. There are many attacks of mass hysteria that continue to be seen today. Something of this is seen in the concerts of great musical figures or in cases of massive “possession.” that continue to take place in various parts of the world.

What we can do when faced with a person’s hysterical attack is to calm down. It is precisely about avoiding this contagion effect. That the hysterical symptoms of the other do not exacerbate one’s own symptoms. You don’t have to slap that person or mistreat them. Silence and calm should be enough for this manifestation to dissipate. If it persists for longer than normal, the affected person probably needs medical support to get out of that specific state.

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