The phenomenon of dozens of young female volunteers living in the forest experiencing seizures and screaming since the war, along with hundreds of female students from Phu Tho fainting suddenly in recent times, has been identified by specialists as suffering from the same condition: hysteria.
In popular culture, this condition is referred to by a confusing name, often with a mocking and unfriendly attitude: “the Cà hước disease,” or more colloquially, a… lack of men! In the International Classification of Diseases, it is categorized as a dissociative disorder, affecting 0.3-0.5% of the population, predominantly women (ten times more than men).
Hysteria has been known since ancient Greece, but it wasn’t until 1859 that Briquet fully described this condition scientifically and systematically. Modern psychiatry now classifies hysteria among psychosomatic disorders. The disorder typically appears after a psychological trauma in individuals with weak personalities (the medical term for personality differs significantly from the moral and social concept of personality). The common manifestations and clinical forms include:
Hysterical Episodes: Seizures, rigid muscle contractions after psychological trauma. Patients may thrash about, scream, and hit the bed… yet they remain aware and cognizant of their surroundings, seeking attention from others.
Emotional Disturbances: Crying, chaotic emotions, incoherent speech unrelated to surrounding topics, and shouting without reason, with minimal disruption to consciousness. In some cases, patients may experience hallucinations (usually visual – seeing phenomena that are not externally present). They are easily suggestible and can self-suggest (misinterpreting events occurring around them).
Fainting Spells of Hysteria: Sudden fainting with minimal impact on consciousness; eyelids may still flutter (in contrast to fainting due to heart issues, where patients feel fatigued beforehand and have a history of cardiovascular problems, leading to complete loss of consciousness during episodes).
Hysterical Sleep: Mild seizures leading to sleep, with eyes remaining partially open. This sleep can last from 1-2 days.
Motor Disturbances: Motor disturbances such as tremors, twitches, or non-specific paralysis can occur, sometimes seeming exaggerated and diffused throughout the body.
Sensory Disturbances: Disturbances in sensation can include loss or heightened sensitivity (a minor stimulus may feel overwhelmingly intense); sensations of pain and bodily mapping; visceral sensations can also be disrupted, leading to abdominal pain, chest pain, and heart-related discomfort.
Perceptual Disturbances: Sudden deafness following psychological trauma without any organic damage to the auditory system. Recovery through hypnosis often shows significant results. Sometimes, patients may suddenly go blind while their eyes remain open, still vaguely perceiving surrounding objects.
The causes of hysteria typically involve psychological trauma, extreme fear, pessimistic anger, or underlying physical illness perceived as severe by the patient. Contributing factors include weak personalities, lack of willpower, abnormal nervous system responses, toxicity, infections, and cardiovascular diseases.
Regarding the mechanisms of hysteria, there are various theories. Modern neurologists believe that the disorder arises from heightened emotions and suggestibility in individuals with weak personalities. In these individuals, the cerebral cortex is weakened, and the subcortical system is disengaged, making it impossible to control stimuli, resulting in increased inhibition of the cortex. Ultimately, this leads to heightened subcortical activity, clinically manifested as a variety of symptoms depending on the stimulated brain areas. It is this characteristic that allows the condition to appear and diminish through suggestion. The condition can escalate during traumatic events, creating chain reactions in communities (those in similar situations), leading to collective outbreaks affecting potentially hundreds of individuals.
The disorder is treated through psychological methods, hypnosis, and fostering a good relationship between the doctor and the patient, allowing the condition to resolve quickly. In more challenging cases, benzodiazepines may be used immediately, followed by low doses of antidepressants, such as Elavil, or newer medications like Prozac, Remeron, and Sertraline.
Prevention should be strategic, utilizing mental health care programs in schools. It is essential to cultivate resilience in individuals through various environments, including challenging conditions. Educational outreach on this illness is crucial. Encouraging a harmonious living spirit, collective mindset, and mutual love and support is vital. Eliminating stress-inducing factors and environmental conditions conducive to the onset of the disorder, as mentioned above, is necessary.
When dealing with affected individuals, avoid excessive concentration and care that may worsen the condition; however, respecting the patient is imperative. During treatment, some medications to reduce anxiety and alleviate physical symptoms may be used.
