Anxiety hysteria, a combination of anxiety and conversion disorders, is no longer commonly used due to changing views on mental illness and its historical association with women. Conversion disorder creates physical symptoms, while anxiety disorders are characterized by high levels of anxiety, phobia, and fear. Treatment for both varies depending on the individual patient.
Anxious hysteria is a psychological condition that combines an anxiety disorder with a conversion disorder. This diagnosis is not frequently used in modern psychology, mainly due to changing views on mental illness and mental states. Historically, anxiety hysteria was considered a “feminine” disorder and was used to illustrate the weakness of women. Many psychologists today disagree with this characterization of women and prefer to use less loaded terms in the diagnosis.
The concept of anxiety hysteria was popularized by early 20th century psychoanalysts, who provided examples from a number of patients to support the diagnosis. In particular, these patients were usually female, like Freud’s famous “Anna O”. While the components of this condition are both valid diagnoses in modern psychotherapy, it is rare to hear the term “anxious hysteria” today, and indeed the term “hysteria” is extremely rare in the diagnosis, due to its implications.
A conversion disorder is a psychological disorder that creates physical symptoms, typically neurological in nature. The patient may experience paralysis, for example, or loss of motor function. A diagnosis of conversion disorder is generally reached only after a careful inspection to rule out potential physical causes of the condition; it is common to consult a neurologist in such cases to ensure that no potentially dangerous signs of an underlying disease are missed. Treatments for conversion disorder vary depending on the individual patient and range from psychological therapy to the use of medications.
Anxiety disorders are extremely common psychological disorders characterized by high levels of anxiety, phobia and fear. A large number of conditions can be found under the umbrella of anxiety disorders, including things like social anxiety disorder. Treatment for these conditions is usually focused on getting the underlying cause of the problem and talking about it, and sometimes medications can be used to calm the patient down so she can focus on therapy.
In the case of anxiety hysteria, psychologists once believed that physical symptoms arise as a result of an anxiety disorder. Such ailments were once collectively called “hysteria.” While it’s certainly true that some anxiety disorders can be linked to conversion disorder, these two conditions can also manifest independently. Patients diagnosed with anxiety hysteria were typically treated as neurotic and the treatment modality chosen was not always entirely beneficial, sometimes because the patient was suffering from an actual neurological problem that went unidentified.
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