Argumentative Essay On Hysteria

Imagine being diagnosed with a debilitating disorder that no doctor could explain and having few treatment options that may or may not work. Thousands have found themselves in this rare percentage with this illness called a conversion disorder. In recent years, more questions have been raised about the diagnostic criteria, treatment, and prevention of conversion disorders. There must be a reform to change these current controversies of this illness and provide adequate treatment from beginning to end. With these new reform options, patients will be given extensive diagnostic steps to make sure a misdiagnosis does not occur and that new, well-researched treatment options will be readily available. Though this disorder may be confounding to physicians

Originally, this condition was known as hysteria. Hysteria was first treated as a religious phenomenon and many were persecuted about having this illness. Physicians in the 1600s like Thomas Sydenham deemed that the abnormal symptoms that a patient with hysteria was experiencing were due to underlying emotional issues (Kanaan et al. 2889). In the 1900s, researchers did agree that some patients with hysteria could have emotional problems but also mentioned that symptoms could be brought on by psychosocial factors. Since then, physicians changed the name from hysteria to a conversion disorder. A conversion disorder is a diagnosis that claims stress and anxiety can induce physical neurological problems, such as seizures, paralysis, and loss of consciousness, that cannot be explained. There are many unanswered questions about this rare condition that needs attention. Some issues that need to be discussed include the diagnostic

The specific treatment options used now are typically therapy for specific symptoms, such as behavioral therapy, drug therapy, psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, and religious therapy (Rofé 847-849). Though these are wonderful treatment options, more research should be done on new treatment options that are specifically gravitated towards conversion disorder-related symptoms and potentially sparked psychological problems. When it comes to therapy, some therapists swear by certain techniques that do not always prove beneficial to conversion disorder patients (Rofé 846). This in return may cause patients to begin having seizures, paralysis, blindness, etc. due to not focusing on coping mechanisms for those that possess stress or anxiety-related stressors. Most therapists may not show an interest in adopting new techniques for illnesses like this because it is easier to link themselves to the similar routine of helping patients the exact process they’ve done for years and for some, decades. Therapists need to adopt new therapeutic techniques every so often to accommodate those who fall under this sometimes-debilitating category so that patients can have proper treatment to prevent future conversion disorder symptoms from reoccurring. As more physicians, therapists, and other medical personnel take the time out to learn about this disorder, the more familiar the medical and therapeutic fields