What is hysteria, and why were so many women afflicted with it? - Mark S. Micale episode artwork

EPISODE · May 31, 2026 · 7 MIN

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

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Download a free audiobook version of “City of Girls” and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed--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.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-hysteria-and-why-were-so-many-women-diagnosed-with-it-mark-s-micaleDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-hysteria-and-why-were-so-many-women-diagnosed-with-it-mark-s-micale/digdeeperCheck out our full book recommendation: https://shop.ed.ted.com/collections/ted-ed-book-recommendations/products/1984-copyAnimator's website: https://laurajaynehodkin.comMusic: https://www.philbrookes.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek and Dennis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Download a free audiobook version of “City of Girls” and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed--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.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-hysteria-and-why-were-so-many-women-diagnosed-with-it-mark-s-micaleDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-hysteria-and-why-were-so-many-women-diagnosed-with-it-mark-s-micale/digdeeperCheck out our full book recommendation: https://shop.ed.ted.com/collections/ted-ed-book-recommendations/products/1984-copyAnimator's website: https://laurajaynehodkin.comMusic: https://www.philbrookes.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek and Dennis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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This episode was published on May 31, 2026.

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Download a free audiobook version of “City of Girls” and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed--Do you ever feel tired? Overwhelmed? Depressed? Do you have headaches, dizziness, cramps, difficulty breathing? From 300 BCE...

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