Hysteria Today

Hysteria, one of the most diagnosed conditions in human history, is also one of the most problematic. Can it even be said to exist at all? Since the earliest medical texts people have had something to say about 'feminine complaints'. Over the centuries, theorisations of the root causes have lurched from the physiological to the psychological to the socio-political. Thanks to its dual association with femininity and with fakery, the notion of hysteria inevitably provokes questions about women, men, sex, bodies, minds, culture, happiness and unhappiness.To some, it may seem extraordinary that such a contested diagnosis could continue to merit any mention whatsoever. Surely we all now know better. Nonetheless, after being discarded by the American Psychiatric Association in 1952, it has continued to make its appearance, not least in later editions of the DSM, in the form of 'hysterical neurosis (conversion type)' or craftily rebranded as 'histrionic personality disorder'. In contrast with the old-fashioned cliche of the cantankerous malingerer, Jacques Lacan has associated the hysteric with the scientist and seeker after truth. Hysteria Today is a collection of essays whose purpose is to reopen the case for hysteria and to see what relevance, if any, the term may have within contemporary clinical practice.Contributors include Vincent Dachy, Anouchka Grose, Darian Leader, Genevieve Morel, Leonardo S. Rodriguez, Colette Soler, and Anne Worthington.

Anouchka Grose is a psychoanalyst and writer practising in London. She is a member of CFAR and The College of Psychoanalysts-UK. She has written non-fiction: 'No More Silly Love Songs: a realist's guide to romance' (Portobello, 2010) and 'Are you Considering Therapy' (Karnac, 2011), as well as writing fiction: 'Ringing for You' (Harper Collins, 1999) and 'Darling Daisy' (Harper Collins, 2000). She is the editor of 'Hysteria Today' (2015), a collection of essays on hysteria in the contemporary psychoanalytic clinic. Her journalism is published in The Guardian, and she also writes for numerous art and fashion publications. She has taught at Camberwell School of Art and gives talks on art and psychoanalysis in museums and galleries, as well as sometimes speaking on the radio.