RECLAIMING HYSTERIA

THEY CALLED IT HYSTERIA.

For centuries, when women experienced symptoms medicine couldn’t explain, there was a diagnosis waiting for them:

Hysteria.

Anxiety. Insomnia. Irritability. Changes in appetite and sexual desire. Shortness of breath. Abdominal heaviness. Nervousness. Emotional outbursts.

Even a “tendency to cause trouble for others.”

Seriously, y’all.

This history goes back thousands of years. In ancient Greece, physicians linked women’s illnesses to the uterus, eventually imagining it as almost alive - capable of wandering through the body, pressing on other organs, and causing sickness.

And that connection to the uterus would eventually give the condition its name: the Greek word for uterus was hystera.

And if the idea of a wandering uterus sounds ridiculous now, wait until you hear what they did about it.

THE WANDERER

Treating hysteria was every bit as strange as the theories behind it.

One treatment involved placing pleasant smells near a woman’s genitals and foul smells near her nose in an attempt to “lure” her uterus back where it belonged.

Sex was prescribed.

Marriage was prescribed.

Pregnancy was prescribed.

At different points in history, a woman’s symptoms might be blamed on sexual deprivation, retained menstrual blood, retained “female seed,” childlessness, widowhood, demonic possession, or simply behavioral deviance.

The problem was her.

Her body.

Her sexuality.

Her marital status.

Her behavior.

And this wasn’t some weird little footnote that disappeared with the ancient Greeks. Hysteria remained a recognized medical diagnosis for centuries.

As theories changed, the uterus eventually stopped taking all the blame. Doctors began looking at the brain and nervous system instead.

But the diagnosis remained.

The woman was still the problem.

THE BLAME GAME

We don’t diagnose women with hysteria anymore. (Thank, God!)

But I’m not convinced we’ve completely stopped playing the blame game. We’ve just gotten better at making the blame sound like self-improvement.

Because here’s what can happen during perimenopause.

A woman who has spent decades knowing herself suddenly can’t sleep.

She walks into a room and can’t remember why she’s there.

Her anxiety comes out of nowhere.

Her patience disappears.

Her brain doesn’t feel as dependable as it used to be.

She cries over something that wouldn’t normally bother her. Or she’s furious. Or exhausted. Or hungry. Or completely uninterested in sex.

Maybe her periods start changing.

Maybe they don’t.

Maybe nobody has ever mentioned the word perimenopause to her at all.

So, she comes up with her own explanation.

What’s wrong with me?

Maybe I’m lazy.

Maybe I’m too emotional.

Maybe I’m losing my mind.

Maybe I’m failing at my job.

Maybe I’m a shitty partner.

Maybe I need more discipline.

Maybe I should be able to handle this better.

The diagnosis of hysteria may be gone.

The instinct to blame the woman isn’t.

And sometimes we’re the ones doing it to ourselves.

WHAT IF?

What if instead of immediately asking, “What’s wrong with me?”, we started asking, “What’s happening in my body?”

That’s a very different question.

And it’s at the heart of Hormone Hysteria.

Our hormones aren’t separate from the rest of us. They interact with our brains, our sleep, our moods, our energy, our appetites, our menstrual cycles, and the way we experience our own bodies.

During perimenopause, those patterns can change.

And when nobody has taught us to pay attention to them, those changes can feel random.

But random and unnoticed aren’t necessarily the same thing.

Maybe you sleep like shit at the same point in your cycle every month.

Maybe there are days when your anxiety spikes.

Days when you want everyone to leave you the fuck alone.

Days when you’re creative and energized.

Days when you’re exhausted.

Maybe your body has been communicating with you all along.

You just didn’t know how to listen.

PAY ATTENTION

This is where science matters.

And so does your lived experience.

I don't believe understanding your body means memorizing a list of perimenopause symptoms and then trying to squeeze yourself into somebody else's definition of what this transition is supposed to look like.

I want women to know what the research says.

I also want us to notice what our own bodies say.

Track the patterns.

Ask questions.

Notice your cycle.

Notice what changes.

Notice what helps.

Notice what doesn't.

Talk to your doctor. Learn about your options. Make informed decisions.

And trust that living inside your body for decades has given you information worth listening to, too.

That's not anti-science.

That's paying attention.

Because the goal isn't to control every hormonal fluctuation or eliminate every uncomfortable symptom.

It's to stop treating every change in your body like evidence of some personal failure.

TAKING IT BACK

By the 1980s, feminists had begun reclaiming the word hysteria — turning a label once used against women into a symbol of resistance.

We're taking it back, too.

That's why this place is called Hormone Hysteria.

Not because women's symptoms aren't real.

Because they fucking are.

And women have spent far too much of history being told that their reactions to what was happening inside their own bodies were the problem.

I want something different.

More information.

More curiosity.

More trust in ourselves.

More honest conversations about what it actually feels like to live through a changing hormonal landscape.

And a hell of a lot less blame.

Because understanding what's happening in your body, the harder it becomes to believe that you’re the problem.

This is only the beginning of the conversation. There's so much more I want to explore with you about our hormones, our bodies, and what happens when we finally start paying attention to them.

And maybe, little by little, the more we understand our bodies, the more power we take back.

Much love to you,
Crystal 💜

Sources & Further Reading

Trimble, M. & Reynolds, E. H. (2016). A Brief History of Hysteria: From the Ancient to the Modern. Handbook of Clinical Neurology.
A historical review tracing hysteria from ancient medical theories through later neurological and psychological explanations.
Read on PubMed

Broussolle, E., et al. (2014). History of Physical and “Moral” Treatment of Hysteria.
A review of the theories and treatments associated with hysteria across different periods of medical history.
Read on PubMed

Williams, M. & Maki, P. M. (2025). A Review of Cognitive, Sleep, and Mood Changes in the Menopausal Transition: Beyond Vasomotor Symptoms. Obstetrics & Gynecology.
A modern review of cognitive complaints, sleep disruption, and mood changes during the menopausal transition.
Read on PubMed