History Of Mass Hysteria

Before the advancement of technology, psychological disorders such as Mass Hysteria was looked at as an enigma. Some people associated the symptoms with black magic, as it was a psychogenic illness which they had no explanation for. It is caused by extreme levels of stress and anxiety. Symptoms of Mass Hysteria are more commonly seen in women. The history of Mass Hysteria goes back to the middle ages. It was firstly thought of to be caused by a natural disease. Later on in the colonies, people with this illness were said to be possessed, which lead to Salem Witch Trials
Mass Hysteria is a conversion disorder where individuals that have an excessive level of anxiety express their condition with physical symptoms. There are two classifications of this disorder which are mass anxiety …show more content…
People who witness others around them getting ill unintentional trick their bodies and minds into manifesting the same symptoms. Mass Hysteria can also be caused by variation of emotion; fear, anger, sadness, and more. One of the earliest recorded form of Mass Hysteria was the Dancing Mania with numerous explanations that might shed a light on the dancers behaviour. In the Middle Ages people believed the Dancing Mania was caused by demons possession or the bite of the tarantula. They perform exorcisms on many dancers. People prayed to St john the Baptist because they believe he was the cause of the dancing. The people that were taking part in the Dancing Mania would be dancing with salacious gestures, stripping, screaming, and crying or laughing to death. Many participants were psychologically disturbed, but it was also believe that some people took part of the dance out of fear or did not want to fill left out. If scientist and philosopher did not thrive to understand the Mass Hysteria we would not have the understanding that we have