Modern psychiatry has moved past the diagnosis of Hysteria as a mental disorder today. This disease used to be thought to originate from women’s unpredictable reproductive organs. Their “floating wombs” in their bodies caused women’s brains and behaviors to change. They could be extremely emotional, unpredictable, irrational, or experience other unexplainable symptoms. Society really governed […]
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Possession or Hysteria?
Looking back at the Salem Witch Trials today, most people would not jump to the conclusion that the afflicted women in these cases were actually bewitched or possessed at the time. While there are lots of theories as to what happened, most scholars believe that the women were experiencing symptoms of Hysteria, which can be […]
Dead and Forgotten in an Asylum Cemetery
The New York Times. An Asylum’s Final Secrets | The New York Times, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLw2fbVeB-Y. This short video is about the old Willard Asylum in New York that was built in 1869 and finally closed in 1995. Over five thousand people have died there within that time period, and they are all buried in their […]
Introduction
Hi! My name is Allison and I am a history major at UMW. My educational journey has been nontraditional, but I’m excited to say that after several years of taking a class or two a semester, I’m almost done with my degree! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve […]
