Hysterical syndrome

Hysterical cindrom most often occurs in extreme or conflict situations; It includes reversible in nature disorder characterized by a variety of symptoms and their combinations, and often mimic the symptoms of various neurological and somatic disorders (paresis, paralysis, hyperkinesis, algii, anesthesia, blindness, deafness, cramps, fainting, seizures, vivid imaginative vision, disturbances of consciousness and et al.). A distinctive feature of hysterical symptoms is theatrical, demonstrative displays. Their appearance is often accompanied by rapid, usually inadequate strength of psychogenic stimulus, expression of feelings and excessive affectation - hysterical attacks, which lasts from a few minutes to several hours and is characterized by a variety of motor manifestations, sometimes arching the whole body with the support to head and heel ( "hysterical arc") , shouts and sobs, vegetative disorders and dizziness.

Unlike an epileptic seizure in hysterical paroxysms not observed a sudden drop (patients lowered gradually) saved the reaction of pupils to light, and ciliary and corneal reflexes, usually no tongue bite and involuntary urination. Hysterical symptoms can be combined with other neurotic manifestations, phobias, obsessions, senestopaticheski-hypochondriac and affective disorders. Hysterical symptoms often seen in psychogenic (reactive psychosis, neurosis), but may also occur in other diseases (schizophrenia, psychoses and involutional al.).

Hysterical states appear either predominantly psychotic disorders (see. Reactive psychosis), or mainly in neurological disorders and somatic fields (see. Neuroses}.

The typical hysterical symptoms are as follows: psychogenic vomiting, often associated with spasm of the pyloric part of the stomach that apparently occurs as a picture of acute abdomen; hysterical flatulence with symptoms of false pregnancy; heart, painful sensation of pain in the heart, simulating an attack of angina pectoris or myocardial infarction; spasms in the throat, accompanied by shortness of breath and a feeling of lack of air, resembling symptoms of asthma (psevdoastmaticheskie attacks). Formation of hysterical disorders that mimic the physical suffering, often follows the path of reproduction (through the mechanism of imitation or identification) symptoms of the disease, which could be observed over a long period of time in individual patients (usually a recently deceased, usually a close relative).