Until the early 1900s if a woman had symptoms like cramps, depression, or a headache, a doctor would probably diagnose her with hysteria, which was removed as a medical diagnosis in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association.

When you consider that women weren’t included in clinical trials until 1993, how much do we really know about women’s mental health? We speak to science researcher Misty Pratt about this and her book “All in Her Head: How Gender Bias Harms Women’s Mental Health.”

Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health, visit any of the following resources for support: Canada.ca/mental-health Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868.

The Government of Ontario's Mental Health Support Resources: https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-mental-health-support

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Research links

https://quillandquire.com/authors/misty-pratts-own-experiences-inspired-her-book-on-women-and-the-mental-health-care-system

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history-quackery/history-hysteria

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/for-some-women-with-serious-physical-ailments-mental-illness-has-become-a-scapegoat-diagnosis-180986203

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bhchar.html

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-florida/blog/the-history-of-hysteria-and-how-it-impacts-you

https://theconversation.com/inaccurate-and-misogynistic-why-we-need-to-make-the-term-hysterectomy-history-257972#:~:text=From%20the%20defunct%20condition%20'hysteria,link%20the%20uterus%20to%20hysteria.

https://medicine.yale.edu/news/yale-medicine-magazine/article/from-hysteria-to-empowerment/

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-psychiatric-treatment/article/conversion-disorder-the-modern-hysteria/73F77976DFC9802B4C0E3EC7CA88F1A9

https://adaa.org/find-help-for/women/anxiety

https://www.relationalpsych.group/articles/adhd-in-women-why-its-often-misdiagnosed

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32007945

https://www.uchealth.com/en/media-room/wellness/suicide-risk-women

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-leading-edge/202505/why-womens-mental-health-needs-special-attention

Charcot argues that hysteria isn't just a gynaecological issue but neurological disorder: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21154220/#:~:text=Results:%20In%201870%20the%20interpretation,transformed%20into%20a%20neurological%20disorder

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39186636

 

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