Teen girls with Tourette syndrome–like tics in upstate New York, U.S. military and intelligence officials with mysterious complaints, victims of mass poisonings in girls schools across Iran, and Salem girls accused of witchcraft all have something in common— they may have experienced mass psychogenic events, also known as hysteria.
These stories are featured in Hysterical, a new podcast from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios. The focus is on the teens with tics in LeRoy, New York, taking listeners on a medical mystery tour of their symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments.
Some suspect environmental causes, while others believe it’s due to an overactive immune system. The official diagnosis of mass psychogenic illness doesn’t sit well with many patients and their families.
It’s understandable, given the history of hysteria diagnoses being rooted in sexism. However, Hysterical suggests that mass psychogenic illness is the likely diagnosis in these cases, even when it presents in ways that may not traditionally be labeled as hysteria. For example, the “Havana syndrome” that affected officials for years. Hysteria may be more prevalent than we realize if we only pay attention.
