“Curiouser and Curiouser”: Part X

“We’re All Mad Here” ~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Timeline of Nineteenth-Century Terms of Madness [dates and definitions from the OED online]:

• Hypochondria: originally a form of melancholia – first recorded use from 1648
  • Hypochondriasis – first record of use from 1722

• Hysteric – first recorded use: 1657
  • Hysteria: A functional disturbance of the nervous system – first recorded use from 1801
    • These both derive from the Ancient Greek: husterikós, meaning ‘suffering in the womb’ – hence the association of hysteria with women.

• Neurasthenia: originally attributed to weakness or exhaustion of the nerves and later considered a form of neurotic disorder – first recorded use from 1829