How do you define 'hysteria'?

Answer 1

Hysteria may refer to one of the following:

1)sudden uncontrollable emotion such as fear or anger

2)disorder or confusion caused by a group of people especially toward injustice or scandal as in the term "mass hysteria"

3)a neurosis characterized by the conversion of psychological symptoms into physical symptoms and histrionic or dramatic behavior

Answer 2

The word 'hysteria' generally means the following:

1) (in colloquial use) a bout of uncontrollable laughter or crying

2) (in collective use) uncontrollable excitement or activity by a group of people toward an event or issue; mass hysteria

3) (in modern medicine) excessive anxiety resulting from a past stressful event that unconsciously manifests itself as symptoms of physical illness without biological basis

4) (in historical medicine) a disease of the uterus causing it to be displaced from its natural position in a woman's body leading it to be pressed upward against the diaphragm, lungs, and heart causing severe pain and shortness of breath