Therapeutic function of diagnostic label 'hysteria'.

Hysterics are not uncommonly believed by others to be deliberate malingerers; they may be accused of being sick for a purpose. Such an assumption has come to be considered as showing naivete on the part of the accusers from the formal psychiatric point of view. The case histories of two hysterical in-patients who conducted themselves 'hysterically' on the ward are cited. It is a noteworthy paradox that their hysterical symptoms faded away when they were able to assume the role of a 'hysteric'. The current report explores the meaning of the diagnostic label of 'hysteria' and the possibility of taking advantage of the very fact that a 'hysteric' can develop into a 'malingerer' through therapy. The authors recommend that the diagnostic label of 'hysteria' be investigated not merely in terms of communication, but also in terms of its therapeutic function.