Tag Archives: chronic pain

The myth of female hysteria and women’s health disparities

By | March 5, 2020

What role might the myth of “female hysteria” play in women’s health disparities? For thousands of years, women’s health complaints were often diagnosed as “female hysteria” – a catch-all term that basically implied “it’s all in her head.” The condition was sometimes believed to be caused by a wandering uterus and/or sexual frustration. Doctors treated… Read More »

The curious case of fibromyalgia: Overdiagnosed, underdiagnosed, and misunderstood

By | June 21, 2018

Fibromyalgia is a debilitating centralized pain condition experienced by millions of Americans. “Centralized” refers to origination or amplification of pain by a sufferer’s central nervous system. It is, in a true sense, pain that is “in one’s head” — but nevertheless as real and noxious as any other pain. Ultimately, pain is always something experienced… Read More »