“Unlocking Pleasure: The Surprising Truth Behind the Great Vibrator Myth That Everyone Gets Wrong!”
Following a brief period in the Middle Ages when hysteria was largely attributed to demonic possession, because sure, why not, the wandering womb theory came back into vogue in the 16th century, along with a variation on the ancient theory of humorism. This held that all diseases were caused by an imbalance of four vital fluids or humours: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm. As in the classical era, the most commonly-prescribed treatment for a wandering or congested womb remained marriage and regular sexual intercourse with the sufferer’s husband.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, however, the wandering womb theory had finally been abandoned in favour of more “scientific” explanations. For example, German physician Anton Mesmer, a pioneer of hypnosis and the source of the term “mesmerize”, believed that hysteria was caused by a build-up of a type of energy he called “animal magnetism”, and that this energy could be redirected using magnets or electrically-charged metal rods. Meanwhile, French physician Joseph Raulin believed hysteria to be a “vaporous ailment” caused by air pollution in crowded urban areas. This was in keeping with contemporary miasma theory, which held that many diseases were caused by breathing in poisonous vapours or miasmas. Indeed, the term malaria literally translates as “bad air”, reflecting the belief that this disease was caused by poisonous vapours emanating from swamps and marshes. Interestingly, Raulin, along with many of his contemporaries, believed that both men and women could suffer from hysteria but that women, being constitutionally weaker and lazier, were far more susceptible… The past everybody.
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