This article written by Caitlin Flanagan tells us a few stories of girls all around the world who have suffered from an unidentified disease that makes them lose their self control. Just a few months ago a few teenage cheerleaders had facial tics, uncontrollable movement, stuttering and verbal outbursts which are suspected to be the symptoms of Tourette's. A similar situation had took place in 1962 in a girls' school in Tanzania, however, at that time it was a laughing epidemic that spread for several months. After doing quite some research, Flanagan came to a conclusion that these girls weren't a victim of some rare disease but just victims of hysteria. From movies to myths to books, the victims of evil spirits or frightful fits are often confused adolescents. Flanagan believes that lack of support and space makes girls suffer from hysteria. A girl must be shown that she is loved and cared for since childhood and must be kept away from any traumatizing events.
As a teenage girl I keep having mood swings and sometimes it is very difficult for me to control my emotions. I feel like all my emotions get magnified which makes it more unbearable. This causes my family, friends and even my boyfriend to get tired of me and my dramas. However, they try their best to be patient and deal with me for they know that it won't last long. I believe what Flanagan wrote in her article is true as I have friends who have hysteria. They have had a bad childhood and been a victim of a series of mishaps. Therefore, I believe that experience and hysteria goes hand in hand.
Vocabulary:
A.i. "this weird arrangement of words flitted across the edge of my consciousness."
ii. Flitted: to move lightly and swiftly
iii. A bird flitted across me in the flagpole.
B.i. "A cheerleader was first to manifest the strange symptoms."
ii. manifest: obvious; apparent; plain
iii. In Woodstock school people outwardly manifest their views about different subjects.
C. i. "In all of these cases, the ultimate diagnosis — unpalatable in our post-Freudian age — was good old-fashioned hysteria."
ii. unpalatable: disagreeable or unacceptable; obnoxious.
iii. Wearing short clothes is unpalatable in Woodstock School.
I wonder if this is true for teenage boys? I guess not just girls but any child in the world needs to know that she or he is cared for and loved. Some people are neglected by their own families and this must cause them great sadness leading to some kind o f illness, and or making certain decisions. It is really sad to know that children all over are abandoned at a young age.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think it can happen to boys to. Most of the victims are probably traumatized children or young adults. However, the reason I chose this article was because I have actually witnessed a bunch of people who had a "crying" epidemic in my village in Nepal for over a month. The most surprising thing about this is that all of the victims were girls! It was probably because the women in rural areas are dominated and live under a lot of pressure.
Deleteboys too*
Delete