Convulsions, tremors, paralyses of various forms and degrees are common in hysteria. In major hysteria the patient falls into a convulsion gently. There is checked breathing, up to apparent danger of suffocation. Then follows a furious convulsion, even with a bloody froth at the mouth, but there is a trace of wilfulness or purpose in the movements. Next may come a stage of opisthotonos, in which the body is bent back in a rigid arch until the patient rests on her head and heels only, like a wrestler; and this is followed by relaxation and a recurrence of the contortions. An ecstatic phase succeeds this at times, the so-called crucifix position, with outbursts of various emotions, and a final regaining of the normal state. Any of these stages, however, may constitute the entire fit. Some major hysterics can simulate demoniacal possession with extraordinary ingenuity. In minor hysteria there is commonly a sensation of a rising ball in the throat--the globus hystericus. There may be uncontrollable laughter or weeping, and muscular rigidity is frequent. The patient, especially if she is a child, may mimic dogs and other animals. The snarling, biting, and barking of false rabies are hysterical; such symptoms do not occur at all in real hydrophobia. There are innumerable physical symptoms of the disease, but the mental phases have most to do with the treatment. The hysterical person is characterized by an overmastering desire to be an object of sympathy, interest, admiration, rather than by a tendency to baser instincts. The will is weak, the emotions explosive, the patient is impulsive and lacking in self-control. She readily goes from absurd laughter into floods of tears. She simulates pains and other symptoms of disease, and she is always a liar, no matter what her state in life, from nurse-girl to nun. Acquired hysteria may be cured, but the congenital form is virtually hopeless; yet even with this latter kind much can be done by patient training. Such a girl or boy must be reared carefully and with a firm hand. A marked congenital hysteric should not marry. Marriage makes them worse, and they beget other hysterics. When a hysterical girl gets one of her fits the chief obstacle to cure is sympathetic visits from relatives and friends. If a patient in the vapors is taken from school and wept over, she will never come down to earth again. The girl who faints at the communion-rail regularly is always a hysteric, and the cure for her is a bucket of cold water in the sacristy, or a threat to turn her over to the police. You will find these fainters with a perfect pulse despite the faint. But there are other cases in which rough treatment is harmful, and the only method is patient tact. Such persons are objects of great pity and should be dealt with as one would deal with any deficient mind. CHAPTER XVII ACUTE YELLOW ATROPHY OF THE LIVER IN PREGNANCY