Men Have Called Her Crazy

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses mental illness and gender discrimination.

Mental health is a gendered issue that dates back to ancient times. The first recorded mental health disorder was hysteria, an issue believed to affect only women. The root of hysteria was thought to be the uterus, which ancient thinkers believed could wander throughout the body of a woman and cause her to experience various symptoms or ailments. Hysteria was first recorded on a piece of papyrus in Ancient Egypt, but the Greeks and Romans also believed in the existence and prevalence of hysteria. Various treatments for hysteria included using different aromas to try to lure the uterus back to its rightful position or the ingestion of herbs believed to calm the uterus, among others (Tasca, Cecilia, et al. “Women And Hysteria In The History Of Mental Health.” Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 2012).

However, as the medical field became more complex and nuanced, medical practitioners began to believe that hysteria was not rooted in the uterus but in the brain. The prevalence of hysteria lasted from the ancient period into the 19th and 20th centuries, with Sigmund Freud believing that hysteria could affect both men and women. The condition of “hysterical neurosis” was deleted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1980.

In addition to the archaic and gendered beliefs about hysteria, men weaponized hysteria against women to control and subjugate them. When women were diagnosed with hysteria, they could be institutionalized against their will, oftentimes by their husbands. One woman, Elizabeth Packard, was committed to an institution by her husband (Moore, Kate. “Declared Insane for Speaking Up: The Dark American History of Silencing Women Through Psychiatry.” TIME, 2021). Men sought to stifle independence in their wives and force them into submission. Women who did not adhere to the traditional feminine archetypes were at risk of their husbands placing them in an institution, as men could make decisions for their wives without their consent.

Packard stood up to her domineering husband, but she paid heavily for this decision. Her husband placed her in the Jacksonville Insane Asylum without even needing to provide evidence of any mental unwellness on Packard’s part. She said about the experience: “[My husband] placed me in this insane asylum fully determined I should have a thorough dressing down, or breaking in before he should take me out.” Packard’s husband intended to demonstrate his control over Packard and force her to acquiesce to his will. The women institutionalized alongside Packard were treated cruelly in attempts to “cure” them of their supposed ailments (Moore). While some women did suffer from mental health disorders, others were treated for “moral insanity” for pushing against the boundaries of traditional gender roles.

Women face intense stigma when seeking help for their mental health still today. According to research by the Treatment Advocacy Center, women are far less likely to be taken seriously by their doctors when seeking help for their mental health, even when they present with severe symptoms (Furfaro, Hannah. “Why women with serious mental illness often get worse care than men.” Seattle Times, 2022). Women are also more likely to be misdiagnosed (something that happened to Tendler during her time at the hospital) because various disorders present differently in women than in men. Women also carry more internalized stigma about mental health, even if they do not consciously realize it. These issues can all lead to delays in women accessing care for their mental health, which is problematic. Tendler’s memoir deals with these themes as she chronicles her journey with hospitalization and her mental health. In writing openly and candidly about these topics, she pushes back against the societal stigma that seeks to silence women and contributes to the discussion about the role of gender in mental health.