blamed the school for mishandling the whole affair, but she wasn’t surprised that Lindsey got sicker than the other kids. “She’s been getting sick a lot and having a hard time of it ever since I divorced her father two years ago. It’s gotten even worse since I married George. She’s missed a lot of school—she plays up every little sniffle or stomachache and then refuses to go. I can’t seem to lay down the law with her.”
“Why do you think that is?” I asked.
“I guess I feel guilty about the divorce and then marrying George so soon.”
“Have you talked to your doctor or a therapist about this?” I asked.
“No, I haven’t…When you said you were a psychiatrist, at first I got mad, but you seemed like you really wanted to help, and Lindsey’s only gotten worse since this school thing. Now she claims that if she goes to school, the other kids might get her sick again.”
It sounded like Lindsey had been playing up her physical symptoms to cope with feelings about the divorce. This defense mechanism, known as somatization, allows people to express emotional pain as physical pain. If Lindsey coped with stress this way, it wasn’t surprising that her mass-hysteria symptoms were more severe than those of the other children. Her mother’s guilt about the divorce likely reinforced Lindsey’s somatization. Dorothy would have been better off setting limits and insisting that her daughter go to school. It would also have been helpful if Dorothy had given her daughter an opportunity to talk about her feelings around the divorce. I guessed that there hadn’t been much real communication going on in this family.
“Dorothy,” I said, “I appreciate your telling me about Lindsey. It might be a good idea for the two of you, or at least Lindsey, to meet with a therapist to talk about what’s been going on.”
“Could we talk with you about it? You seem to understand,” she said.
“I’d be happy to, but it would be a lot easier for you if I found you someone who’s nearby. Lindsey’s issues aren’t going to disappear overnight, and you might want to schedule regular meetings with somebody more convenient.” I told Dorothy that I would call her the next week with some names of local therapists. She thanked me and gave me her phone number. She said George would be relieved as well.
As I walked back to my car, I thought about Lindsey’s situation. Perhaps some of the other kids had similar issues. Divorce was prettycommon; maybe children whose parents had divorced would be more likely to get symptoms from mass hysteria. Also, the hysteria outbreak may have been partly triggered by the psychological stress of impending losses. The sixth-graders were graduating, the principal had recently announced that he was moving to another school, and many of the students were about to go on their first overnight trip. It was possible that anxiety about these impending separations and losses contributed to the episode of mass hysteria.
I could easily test the hypothesis that previous loss influenced a child’s vulnerability to current loss, and predisposed that child to mass hysteria by using a questionnaire that simply asked whether these kids had experienced divorce or other losses, like the death of a close relative. Finally, I had a clear idea for my study. My old loss-obsessed supervisor, Professor Lochton, would have loved this spin. But I had to convince the principal first.
I called him after the weekend, and his secretary put me right through.
“Dr. Small, nice to hear from you,” Saxon said.
“Thank you. I really enjoyed the Spring Sing on Friday night. The kids were great. And you were right—there was nothing to worry about, no more mystery illnesses.”
“I’m not going to say I told you so, but I’m glad you enjoyed the show. How can I help you today?” he asked.
“I wanted to follow up on that questionnaire I mentioned. It would be a great opportunity for you to help other
“Why do you think that is?” I asked.
“I guess I feel guilty about the divorce and then marrying George so soon.”
“Have you talked to your doctor or a therapist about this?” I asked.
“No, I haven’t…When you said you were a psychiatrist, at first I got mad, but you seemed like you really wanted to help, and Lindsey’s only gotten worse since this school thing. Now she claims that if she goes to school, the other kids might get her sick again.”
It sounded like Lindsey had been playing up her physical symptoms to cope with feelings about the divorce. This defense mechanism, known as somatization, allows people to express emotional pain as physical pain. If Lindsey coped with stress this way, it wasn’t surprising that her mass-hysteria symptoms were more severe than those of the other children. Her mother’s guilt about the divorce likely reinforced Lindsey’s somatization. Dorothy would have been better off setting limits and insisting that her daughter go to school. It would also have been helpful if Dorothy had given her daughter an opportunity to talk about her feelings around the divorce. I guessed that there hadn’t been much real communication going on in this family.
“Dorothy,” I said, “I appreciate your telling me about Lindsey. It might be a good idea for the two of you, or at least Lindsey, to meet with a therapist to talk about what’s been going on.”
“Could we talk with you about it? You seem to understand,” she said.
“I’d be happy to, but it would be a lot easier for you if I found you someone who’s nearby. Lindsey’s issues aren’t going to disappear overnight, and you might want to schedule regular meetings with somebody more convenient.” I told Dorothy that I would call her the next week with some names of local therapists. She thanked me and gave me her phone number. She said George would be relieved as well.
As I walked back to my car, I thought about Lindsey’s situation. Perhaps some of the other kids had similar issues. Divorce was prettycommon; maybe children whose parents had divorced would be more likely to get symptoms from mass hysteria. Also, the hysteria outbreak may have been partly triggered by the psychological stress of impending losses. The sixth-graders were graduating, the principal had recently announced that he was moving to another school, and many of the students were about to go on their first overnight trip. It was possible that anxiety about these impending separations and losses contributed to the episode of mass hysteria.
I could easily test the hypothesis that previous loss influenced a child’s vulnerability to current loss, and predisposed that child to mass hysteria by using a questionnaire that simply asked whether these kids had experienced divorce or other losses, like the death of a close relative. Finally, I had a clear idea for my study. My old loss-obsessed supervisor, Professor Lochton, would have loved this spin. But I had to convince the principal first.
I called him after the weekend, and his secretary put me right through.
“Dr. Small, nice to hear from you,” Saxon said.
“Thank you. I really enjoyed the Spring Sing on Friday night. The kids were great. And you were right—there was nothing to worry about, no more mystery illnesses.”
“I’m not going to say I told you so, but I’m glad you enjoyed the show. How can I help you today?” he asked.
“I wanted to follow up on that questionnaire I mentioned. It would be a great opportunity for you to help other
Similar Books
