A riveting exploration of the link between women's hormones and mental health--with advice, personal testimony, facts, and research creating a portrait of how hormones contribute to make up the 'female animal'.
Hysterical seeks to explore the connections between hormones and health, particularly in the frequent mood changes and mental health issues women typically chalk up to the influence of hormones.
Journalist Eleanor Morgan investigates the relationship between biochemistry, our bodies, and our mental health, including the context for this discussion: the historic culture of silence around women's bodies. As Morgan argues, we've gotten better at talking about mental health, but we still shy away from discussing periods, miscarriage, endometriosis, and menopause. That results in a lack of vital understanding for women, particularly as those processes are inextricably connected to our mental health; by exploring women's bodies in conjunction with our minds, Morgan urges for new thinking about our health.
Examining the mythology of female hormones, the ways that culture shapes our perceptions of women's bodies, and the latest medical research, Hysterical skillfully paints a portrait of the modern landscape of women and health--and shows us how to navigate stigma and misinformation.
"An urgent page-turner connecting the thread between the author's own reproductive history to the cultural, political, and social factors that convince women their bodies are up for grabs, Eleanor Morgan makes a convincing case for calling out the patriarchal systems that substitute the word 'crazy' for real care. Reading Hysterical should be a rite of passage for every woman who wants to relearn
Sheila Hamilton, author of All the Things We Never Knew
