What is Psychasthenia? Understanding an Outdated Diagnostic Category

Psychasthenia is an outdated term that was previously used to describe a condition characterized by physical symptoms such as tremors, weakness, and paralysis that were thought to be caused by mental or emotional factors. The term is no longer used in modern psychiatry and has been replaced by other diagnostic categories, such as conversion disorder or somatic symptom disorder.

In the past, psychasthenia was believed to be caused by a conflict between the conscious and unconscious mind, and it was thought to be associated with hysteria and other forms of conversion disorder. Treatment for psychasthenia typically involved psychoanalytic therapy and other forms of talk therapy aimed at resolving the underlying psychological conflicts that were thought to be contributing to the physical symptoms.

However, as our understanding of the brain and the mind has evolved, we now know that psychasthenia is not a valid diagnostic category and that the physical symptoms it describes are not caused by mental or emotional factors. Instead, they may be due to a variety of other factors, such as neurological disorders, infections, or other medical conditions.

In modern psychiatry, the concept of psychasthenia has been largely replaced by other diagnostic categories, such as somatic symptom disorder, which is characterized by persistent and excessive thoughts or concerns about physical symptoms, and conversion disorder, which is characterized by the conversion of emotional distress into physical symptoms. These diagnoses recognize that physical symptoms can be a manifestation of psychological distress, but they do not attribute the symptoms to a conflict between the conscious and unconscious mind as was done in the past with psychasthenia.