From Paralysis to Fatigue

A History of Psychosomatic Illness in the Modern Era

The first book to put the physical symptoms of stress in their historical and cultural context.

This fascinating history of psychosomatic disorders shows how patients throughout the centuries have produced symptoms in tandem with the cultural shifts of the larger society. Newly popularized diseases such as "chronic fatigue syndrome" and "total allergy syndrome" are only the most recent examples of patients complaining of ailments that express the truths about the culture in which they live.