Female hysteria was considered to be an actual medical affliction aggrandized during the sexually repressed Victorian Era. Women who suffered from hysteria were often treated by early psychotherapists, such as the notable Sigmund Freud, and received orgasmic release treatments to help alleviate their symptoms. Since it was sinful for women to masturbate or even think sexual thoughts, their repressed sexual desires supposedly caused them to experience what was diagnosed as hysteria. Water treatments, where a focused spray of water was aimed at a woman’s clitoris and vagina lips, were recommended in addition to usage of some of the first vibrators. These vibrators were sold as medical devices, in this case, to treat hysteria and stimulate circulation. Hypnosis was another popular form of treatment for hysteria.

Sex researchers and modern psychotherapists dispute if hysteria existed as a phenomenon in the female psyche or if it was a male construct that Freud and other male-centric psychoanalysts deliberately perpetuated. One of the lasting impacts about Victorian hysteria was it led to an understanding that women have sexual needs and desires which should not be repressed. Treatments of hysteria also led to more interest in exploring the positive effects of hypnotherapy in treating psychological disorders.