Victorian women are often portrayed as subject to a host of "nervous" disorders and hysteria - most of them imaginary. From these articles, it's clear that some doctors at least felt that emotional states could have a physical effect on the "nerves" (as in the physical nervous system), and also that physical problems with the nerves could have emotional effects. It's not always clear where one ends and the other begins. Here are some features on health problems classed as issues of nerves, whether physical or emotional.

A Word with the Nervous, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1881)

Nervous Irritability: Its Causes and Cure (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1882)

Brain Weariness and Brain Tonics (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1885)

Ennui: Its Symptoms, Causes and Cure (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1885)

How to Treat Emotional Nervousness (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1885)

How to Cure Despondency (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1889)

A Bundle of Nerves, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1890)

This one is well worth reading for the account of the "black cat cure" (not recommended by the author).

A Friendly Talk About Hysteria (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1890)

So Peevish and Irritable (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1890)

What to Do for Nervous Pains, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1890)

Can't We Mount Above It? by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

Why Some People Are Bashful (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1892)

The Woman Who Is Nervous, by Kate Upson Clark (Ladies' Home Journal, 1892)

Or rather, how not to be.

A Fit of the Blues, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1893)

Nervous Girls, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1893)

Are Nervous Diseases Increasing? by Philip Coombs Knapp (Century Magazine, 1896B)

"A Bit Fanciful, Sir", by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1896)

Two of the Greatest Afflictions of Girlhood: Blushing and Nervousness, by "The New Doctor" (Girl's Own Paper, 1899)

Nervousness seems to have many causes and manifestations, but is "frequently the result of a one-sided education and lack of experience."

*"Medicus" was the pen-name of Gordon Stables, M.D., R.N., health columnist for The Girl's Own Paper. Read the complete collection of Medicus Columns from 1881-1902 in chronological order.

• See also Mental Health Issues