The article addresses the medical category of neurasthenia, developed in the United States by neurologist George Beard at the close of the nineteenth century. Points of discussion include the principle features of the category's clinical presentation, the main hypotheses advanced to account for symptoms, and the treatment alternatives suggested in Beard's works. The article also looks at how the diagnosis was received outside the United States, both in Europe and, more specifically, in Brazil.
neurasthenia; George Beard (1839-1883); mental medicine; Brazil