https://doi.org/10.1177/0957154X20970749 History of Psychiatry 2021, Vol. 32(1) 85–99 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0957154X20970749 journals.sagepub.com/home/hpy ‘The voice of the stomach’: the mind, hypochondriasis and theories of dyspepsia in the nineteenth century E Allen Driggers Tennessee Technological University, USA Abstract Physicians and surgeons during the nineteenth century were eager to explore the causes of stomach and intestinal illnesses. Theories abounded that there was a sympathy between the mind and the body, especially in the case of the dyspepsia. The body was thought to have physical symptoms from the reactions of the mind, especially in the case of hypochondriasis. Digestive problems had a mental component, but mental anguish could also result from physical problems. Dissertations from aspiring as well as established physicians probed the mental causes of irritable bowel diseases and other diseases in the medical literature. Healing was thought to come from contextualizing the link between the problems of the mind and the resulting physical problems of the body. Keywords Dyspepsia, hypochondriasis, irritable bowel disease, mind–body connection, stomach, Britain, USA, 19th century The famous surgeon Samuel D. Gross remarked on the importance of the mind in relation to prob- lems of the stomach. In his Autobiography, he wrote that denying the mind’s desire led to terrible stomach illness, and he cautioned surgeons and physicians that ‘The voice of the stomach should not be disregarded in eating and drinking. As a general rule, whatever the stomach craves may be accepted as an indication as to what is wholesome’ (Gross, 1893: 187). He used a parable of his own experience to illustrate this idea, explaining that his daughter had been severely ill for a long time, and physicians thought she was going to die. She vomited consistently over the course of her illness. Gross, as a physician, went to see her in order to decide on a proper course of treatment. He asked his daughter what he could bring for her, and if there was any food or drink she desired. She responded: ‘Yes, I have been dying for the last few days for champagne, but my physicians have obstinately interdicted its use’ (p. 187). Gross sent his son-in-law to get a bottle, which she drank in bed, and she was instantly better. Corresponding author: E Allen Driggers, Department of History, Tennessee Technological University, Box 5064, 5 William L. Jones Drive, Cookeville, TN 38505, USA. Email: edriggers@tntech.edu 970749HPY 0 0 10.1177/0957154X20970749History of PsychiatryDriggers research-article 2020 Article