Hysteria is manifested by physical (conversion disorder) and/or psychical symptoms (dissociative disorder), without changes in organic basis, given that they are symbolic manifestations of repressed conflicts that return from the Unconscious. Due to frequent childish and theatrical character that accompanies those events, hysterical patients often mobilize negative attitudes and feelings in peoples of their conviviality.

to discuss the psychological meanings of living with such patients.

Clinical-qualitative method.

A typology of relatives emerged from the interviews: the ambivalent, by one side relate well with the patients wanting to take care of them and showing, by the other side that they feel emotionally overloaded, considering the remoteness; the promoter who seek to save the patient from experiences unpleasant and situations likely to produce emotional crises, thus, are more likely to be the target of the action of the patient, the responsible who wish to leave the patients, but do not because they think nobody will care of them, which would worsen the health condition of these patients.

As the hysterical patient has clinical manifestations in order to attract attention to themselves and to manipulate the people around them so that they act in their favour, the attitude of the relative can be both stimulating and repressing of those behaviours, possibly interfering in the clinic evolution of the patients. It is, therefore, important that the doctors and nurses know the relationship between caregivers and patients, in order to instruct them on how to better act with those patients.