In conversion disorder (sometimes called hysteria), the individual suffers sensory or motor impairment (for example,blindness,paralysis,or anesthesias without any physical cause. However, the symptoms are not faked; they are gunuine. In addition, some patients with conversion disorders seem to be indifferent to the disability and tend to resist treatment. This has been called la belle indifference ("beautiful indifference," or apathy). The following case example shows the defensive value of conversion disorders-the patient was freed of certain household chores and intimate contacts with her husband.