Benign Stupors: A Study of a New Manic-Depressive Reaction TypeHoch, August
Science
Benign Stupors: A Study of a New Manic-Depressive Reaction Type
Hoch, August
Manic-depressive illness; Stupor
_December 30:_ Talks either about wanting to die, or
wanting to go to Heaven, or wanting to go to Ireland, all
this as usual in an affectless way. Calls Dr. M. “Uncle
John.” Keeps shouting “Take me to Ireland.”
_January 9, 1914:_ Often quiet in bed, again goes to door,
talks about wanting to go “to Heaven” or “to Ireland.” On
the whole, says little.
It seems, then, that the transition was not abrupt, that
many traits of the first period remained, but that she was
on the whole much quieter, with the exception of some
spells when she insisted on going out or killing herself.
At such times she showed an affectless, impulsive
excitement. Whether there was an element of perplexity then
is not clear from the notes. The topics of which she spoke
also changed. The idea of wealth was rarely expressed, also
the idea of marriage was much in the background, but
prominent ideas were those of death, Heaven, killing
herself, going to Ireland--all of which she produced in an
affectless way. It should be added that she persistently
wet and soiled during this, as well as in the first period.
3. Then followed three months of greater inactivity. She
lay in bed gazing, moving very little, not even when her
meals were brought. She answered but little and
consistently wet and soiled. This state lasted from about
the middle of February until the beginning of April.
4. From this stuporous state she emerged during the next
four weeks, the awakening being associated with persistent
efforts to arouse her. She then was, for six or seven
weeks, nearly normal, so far as her mood went, but had a
tendency to cling to some of her ideas and was
overtalkative. Her memory for the earlier phases of the
psychosis was good, as she recalled not only many external
events but most of her false ideas. She said, however, that
her mind had been a blank for the third stage and she
remembered nothing of it. At the end of this time she
cleared up entirely and was discharged as “recovered.” She
continued well for some months, during which she was
occasionally examined.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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