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
We shall later show that when the patient comes out of a stupor the
condition may be such that, for a time at least, retrospective accounts
are difficult to obtain. It must also be remembered that not
infrequently the more marked stupors may be followed by milder states,
and it is important, if we wish to determine how much is remembered,
not to confuse the two states or not to let the patient confuse them.
For example, Mary D. (Case 4), who showed two separate phases, while she
claimed not to know of many external facts, also added that she could
not understand the questions which were asked. From observation in other
cases it seems that in marked stupor any such recollection about the
patient’s own mental processes would be quite inconsistent. We have to
assume, therefore, that this remark referred in reality to the second
milder phase, for which, as we shall see, it is indeed quite
characteristic. It is not necessary to burden the reader with other
cases, all of which consistently gave such accounts.
We see, then, that in the marked stupor the intellectual processes are
regularly interfered with, as evidenced by almost complete amnesia for
external events and internal thoughts. In other words, this would
indicate that the minds of these patients were blank. Inasmuch as direct
observation during the stupor adduces little proof of mentation, we may
assume that such mental processes as may exist in deepest stupor are of
a primitive, larval order.
Before we examine more carefully the milder grades of stupor, it will be
necessary to say a few words about the retrospective account which the
patient gives of intellectual difficulties during the incubation period
of the psychosis. As a matter of fact, we find that these accounts are
remarkably uniform. While some patients, to be sure, speak of a more or
less sudden lack of interest or ambition which came over them, others of
them speak plainly of a sudden mental loss. Mary. C. (Case 7) claimed
she suddenly got mixed up and lost her memory. Laura A. spoke at any
rate of suddenly having felt dazed and stunned. Mary D. (Case 4) said
she felt she was losing her mind and that she could not understand what
she was reading. Maggie H. (Case 14) began to say that her head was
getting queer. We see from this that the interferences with the
intellectual processes may in the beginning be quite sudden.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account