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
Although she was at times approximately oriented, she would say, “I
don’t know where I am,” or “I can’t realize where I am,” or more
pointedly, “I can’t take in my surroundings.” She often did not answer
and sometimes seemed bewildered by the questions. Henrietta H. (Case 8)
again showed some defect of orientation and mistakes in calculation, and
above all, marked mistakes in writing (for Manhattan State
Hospital--Manhaton Hotspal). A special feature here is that this
occurred immediately after she had been quite talkative, but suddenly
had relapsed into a dull state. Anna G. (Case 1), during the third phase
of her psychosis, showed the following: Although she was approximately
oriented and answered promptly simple questions; e.g., about orientation
or simple calculation, she, like these other patients, simply remained
silent when more difficult intellectual tasks were required of her
(more difficult calculations); or when she was asked how long she had
been here (which involved data that could not be available to her, owing
to her amnesia); or when questions were put to her regarding her
feelings or the condition she had passed through. On the other hand, she
sometimes gave appropriate replies in the words “yes” or “no,” but it
was difficult to say whether these answers did not also represent the
path of least resistance.
We will finally take up the last phase of Margaret C. (Case 10).
Although she was entirely oriented, there was a certain vagueness about
her answers which is difficult to formulate. She was telling about the
onset of her sickness and said that at that time her mind was taken up
with prayers about the salvation of her relatives. She was asked exactly
when it was that she thought of this and she answered “Now?” (What
period are we talking about?) “The present.” (What did I ask you?)
“About this period of my sickness.” (Which one?) “What sickness?” She
said herself at this point, “I am rather stupid.” Again when asked how
her mind worked, she said, “Pretty quickly sometimes--I don’t know.” (As
good as it used to?) “No, I don’t think so.” (What is the difference?)
“There is no difference.” (What did I ask you?) “The difference.” (The
difference between what?) “You did not say.” In this the shallowness of
her comprehension and thinking is well shown, and it seems here again
perhaps justifiable to formulate the main defect as one of attention,
which prevents completion of a complicated process of comprehension. A
feature of further interest in this case is that automatic intellectual
processes, such as those necessary for the writing of a long poem from
memory, were not interfered with.
Summary
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