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
9. Two days later she began to sing at night, kissed
everybody, said it was the anniversary of her meeting her
husband, again cried a little, and on the following morning
began to sing love songs, with a rather ecstatic mood, and
at times stood in an attitude of adoration with her hands
raised. This passed over to a more elated state, during
which she smiled a good deal, often quite coquettishly; she
sang love songs softly; on one occasion put a mosquito
netting over her head like a bridal veil; or she held her
fingers in the shape of a ring over a flower pinned to her
breast. But even during this state she said little, only
once spoke of waiting for her wedding ring, and again, when
asked why she had been singing, said “I was singing to the
man I love.” (Why are you so happy?) “Because I am with
you” (coquettishly).
This, however, represented the end of the psychosis. She
improved rapidly. At first she smiled rather readily, but
soon began to occupy herself and made a perfect recovery.
She gave a rather shallow retrospective account about the
last phase: at first she said it was natural for people to
feel happy at times, and that she did not talk more because
the inclination was not there. The only point she added
later was that she held her fingers in the shape of a ring
because she was thinking of her wedding ring.
She was discharged on _October 11_.
The patient was seen again in _September, 1915_. She then
stated that she had been perfectly well until 1912, when
she had a breakdown after childbirth. (A childbirth in 1910
had led to no disorder.) The attack lasted six months. She
slept poorly, lost weight, and felt weak, depressed, “my
strength seemed all gone.” In _July, 1915_, following again
a childbirth, she was for about six weeks “despondent, weak
and tired out.”
At the interview she made a very natural, frank impression,
and displayed excellent insight.
CASE 13.--_Johanna S._ Age: 47. Admitted to the Psychiatric
Institute January 23, 1904.
_F. H._ It was claimed that there was no insanity in the
family.
_P. H._ The patient was said to have been bright and rather
quick-tempered. She came to the United States from Ireland
at the age of 20, worked as a servant, was well liked, and
retained her position well.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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