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
2. For about ten days, i.e., from January 27 to February 8,
her condition was of a more pronounced character. For the
most part she lay in bed with often quite immobile face and
with eyes closed, or she looked about in a bewildered
manner. She was very inactive, presented a marked
resistance in her arms and jaw when passive motions were
attempted, or, again, exhibited decided catalepsy. She had
to be tube-fed. Once on the 27th of January, when the nurse
tried to feed her, she pushed her away and said, “I am
dead--I am not home.” Sometimes she turned her hands about
with slow tremulous movements, looking at them in a
bewildered manner.
She usually was mute, except on the few occasions to be
mentioned later, as well as on February 3, when she was
generally a little more responsive. At that time she could
be made to open her eyes, and then replied to a few
questions slowly and in a low tone; others were left
unanswered. (To the questions where she was and how long
she had been here, she replied with “I don’t know,” but to
questions about who the physician and the nurse were, by
saying “You are a doctor,” and “she is a nurse.”)
In the general setting just described there occurred at
various times changes in behavior which were as follows: On
the evening of the 27th of January she got out of bed and
walked about with slow restlessness, saying: “They say I am
going to be cut up.” On February 1, she was seen for a time
making peculiar slow swimming motions with her hands. Again
on the 3d of February she got out of bed, walked about
slowly, with peculiar steps, as though avoiding stepping on
something. Next day (the 4th) she sat up in bed--again made
at times her peculiar slow swimming motions. She presented
at the same time a peculiar dazed bewildered uneasiness
and, when questioned what was the matter, said: “I am--I
am--at the bottom of the deep--deep water--oh--oh--the
deep--deep--dark water.” And when further urged she added
with the same manner, “I can’t swim--I don’t know--but the
place”--She did not finish but later again muttered “the
deep--deep--dark water.” (Do you really think you are in
the water?) “I don’t know--my head is so bad.”
For the following five days this behavior was repeated
from time to time, when she would sit up and with
bewildered uneasiness make slow swimming motions and mutter
when questioned, “I am in the deep, dark water.”
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