Psycho-Analysis and the War NeurosesFreud, Sigmund
History
Psycho-Analysis and the War Neuroses
Freud, Sigmund
Psychoanalysis; War neuroses
Further I might mention the case of a neurotic who suffered from a
shaking tremor of the right arm with peculiar circular movements of the
thumb and fore-finger. This tremor had been removed by pure suggestive
methods, but one morning it returned, as the patient expressed it “by
itself”. On closer questioning he remembered that the shaking had
re-appeared in conjunction with a terrifying dream during the previous
night; the actual content of the dream he had forgotten. During
hypnosis the patient immediately became conscious again of the dream,
and by means of it of those events which still compelled him to shake
his arm. During the night he had dreamed of a Russian with a black
beard who sprang on to his bed in order to strangle him. He awoke in
anxiety and terror with his arm shaking. The patient had seen the face
of this Russian appear over the parapet during a furious hand grenade
fight just when he was on the point of fixing a grenade fuse and was
suddenly blown over. He lost consciousness with his rage undischarged
and an incipient movement which served as a mimic abreaction of this
anger.
From this example, to which I could add many more, it becomes evident
that dream material directly forces itself on the attention of the
intelligent psycho-therapeutists as of great assistance in the
treatment of war neuroses.
I do not treat any patients whose dreams I do not know. I have learnt
for a long time now to estimate the dreams of my war neurotic patients
as an attempt at self-healing, especially in the psycho-cathartic
sense. I never give drugs for the dreams of anxiety, terror and rage. I
am glad of the cooperation of the patient, I learn by listening to his
dreams his own tendency to cure, then I get him to continue the dream
under hypnosis where it has stopped the previous night, or, this I have
several times found successful, I cause the patient to continue in his
dreams at night from where the hypnosis has left off. Incidentally it
may be remarked that after all these experiences I look upon hypnosis
not as an artificial sleep but as a definite stage of natural sleep,
which by virtue of its artificial induction enables one to maintain a
direct rapport with the sleeper.
The initial stage of auto-hypnosis, hypnosis, and dreams represents the
same _niveau_ as that in which the germs of the illness lie embedded
and can be removed.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account