Hallucinations and delusions in a soldier, of antebellum origin. Treatment by explanation of causes.
Case 301. (Rows, March, 1916.)
A private, 31,—a case of Capt. W. Brown,—was admitted to hospital suffering from hallucinations of hearing and delusions of supervision by his family and friends; he heard his relatives telling him what to do and what not to do. He thought they belonged to a secret police entrusted with the task of supervising his actions and seeing that he did not again transgress as he had done. An inquiry into his past revealed the following facts:
He had been a bank clerk before the war and once because of a nervous breakdown as a result of drinking and smoking had been given a three months’ vacation. On this occasion he went with a prostitute—his first and only offence in sex matters. He later thought the behavior of his family indicated that they knew of his misdeed. He heard the voices of members of his family, became rapidly worse and more depressed, and attempted suicide.
He went to a private asylum. Later, he emigrated to Canada, but he was still pursued by the voices and he returned to England. He enlisted at the outbreak of the war and went to France. He was soon invalided and sent to Maghull.
The cause of his condition, according to Rows, was his affair with the prostitute and his previous drinking. This was explained to him as the basis of his strong feeling of self-reproach. The hallucinations and idea of suicide had developed therefrom. Recovery “to a large extent.”