For months a woman with a severe mental depression had been fighting an overwhelming desire to commit suicide.
Suddenly she developed a rigidity of her trigger finger-a rigidity which physicians termed a hysterical paralysis. It was her way of continuing her battle against the urge for self-destruction. If her trigger finger was stiff obviously she could not use it to pull the trigger on a revolver. It was sort of a defense mechanism.
A doctor, who had failed to make a careful study of the woman's emotional background, decided to try hypnosis. While his patient was in a trance, he told her there was nothing wrong with her finger; that she would have no trouble bending it.
CITED AS EXAMPLE
Well, the hypnosis worked. The woman was able to bend her finger. But what happenea next isn't pleasant to contemplate. Still suffering from severe mental depression, the woman returned home and, removed a revolver from her bureau drawer. Then she used the, BO-longer-stiff trigger finger. ,
Dr. Charles Watkins, head »f the psychiatry department d the Louisiana State Uni-ersity Medical school, cited his as an example of what an happen when hypnotism i used without being planned arefully in advance. "In this situation," he poini
out, "the doctor should havi •tten at the cause of the symp m before trying to cure th< mptom itself. Sometime! sre is an emotional reasot iy a patient should not be pnotized."
Dr. Watkins said some physi ins will attempt hypnosis en when they know such ar lotional symptom exists. 'Well," he added, "the symp n may go away but the hyp-tic treatment may prove jusi
disastrous as using mor-ine to relieve the pain oi aendicitis."
'CAN BE HELPFUL* :he physician said in the field psychiatry, "hypnotism )uld be employed only in a dted area."
'It can be helpful if used as anesthesia to reduce the an-ty associated with the pa-lt's emotional state," he ex-lined. "It can also prove pful if a patient wants to get lething off his chest. Under mosis the patient may be ling to discuss things which
otherwise he would never mention."
Dr. Watkins cited the case of the GI who watched helplessly while the buddy crouched next to him in a foxhole was blown to bits.
"As a result, this young soldier developed a hysterical amnesia and went blind," the psychiatrist explained. "He could not remember a thing that had happened. Under the influence of hypnotism, however, his memory returned. And, as he talked, he seemed to rid himself of his feeling of guilt apd horror. Complete cure finally resulted."
BETTER RESULTS SEEN
Dr. Watkins said in his opinion results would have been happier had the psychiatrist, who treated the woman with the stiff finger, used' hypnosis to get her to talk over her problems.
"In this way," the physician added," he might have been able to help her overcome her desire for suicide."
Dr. Watkins was asked if a pa-i tient, who imagined he was Napoleon, could be helped with hypnosis; if it would do any good to hypnotize such a person, then say to him over and over, "You are not Napoleon. You are not Napoleon."
"It might help," the psychiatrist replied. "But then again it might not. With a symptom as severe as that much more than hypnotism would probably be in-; solved."
Dr. Watkins said there was the case of the pregnant woman, who I was suffering from an unrecognized emotional disturbance. 'SHOULD BE AWARE'
"When the doctor hypnotized her she took it into her head that he was trying to harm her in some way," he explained, "so she killed him."
The psychiatrist said "another area in which hpynosis should be used with oaution is the area of psychosomatic discorders.".
"This is an area which includes the asthmas the hay fevers and skin conditions resulting from a combination of physical and emotional factors," he explained, "In such cases it is vitally important'
that the doctor be aware of the emotional makeup of the patient."
Dr. Watkins said it does no good to eliminate the allergy if you don't also eliminate the cause of the trouble.
"Let me give you an example," (added the psychiatrist. "I know a man who develops a sever skin disorder when he lives with his wife. When they're together a little while he breaks out. When either he or she go away on a trip the eruption ceases. They have | moved from state to state but apparently the only answer is temporary separation."
ASTHMA DEVELOPED
Dr. Watkins cited another case in which a man develops asthma every time his mother-in-law writes that she is coming for a visit.
"This man just cannot understand why this happens since he i honestly believes he is fond of his I mother-in-law. But invariably the | asthma attack occurs after the mother-in-law announces her im-penalng arrival. And it happens just the same be it spring, summer, autumn or winter. So the man has to go to the mountains while mother-in-law is visiting in I order to recover fro^n his asthma."
Dr. Watkins admitted that in such a case hypnosis might relieve the asthma.
"But what would happen to the poor guy if he had to stay at home during his mother-in-law's visit?" he inquired. "Sometimes an asthmatic attack is preferable to a family tragedy."
COURSE IN HYPNOTISM
This fall, for the first time, a course in hypnotism is being offered senior students at the Lou-! isiana State University Medical school.
During the course the students will hypnotize each other and in turn will be hypnotized by their professor, Dr. Carl L. Davis.
The^ will be "taught how to recognize possible psychiatric symptoms in the person seeking treatment.
"We want to impress on them that hypnosis doesn't work for ev-PHOTO: TWO LSU SCIENTISTS, Dr Lucio Gatto (left) and Dr. Charles Watins, check brain waves
of a hypnotized patient from the chart of an electroencephalogram. Research has shown that a hypnotized patient has brain wave activity similar to person who is awake, but different from a person asleep.
