PSYCHOSES

Abstract

A GROUP of nine cases is presented in which there is a blending of schizophrenic and affective symptoms. The psychosis is characterized by a sudden onset in a setting of marked emotional turmoil with a distortion of the outside world and presence of false sensory impressions in some cases. It lasts a few weeks to a few months and is followed by a recovery. The patients were young people, in the twenties or thirties, in excellent physical health, in whom there was usually a history of a previous attack in late adolescence. The pre-psychotic personalities of the patients showed the usual variation found in any group of people. A good social and industrial adjustment, the presence of a definite and specific environmental stress, interest in life and its opportunities, and the absence of any passivity or withdrawal are some of the factors favouring recovery. C. S. R.