War neuroses and shell shock [Elektronisk resurs] / Fredk. W. Mott.

• "The book brings together the conclusions which Col. Mott has derived not only from extensive clinical observations, but also from much original anatomical research relating to the effects of Shell Shock and Gas Poisoning upon the central nervous system. Col. Mott is concerned to show that the majority of cases of so-called "Shell Shock" are truly "Emotional Shock." He illustrates his argument by comparative statistics. It has been calculated that one-seventh of all the soldiers who have been discharged from the army as permanently unfit, or one-third of the unwounded, are cases of Shell Shock, War Neurosis or Psychosis. Col. Mott points out that the War Neuroses present no essential clinical differences from those met with in prewar days. They belong to the two great groups of functional nervous diseases--hysteria and neurasthenia--the symptoms being the same, but coloured by war experiences. Numbers of illustrations are given which show that the psycho-pathology of war "consists fundamentally in the exaggeration and perseveration of instinctive defence reactions incidental to normal physiological conditions, viz. protective pain, fatigue, and the emotion of fear." Col. Mott develops the argument that fear is a biological instinct, and emphasises the enormous importance of contemplative fear in the perseveration of hysterical paralysis, contractures, and speech defects. Now that hostilities have ceased, and the idea of return to an intolerable situation has been removed, large numbers of these cases should spontaneously recover. Still, a large number of discharged men suffering from functional disabilities are in receipt of pensions, and Col. Mott takes the view that the receipt of a pension suggests permanence of the disability. It is, he points out, a well-established fact that the effective mode of cure of hysterical manifestations is contra-suggestion, and he concludes that every effort should be made to induce such men to take up suitable employment, and that no man should be discharged with a curable functional disability and without the prospect of employment. In the Chapter on Treatment attention is called to the value of occupation as a mental diversion, and graduated employment on the land and in the workshop is strongly advocated as a means of promoting convalescence. The importance of establishing an atmosphere of cure in a hospital is emphasised, and music, including training in singing, is strongly recommended as a means of restoring health to mind and body"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). 

Ämnesord

Traumatic neuroses.  (LCSH)

Psychology, Pathological.  (LCSH)

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic.  (MeSH)

Psychology.  (MeSH)

Klassifikation

RC361 (LCC)