Case 11. Enuresis nocturna

The patient is a well-developed boy aged ten; has always suffered from enuresis nocturna, and wets the bed nearly every night. Electricity, drugs, and the sound have no effect. At the second trial the boy was deeply hypnotized. Post-hypnotic negative hallucinations were induced, and the boy was ordered to wake up at night directly he felt that he must pass water. The time for waking was gradually postponed by suggestion until the morning. Suggestion was then less frequently employed, and now after five months there is no trace of enuresis nocturna.

Case 12. Pruritus cutaneous nervosus

X., at. 42, has suffered from nervous itching of the skin for four years. The itching is generally so severe that the patient has to get up at night and scratch himself till he bleeds, or else to get his wife to rub him down with a scrubbing brush. In consequence of the loss of sleep - nervous itching is always worse at night - the patient is very run down and poorly. On examination I find him pale and thin. He has tried antipyrin and other drugs, also electricity and baths, but all in vain. One week of hypnotic treatment not only set up an improvement in a malady of years' standing, but even put a stop to most of the symptoms. The patient could again sleep quietly, although the itching sometimes recurred once a week but in a less intense form. The patient was discharged in a fortnight, and when I saw him some years later there had been no recurrence of the trouble, all traces of which had disappeared.

Case 13. Chronic chorea

The patient, a girl aged 16, had a bad attack of chorea eight months ago. Six weeks later the spasms were less severe, though often considerable at the time she came to me for treatment.

Drugs and electricity had proved useless, so hypnotic treatment was decided on, with the result that the patient who had hitherto been unable to hold a glass or a cup or do any manual labour, was enabled in three days' time to take up her household duties. A fortnight later every trace of spasm had disappeared.

I have often seen neglected cases of chorea improved by suggestion; but I have never observed any noticeable improvement in acute cases even when the subjects have been specially susceptible to deep hypnosis.

Case 14. Tremor nervosus

X., a mechanic, 26 years of age, belongs to a family with hereditary taint; is of a very excitable temperament, and has various neurasthenic troubles. He is specially afflicted with trembling of the hands, which takes the form of small and rapid movements and is particularly inconvenient because a steady hand is necessary in his business. The trembling is very marked when he stretches his hands out, and increases when he is engaged on fine work. After six attempts deep hypnosis followed by amnesia was induced, and after this I was always able to suppress the tremor which has not recurred after the lapse of two and a half years.

Case 15. Agoraphobia

The patient is 36 years old. His mother, and also his brothers and sisters, suffer from migraine. From his twenty-second year he has always felt discomfort when crossing an open space. This increased from year to year until he is now unable to cross an open space. After a few steps he is attacked with trembling and vertigo; his sight becomes blurred, he perspires and is obliged to retrace his steps. As is usually the case with such patients, he is able to cross a square if accompanied even by a child, and he is also able to gain the other side of the square by taking a roundabout way, such as keeping close to the houses. His condition has remained almost invariably the same, and no method of treatment - water-cure or other - has been of any use. Hypnotic suggestion brought about marked improvement after three sittings. The patient was at once able to cross a small open space, and the improvement has now so increased that he can cross a large square without assistance. I have observed that the improvement has been maintained for several years.

Case 16. Imperative ideas

The patient, Mrs. X., is 42 years of age, and a member of a somewhat neuropathic family. Her relatives are all described as being nervous. Eleven years ago she suffered from severe impulsive ideas which lasted for three years. When she came to me for treatment she had been suffering in the same way for more than a year. She was overwhelmed by the idea that she was suffering from an incurable disease, and was very much depressed. She was often troubled with thoughts of suicide and was tired of life. She complained that her illness prevented her from associating with her family and that she took no interest in her relations. She complained that she had lost all interest in painting, nature, the theatre, poetry and everything that had formerly interested her. Baths, drugs, the galvanic current and static electricity were tried in vain; but hypnotic treatment speedily produced good results. Deep hypnosis was produced at the first sitting, and was followed by post-hypnotic negative hallucinations. For the first three weeks the sittings were repeated daily; the impulsive ideas were always much weaker directly afterwards, and the patient's condition was improved. After about four weeks the patient's condition was so much improved that the treatment was stopped.

After the lapse of a year there has been no recurrence of the former troubles.

Case 17. Fear of blushing

The patient, at. 25, had suffered from an uncontrollable tendency to blush since he was fifteen. It occurred more frequently when he was with other people than when alone. This inconvenience had continued to get worse. As is usual in such cases the blushing generally occurred when it was most dreaded. The patient was in official employ, and the attacks were most likely to come on when he was in the presence of his superiors, which rendered his position most painful. He tried letting his beard grow solely to render the blushing less noticeable, and also various other artifices, such as turning his face away to conceal its redness. Patient was in despair and begged for relief, as he had tried all kinds of remedies. I found it easy to induce deep hypnosis, and by suggestion cured not only the blushing but more especially the dread of it. Suggestion was at first employed frequently, and then at longer intervals. The old fear of blushing gradually subsided, and he now very seldom blushes, and even then only at times when it hardly causes him any inconvenience.