Although she was not essentially disoriented she called the place "mid-heaven," or "a holy house, sort of a hospital." She also said, "In two years more there will be a new world and it will be more happy and holy."
The day after entrance the patient, though in part as described, had a spell when she kept her eyes closed and was rigid. Spells like these returned. (About a month after admission she became completely stuporous.) She prayed at times, at other times was constrained, or kept her eyes closed. Her orientation throughout was good. The content of her psychosis, in addition to the praying attitude, had a more or less vague religious coloring. Thus she called the hospital the "House of God." Again, when on one occasion she had jumped at the window guard and was asked "why?" she said "holy communion." Again she said she was "Mary, Virgin Mother." But this religious trend was intermingled with remarkable elements of another sort. Thus when in order to study her knowledge of the events after admission, she was asked what she had done when she was brought into the ward, she said, "I went into the sanctuary where my bowels moved and water passed from me." (Why do you call it sanctuary?) "Because Jesus did the same thing I did."
Possibly vague sexual allusions are also contained in the following: She said one day to the doctor, "Everything went wrong last night, good, pure, true and holy doctor, I led you astray and you were dying last night, may the Almighty God forgive me, I ought to have died, but I fought it out, for, if I had died, my mother's soul would not have been saved in Heaven and from the flames of Hell." Again, "I will not look at you again, good, pure, holy doctor of the world." (Why?) "I am afraid I will lead you astray." And also: "I led James. Peter astray too." It should be added that she sometimes masturbated rather shamelessly.
She said she heard her mother's voice. (What did she say?) "Something in the sky for me, angels call for me." (What do the angels say?) "The name of my good mother in Heaven." Again
she said she had heard her mother the night she came here. (What did she say?) "It was like a voice—feed the calf—that means me, I suppose."
Then after a month the stupor became more continuous. She lay totally inactive for the most part, had to be fed, soiled herself, drooled saliva, was at times cataleptic, often rigid. Her limbs became cyanotic. A few times tears were seen. On other occasions she whispered "peace," or "peace for hazing," or "pray—peace," or "I like to be good." Usually no responses could be obtained.
After some months she was at times seen laughing. This gradually passed into a state of total disinterestedness and inaccessibility. She could finally be made to polish the floor in an automatic fashion, but never spoke, and five years after admission she was transferred to another hospital, where she died (eleven years after admission to the ward of the Institute) without any change in her mental condition having taken place.
Case 24.—Adele M. Age: 22. Admitted to the Psychiatric Institute November 11, 1904.
P. H. The father stated that the patient was always "cranky," had outbursts of temper, even when a small child and was quarrelsome; also said that she was "seclusive," had few friends, was averse to meeting people, never had a beau. She was taken out of school at 14 because she was not promoted on two successive occasions from the same class. Then she was put to work, but she was usually discharged for incompetency.
Onset of Psychosis: Three years before admission it was noted that she laughed occasionally without cause. She was idle. This laughing, and also crying, was sometimes more frequent, again less noticeable.