Rationalization of war memories: Commission relinquished.
Case 509. (Rivers, February, 1918.)
An oldish English officer lost consciousness while looking at the havoc wrought by shell explosion. Probably there was a second shell that sent him off. He was eventually admitted to an English hospital with paresis and anesthesia of legs, severe headache, sleeplessness and terrifying dreams. Hypnotic drugs and advice neither to read nor to talk about the war were the measures adopted and after two months in hospital he was given three months leave. He buried himself in the heart of the country, away from relatives, with aspirin and bromides. He began to sleep better and had less headache. When the president of the medical board asked a question about trenches at the end of his period of leave, however, he broke down and wept. He again repaired to the country for two months’ leave, for the chosen treatment by isolation and repression.
An order was then given that all officers must be either in hospital or on duty. He was sent to an inland watering place and treated by baths, electricity and massage, whereupon he rapidly became worse, especially as to sleep. He was transferred to Craiglochart in an emaciated state, with an expression of anxiety and dread, paresis of legs, sleeplessness and war dreams.
He was now advised to give up repressing, to read and talk a little about the war, and to accustom himself to thinking about war experiences. He did this but half-heartedly, as he thought the ideal treatment was what he had so long followed. Nevertheless, he got distinctly better and the content of the war dreams was altered to home scenes. He was still loath to acknowledge his improvement and thought that he would have recovered if he had not been taken from his retreat and sent to hospital. As it was obvious that he would be of no further use in the army, he was allowed to relinquish his commission.
Rationalization of war memories, without redeeming feature as nucleus.
Case 510. (Rivers, February, 1918.)
An English officer was flung by shell explosion so that his face struck the ruptured and distended abdomen of a dead German. The officer did not immediately lose consciousness and got distinct impressions of taste and smell and an idea of their source. After a period of unconsciousness he came to, vomiting and much shaken. He carried on several days, still troubled by vomiting and haunted by taste and smell images. Several months later he was observed by Rivers suffering from horrible dreams, in which the battle experience was faithfully reproduced. He got no relief except when he went into the country, far from every suggestion of war. Rivers’ psychotherapeutic plan of finding a redeeming feature in the experience, upon which the patient might concentrate, failed because there was no redeeming feature. Accordingly, it was thought best that the man should leave the army and seek the conditions that had given him slight relief.