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The Madness of Fear: A History of Catatonia

Online ISBN:
9780190881221
Print ISBN:
9780190881191
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

The Madness of Fear: A History of Catatonia

Edward Shorter,
Edward Shorter

Jason A. Hannah Professor of the History of Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry

Jason A. Hannah Professor of the History of Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
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Max Fink
Max Fink

Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, Emeritus

Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, Emeritus, Stony Brook School of Medicine
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Published:
May 2018
Online ISBN:
9780190881221
Print ISBN:
9780190881191
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

This is the first history of the psychiatric illness called catatonia, virtually forgotten by medicine yet often present in severely ill patients. The main symptoms of catatonia affect movement and thought, including staring, stupor, mutism, food refusal, negativism, and even psychosis. These symptoms are age-old, but they were brought together in the single term “catatonia” by German psychiatrist Karl Kahlbaum in 1874. Yet, 30 years later, catatonia disappeared from view as an independent illness, turned into a “subtype” of dementia praecox (schizophrenia). There, catatonia remained submerged from view for almost a century, rediscovered again as a disease of its own in the 1990s. Today, catatonic symptoms are seen in around one in ten admissions to a psychiatric emergency department. Untreated, catatonia may have a fatal outcome. Interest today has been increasing because of the discovery that, unlike schizophrenia, catatonia responds readily to therapy, with the symptoms vanishing without a trace. The authors argue that catatonia may be a response to fear and alarm triggered by trauma; during a stupor, patients often experience terrifying images and thoughts. Edward Shorter is a medical historian who has written widely about psychiatry. Max Fink is a clinician whose writings on melancholia, catatonia, and convulsive therapy have been internationally recognized.

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Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always … More Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.
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