96' CASE HISTORIES 



coming night. He called some of the middle-aged patients uncle 

 and called younger men cousin. 



He dreamed of good years, good business, good people and of 

 talking with them. One dream was of two brothers jealous of 

 each other. Another was of one man against all of the family, 

 and of a private in the army. Some dreams seemed to be remi- 

 niscences of his past life, such as reading and writing in a library, 

 visiting shoe shops, and planting grain. 



General observations: He said he didn't know why he was 

 brought here, but perhaps it was because he was sick and cold. 

 When he felt better, he was not so cold. He complained of 

 sweaty hands and tied rings of string around his fingers and 

 forearms to prevent the sweating. 



The most striking aspect of his behavior was his rapid swings 

 from depression to elation. On an average the periods lasted only 

 one day, though fairly frequently there was an intermediate 

 period of one day in which he was quiet but worked steadily. 



In his depressions he usually sat motionless with eyes closed 

 and refused to eat. Sometimes he huddled with a coat over his 

 head, complaining that his head was cold. Often he stood in 

 one place for hours. If asked how he felt he might answer, " All 

 right," or "I don't feel good." 



In the intermediate stages he sat staring gloomily into space, 

 or did occupational work without speaking to anyone. 



In his manic phrase he ranged from happy busyness to great 

 elation when he wanted to have a finger in every pie and run 

 everything and everybody. With peals of laughter he would slap 

 me on the back or put his arm around my waist and whirl me 

 down the room, or leap up like a cat to intercept the basketball 

 in midair and scramble wildly after it when it rolled under the 

 beds. He took the other patients' work away from them, stole 

 their food, and refused to give up his tools when it was time to 

 quit. The other patients stopped playing cards with him, for he 

 insisted on taking every trick no matter what card he played. 



He was frugal and reiterated, " I must save." His clothes 

 were so stuffed with trash he had saved that he often looked like 

 a circus clown. He was affectionate and constantly insisted on 

 shaking or kissing one's hand. But stubbornness and wilfulness 



