PSYCHOSES RESEMBLING SCHIZOPHRENIA OCCURRING WITH EMOTIONAL STRESS AND ENDING IN RECOVERY
HARRY A. PASKIND M. D.1, and
MEYER BROWN M. D.1
1 The department of nervous and mental diseases, Northwestern University Medical School and the behavior clinic of the Criminal Court of Cook County.
Five cases are described of a psychosis occurring under emotional stress and ending in recovery.
This psychosis resembles schizophrenia at many points and differs from schizophrenia in some aspects, especially in the course.
As a possible clarification of the nosologic position of this psychosis it is suggested that it may involve the same mechanism as does schizophrenia, but is produced by different etiologic factors: this may explain similar symptoms but differing course, and may indicate that these psychoses deserve a separate nosological designation.
We believe it not unlikely that this psychosis is not uncommonly produced by the stresses of civil life but that such cases are thought to be schizophrenia, and that the recognition of such cases may materially alter statistics regarding remissions of treated and untreated patients with schizophrenia.
