MANIC PSYCHOSIS IN A NEGRO
Abstract
A 57-year-old rural Negro of unusually rugged and independent disposition, owner of a 150-acre farm, went through a series of depressing incidents prior to the build-up of hypomanic activity which terminated with psycholeptic suddenness in the outbreak of a definite manic attack.
In the excitement he praised God, sang and shouted, with the feeling of satisfaction and even power through his allegiance to God. In so doing he obviously was acquiring a position above that of any person in the community, even in the country, if not in the world, without in any way challenging the social structure of the society in which he was living, since religious exaltation is one of the few outlets he has always been encouraged to find.
Treatment included a period of rest in the hospital, during which the patient gave an account of his whole life, including the excitement, and this story was recorded on a series of sound records which were later edited. After return to the farm, the acute phases of the psychosis were re-enacted by the patient and his family before the camera. This re-enactment was said by the patient and his children to have had a beneficial effect on his feelings about his psychotic experience.
Note is made of preserving clinical material for later presentation by means of edited sound records with enough photographs to pictorialize significant scenes.
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