Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-10-23
FriGhtfuI Dreaus the Precursors of In
sanify-Their Physiological ReIntIons.


Many patients, before becoming COM
pletely insane, have frightful dreams, and
appear as if they were conscious of being on
the eve of losing their reason. They often
express their sad prognosis, and their anxiety
is very great. They start up out of their
sleep, pass the greater part of the night in
walking about, complaining of suffering iu-
tolerable headaches. Some almost dread to
20 to sleep, so much are their dreams filled
with horrible apparitons. In book at
tributed to Hippocrates, there are, with re-
gard to the symptomatology Of dreaming,
indications which are not without interest.
Perhaps it is correct to say that, in our days
of modern science, this element of diagnosis
and prognosis has been too much neglected.
Among other representations, noisy and
animated dreams according to the father of
medicine, are the indications of n state of
excitement of the nervous system. Quiet,
soft dreams announce a favorable crisis in
nervous fevers. Frightful dreams indicate a
determination of the blood to the head,
causing deirium. Ifs person sees in dreams
frightful figures making grimaces, the person
is menaced with an intestinal malady, or an
affection of the liver. Diseases of the in
ternal organs cause in dreaming painful
sensations. which relate to the parts affected.
ApoplCxy is preceded by dreams, in which
the person believes that he is in danger of
perishing. The nightmare an
nounces the concentration Of blood in the
great cavities of the chest. l mention these
principal prognostics because the ordinary
| subjects of the complaints in individuals
destined to become insane are associated
| with sensations of this kind
| A gentleman who had previously mani
| tested no appreciable symptoms of mental
| disorder, or even of disturbed or anxious
thought, retired to bed apparently in the
! same state of mind Upon rising in the morn
! ing, to the intense horror of his wife, he was
| found to have lost his senses. He exhibited
his insanity by ascertaining that he was
! going to be tried for an offense which he
could not clearly define, and of nature of
which he had no right conception. He de-
claIed that the officers of justice were in hot
! pursuit of HMM fact, he maintained that
they were actually in the house. He begged
! and implored his wife to protect him. He
! walked about the room in a state of great
| agitation, apprehension and alarm, stamping
his feet and wringing his hands in the widest
agony of despair. Upon inquiring into the
history of the case, his wife said that she had
not observed any symptom which had ex-
cited her suspicion as to the state Of her hus-
bands mind but upon being questioned very
closely, she admitted that during the previous
night he appeared to be under the influence
. of what she considered to be the nightmare
4 or a frightful dream. When apparently
asleep he cried out several times, evidently
in great distress of mind, 'Don't come neal
mel" "Take them awayp "0h, save me;
they are pursuing mel" 1t is singular thai
in this case the insanity which was clearly
manifested in the morning appeared like
continuation of the same character and trair
of perturbed thought that existed during hi;
troubled sleep, when, according to his wife
account he was evidently dreaming.