The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-11-08
CHANCES HYPNOTlE HER
Easy Way of a Young Woman'S
Falling Into frances.
STRANGE CASE OF HYSTERIA
Alarming Effect of the Results Of
a Girl Being Treated for u Wound
Caused by IA Needie-Peculiar Men
tai and Physical Condition That
Interests Experts.

New York Nov. S.-A Young woman
who falls into hypnotic trance If her
eyes encounter the fixed gaze of another.
who has lost the sense OF touch, is IA
sensible To pain, and cannot tell the diff
ference between heat and cold, is now the
subject Of scientific study on the part OF
some OF the foremost experts in nervous
diseases in this city. The case vas pre-
sented 20 the section on neurology OF the
New York Academy of Medicine at a re-
cent meeting, by Dr. Charles l.. Nam
mack. OF AZ East Twenty ninth street.
Presenting phenomena rare even in raedi-
cal records, IL attracted the notice Of the
distinguished neurologists present, and, In
view of the populaI curiosity concerning
hypnntism and mental phenomena gen
orally 1t possesses strong interest also FOR
The non expert 81
Technically, the case is claSsed rs one OF
hvsteria WI. ich medical authorities define
az "a ps ycho-nearosis, Of which the physical
symptoms are the most conspicuous, tend
ing TO disguise the mental phenomena and
20 stimulate supcrfniAIly the effects OF
various organic, diseases Inc disease
was in early days COMMONLY regarded as
itsalf simula tioh, but modern science mas
pronounced 1t a distinct, morbid enlIty
and treats Il as specific Affection Inc
yonng woman who appeared hctore the
experts of the Academy Of Medicine is OF
Polish Jewish family on the East side.
For Ctvious reasons her name cannot De
made public. She is about twenty years
old, OF prepossessiDg appearance, and ap-
parent Intelligence. She lives with her
parents, whom she dutifully helps TO support
The further interesting fact developed
that she is engaged To be married. In iact,
she was led to seek treatment for her
strange affliction largely because or tie
embarrassing situations always likely 20
result from her tendency to collapse INTO
trance at a mere glance.
The story Of this phenomenal case, as re-
lated iG Dr. Nammack's paper before The
Neurological Section, and shorn of its
technical terminoloGy, is after this wise:
Some eight years ago the young woman.
then girl of perhaps twelve years, had a
needle stuck ia the back of her left sar;i.
The wound was not a serious one, ana It's
physical manifestations afforded no raa-
patient, whether as a result of the environ
ment of superstition and illiteracy In which
size lived, or from s0Hte Inherent weakness
&C the nervous organism, fell viciiIn to
hysteria. The slight needle wound in ner
hand refused to heal for four years. Fir
nally, she came under the care of a hospital
surgeon OF the modern school, who recog-
nlzed that her trouble was largely mental,
and undertook to heal it by hypnotism.
The treatment by hypnotic suggestion
wa continued s0r some four months. tie
patient being placed In a semi-hypnotic
trance air ost every day for that period.
rhe treatment consisted substa ntially III
passing IT,. hand gently over the affected
spot, and telling her that it was healing.
1t was successful. IN response to the
suggestion" of the physician, the wound
healed. Then another trouble arose. As
result of having been so frequently placed
under the hypnotic influence, Lhe Young
woman became abnornally subject TO that
Influence. The situation was eXtrem Fly
embarrassing to her. III any one bat
gazed into her eyes steadfastly. sic fell
into the hypnotic trance. Sitting in the
elevated cars she had 10 strenously avoid
meeting the eyes of her vis-a-vis. IN or.
binary conversation she was likely TO lie
overcome by the influence, if she forgot
herself long enough to look directly into
the eyes of the person with WHOM she w~s
talking. Her life was made miserable
in consequence.
Concerning this phenomenal subserviency
to hypnotic suggestion, DIR. Mary Putnam
Jacob, who has made Especial study ofthis
n ,tnua a oSin
woman was thrown into the trance by hav-
ing the rays of Eght from reflector thrown
upon her eyes. In addison to this phe-
n0menon, one OF the rarest in medical his
tory, the young wcman lost the sense of
touch, che sense of pain and the sense of
heat and cold. The most trying tests known
20 neurologists were made to discover
whether the apparent loss of sensibility
to pain, or anaesthesia, was genuine or sim
ulated A nee die stuck in the pupil of the
eye, the most sensitive spot on the normal
body, failed 10 produce any impression.
The patient did not feel it at all.
At the clinical demonstration OF the case
before the sectiunof neurology DIR NammaCk
stuck needle Tito the young woman 'sryc,
into the back of her hand, into her cheeks,
into the inner delicate mucous membrane Uf
the nostriS, without any sensation Of
touch or pain being experienced by the
patient, and without any flow Of bio ii.
She was not under hypnotic influence. but,
with her eyes closed, she did not know that
the most delicate portions of her physical
organism were being jabbed into by
needle point.
When the Young wolnan's eyes W r.
closed and two tubes, one filled with hot
and tie other with cold water. were placed
one in each hand, she was unable to tell
any difference between them. She related
that more than once in her experience SIZE
had taken i,clt. of hot objects, and had only
known that she had been burned when size
saw that the skin as scorched. When she
went out Of doors, she said, she corhi rnt
tell whether the weather was hot or cold,