"Is anybody trying to harm you in any way?"

"Yes, I really believed somebody tried to do something to me."

The foregoing questions were answered without any hesitation and in a
prompt manner.

September 6th:--Today, patient gave in a coherent and relevant manner
his past history. He talked freely, and all evidence of suspiciousness
or evasiveness was absent. Upon examination he was found to be
perfectly oriented in all spheres; free from delusions and
hallucinations, and possessing quite a degree of insight into his
recent mental disorder. While reluctant to admit that he had been
insane, he fully realized that something was wrong with him. He showed
a normal emotional reaction to the situation at hand; felt satisfied
with his surroundings, and was very much concerned and anxious about
his release. Special intelligence tests failed to reveal any
intellectual defect. He was found, however, to be a rather ignorant
negro. Memory and attention were unimpaired. Apperception good;
physical examination showed him to be a well-developed man of medium
size, height five feet, three inches, weight 150 pounds. Aside from
several pustules on the back, he showed no physical disorders.
Neurological examination, negative.

September 14th:--Patient was today discharged by a jury, as not
insane. He presented a normal appearance upon leaving the Hospital.
Insight was good, and there existed a total amnesia for the period
between August 19th, when he was arrested, and September 3d, when he
recovered from his stupor.

This case illustrates in an excellent manner the development of a mental
disorder as an immediate consequence of a situation strongly affective
in nature,--in this instance, threatened imprisonment for a grave
offense.

The emotional shock of the arrest called forth in this, to all
appearance, previously normal individual, a marked excitement
accompanied by hallucinations and fleeting delusional formations. This
excitement, which required the application of constant restraint, was
followed by a stuporous state and total clouding of consciousness. Upon
being removed to a hospital, and surrounded by a new environment,
patient gave evidence, after a sojourn of only a few days, of the
salutary effect of such procedure. On September 3d, ten days after
admission, the stupor disappears, and the only residue of the one-time
psychosis is a complete amnesia for the entire perio