Reprinted from The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, September, 1890. 
CASES OF HYSTERIA TREATED BY 
HYPNOTISM.' 
By S. G. WEBBER, M. D., 
Superintendent Adam's Nervine Asylum, Boston. 
1WISH to report two cases, which are of interest as being 
rare. The first is rather a curiosity ; the patient fell 
into a hypnotic state, seemingly on account of the 
noises in the house, a state for which I know no better 
name than autohypnotism, though she did not consciously 
put herself into that state. 
Mrs. S. was born of rather neurotic parents ; her mother 
had sick headaches, was rather nervous ; her father had 
bad turns, which as described were probably epileptic. It 
is not certain that he had these before her birth. There 
were three brothers and two sisters, the oldest sister has 
sick headaches and is nervous, the other sister is young, not 
very well. The brothers are all well. 
Mrs. S. never knew what it was to be tired and consid- 
ered herself perfectly well when she was young. She helped 
to take care of her father, did much of the house-work, hur- 
ried her breakfast so as to get to school in season, studied 
hard because she liked to ; then she hurried home to learn 
her lessons and do what she could at the house-work. 
One morning on waking she found that her eyes had 
given out, and she could not open them. When her eyes 
were better she returned to school, and six months later 
graduated. During this time she had heavy feeling in her 
head in the morning, and had the blues. When she gradu- 
ated she had lost within a few months forty pounds, running 
down from one hundred and thirty to ninety pounds. She 
rested a few days, then visited friends with the intention of 
regaining her health. For ten days she slept much and 
wanted to sleep more, but injudicious friends thought it 
would not be well for her. She eat little, her head felt 
strangely, it seemed to her as though she had been away 
1 Read at the Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association in 
hiladelphia, June, 1890. 2 
5. G. WEBBER. 
but she could tell where she was. Noise troubled her, she 
had nausea, no energy. It was at this time that she had 
the first spell of unconsciousness. I could get no satisfac- 
tory account of the nature of this attack. 
She returned from her visit and remained at home for 
six months, having back-ache, head too tired to sleep, ached 
all over, lounged about the house. In this condition she 
took a school, taught seventy scholars for six years. While 
teaching she did part of the house-work at home, she got 
breakfast for the family. She had dyspepsia and was de- 
pressed in spirits. 
While teaching she had the attacks of unconsciousness 
after unusual excitement, not specially when she was tired 
from teaching. They lasted five or ten minutes. She 
seemed to have fainted, but would keep up a rambling talk 
about what had disturbed her. 
She was married about three years ago. After her mar- 
riage she did not have many attacks, they came only after 
great mental excitement. She had one when she learned 
that she was pregnant. She did not always talk in them. 
Her husband said that she did not have them when alone. 
During her pregnancy she slept a great deal. After the 
birth of the child she was not able to sleep as well. Her 
head is weak and gives out easily, she thinks her body is 
strong. 
She did not come to the Asylum until more than two 
months after the above account was given me. In the mean 
time her child had been ill and she had had the grippe, so 
that she had had more to wear upon her and run her 
down. When she came she was evidently not in so good a 
condition as when I first saw her, she was more nervous 
and weaker. 
The day after her entrance she had an ill turn after 
walking into the sitting-room. The nature of this was not 
clear, it was described as different from a faint, yet she lost 
consciousness. When I saw her she had partially recovered 
and was able to talk, but was still dazed, did not under- 
stand where she was, said a few words without evident 
meaning, but which probably had reference to the impres- 
sions she had while in the attack, as when a person con- 
tinues and finishes a sentence after waking from a dream. 
She had another of these attacks after getting to bed. 
On the second day I found that these attacks were of a 
somnambulic nature ; in the attack she did not recognize 
her attendants, did not know where she was, she did not 
remember what had taken place only a few minutes before 
when she was in her normal condition. On coming out of HYSTERIA TREATED BY HYPNOTISM. 
one of these attacks she did not remember what she had 
said or done during it ; but when she had another she re- 
membered what had taken place in the previous one, though 
this memory was not as distinct as the normal waking mem- 
ory. For a while there was the double existence of which 
we read in books on metaphysics. 
During the following days these attacks of somnambu- 
lism occurred several times. While she was in one of these 
I stroked her forehead, whereupon she went asleep immedi- 
ately and after a while awoke in her normal condition. The 
next time she had an attack she called for the hand which 
had touched her head ; she said that it had a very soothing 
effect, and she asked every one who came into her room if 
he had done it. When I entered she had no recollection 
that I was the one who had soothed her, but when I touched 
her head she at once said, " That is the hand," and went to 
sleep. In the normal condition she had head-ache, in the 
abnormal her head was all right, did not ache. After this I 
put her to sleep every night and several times in the morn- 
ing. Only a few strokes were needed to put her to sleep, 
except when she was more than usually excited : on two 
or three such occasions it was not possible to succeed. 
The manner in which she went to sleep was peculiar. 
She settled herself down with a contented air, shut her eyes 
and seemed to be asleep ; then there was a peculiar laugh, 
and after that she was sound asleep. Once, when much dis- 
turbed, she could not get asleep. She then talked, said she 
could not get way down, that some one made her come up ; 
she then laughed and seemed asleep, but soon after said 
again that she could not get way down. This was repeated 
two or three times. She sank down in bed and stretched 
herself up in accordance with her words, and she seemed to 
be much troubled because there was this hindrance. 
After a few days she had no more of the somnambulic 
attacks but seemed to be in the normal condition all the 
time, yet it was not perfectly natural, for she could not see 
me clearly ; she said there seemed to be a mist between her 
and me. 
Two or three times she awoke saying that she could not 
see ; the first time this happened a few strokes across the 
forehead sufficed to restore the sight. The other times it 
was necessary to rub her eyes, and this seemed to cause pain 
till the sight was restored, after which the same rubbing 
gave rise to no pain. On one occasion only one eye was 
blind ; then rubbing the sound eye was not painful, but rub- 
bing the blind eye was. While she could not see, the pupils 
3 4 
5. G. WEBBER. 
were widely dilated and light had no effect upon them ; 
when sight was restored the pupils contracted normally. 
On Sunday, the nineteenth, she saw her husband, who 
told her of the sickness of her housekeeper. This disturbed 
her much, and she had a poor night. The next morning I 
let her tell me all about her trouble and she soon after 
went to sleep , as usual, after her head was smoothed. 
She was disturbed by noises, even comparatively slight 
noises disturbed her. She was especially annoyed by being 
waked up about seven o'clock by the necessary noises of 
the morning. She said it was agony to be thus waked up 
instead of waking up herself. 
On the twenty-first she saw her mother about the house- 
keeper, and after that seemed easier on that subject. She 
had two or three good days and nights, sleeping all night 
and parts of the day. 
I tried suggestion in regard to eating. After she had 
gone to sleep I told her on awaking to be hungry and eat 
well. She had eaten poorly before. The first time I did 
this she was hungry in the morning and eat the whole of 
what was taken to her for breakfast. Several times she 
did as well and at no time did poorly, except when on ac- 
count of disturbance she did not sleep well. I also told her 
to sleep all night. She said that when she half waked .up 
she seemed to hear a voice saying, " Sleep all night," and 
she did not dare to wake up. She thought this very singu- 
lar. She may have thought that I had something to do 
with the voice and spoke of it to find out if it were so. Once 
when in the daytime I told her to sleep two hours she was 
awaked by a noise and heard, just as she awoke, a voice 
saying," Sleep-hours." She said that in the morning, when 
the noises of the day commenced, there was a struggle be- 
tween the desire to sleep and the need of awaking on ac- 
count of the noise, and this struggle was painful. While in 
the hypnotic sleep, if there was a noise in the hall, her fore- 
head contracted, and if the noise was loud she shrank and 
drew up her shoulders as if hurt. If I made a slight noise 
in moving about she took no notice of it, even though it was 
as loud as outside noises which she noticed. 
She complained so much of the noise that I thought it 
best to tell her that it could not be entirely prevented ; that 
we could not keep the house as still as a private house can 
be kept, and that she sometimes made noises and had waked 
up a patient. This did not at the time disturb her very 
much. That night, however, she was not herself (the 24th). 
She had been all day in an unnatural state, but it was not HYSTERIA TREATED BY HYPNOTISM. 
5 
reported to me till night. When I went in as usual to put 
her to sleep, she took me for her husband, called me by 
his name and began to tell me how she had disturbed the 
patients ; said that he must talk in a whisper, and if she 
made a noise she would be sent away ; that she had done 
an awful thing in waking up a patient ; that she had told him 
before coming that she knew she would make a noise and 
would be sent away, and why had she come. She didn't 
want Dr. Webber to know how she felt, but when he told 
her that she had disturbed others it went through her like an 
arrow. 
When I tried to put her to sleep she said, "You know it 
is no use your trying to get me to sleep ; you know you 
have tried to do that a good many times and not been able 
to. I shall never get well now, for Dr, Webber won't come 
to see me again, and he won't be able to put me asleep 
again." Such was the way she talked. I bid her good night 
and left her. Soon after I heard a noise in her room and 
went in ; she was sitting up in a chair. She still called me 
by her husband's name. I helped her into bed, told her it 
was after nine o'clock and I could stay no longer. I obtained 
a promise from her to stay in bed all night. 
The next morning (the 25th) she was still not herself. 
She told part of the events of the night before correctly and 
mixed up with these her delusions that she had been carried 
to another place. I was no lo ger her husband, nor was I 
Dr. Webber. 
It is unnecessary to detail what she said. There was 
about the same coherence that is found in a well-connected 
dream. In all the time that she took me for her husband 
she did not treat me with any undue familiarity ; she was 
as ladylike in her manner of speaking and acting as if I had 
been a stranger. There was no surprise nor sense of incon- 
sistency that I did not show any more interest than a stran- 
ger, nor meet her as warmly as a husband might. Either she 
was not sure who I was, or, as in a dream she did not notice 
any incongruity. 
In a few other cases I have had entirely different experi- 
ences. The patients have not been satisfied without some 
manifestation of affection. 
After allowing her to tell me all she seemed to wish 
on the morning of the 25th I kept my hand on her head. She 
took no notice of my smoothing her forehead, trying to get 
her to sleep, so I simply kept my hand quietly on her 
head. At length she suddenly put her hand on mine ex- 
claiming, " What's that!" then she began to sob, turned 6 
5. G. WEBBER. 
over and went to sleep. In about an hour and a half she 
woke in her normal condition. She remained herself all day 
and at night professed to have no recollection of having seen 
me in the morning. She seemed to have lost all memory 
of what had happened the previous night. She went to sleep 
readily. 
During the day of the 30th she was moved into another 
room in hopes that the noise would trouble her less, That 
night she did not sleep well as usual, and the next day had 
a severe headache all day. When I saw her at night I held 
my hand on her head a few minutes and she said the pain 
had gone ; she was free from it. 
That night she slept only two or three hours, and the 
next night it took a long time to get her quiet, and she slept 
only half an hour. She seemed worse, the noises disturbed 
her so much that I advised her being taken home. She was 
not gaining, but rather getting worse. Subsequently she 
gained in weight and was able to sleep. As she grew 
stronger noises troubled her less, 
Miss F., aged twenty, says that she has had dizzy head- 
aches very often ever since she can remember. She rarely 
went a week without one. She thinks she was well as a 
baby. 
Her mother was nervous, had neuralgia ; she has four 
brothers and sisters ; they are all well except her youngest 
brother, who has rickets. Her father is intemperate, so she 
cannot live at home. 
She had measles when young and scarlet fever at eight 
or nine years of age ; no other illness. Using her eyes 
made her headache. She left school at seventeen in poor 
health on account of headaches. Otherwise she had good 
health. After leaving school her condition remained about 
the same ; she would have headache two or three times a 
day for a while, then would go several days without pain. 
The pain was across the forehead and in the temples ; there 
was no nausea ; sight was blurred ; she was dizzy. 
Last June (1889) she fell from a swing, striking the left 
side of her head ; she had a faint feeling and dropped out of 
the swing ; she does not know what distance she fell. For 
a minute she was unconscious. After this her head ached 
for a week and felt tight on top, very sore on the left side. 
The left cheek was discolored, and this extended down the 
left side of the neck ; her back troubled her for a few days 
after. After a week the headache would go and come. Her 
work was not hard ; she had a large appetite ; slept well. HYSTERIA TREATED BY HYPNOTISM. 
7 
From Thursday to Saturday she had a dreadful headache 
all the time. 
On Sunday, the nineteenth of September, she felt better 
and went to church. She had been in church but a short 
time when she became dizzy ; things moved, dancing 
about ; she felt herself falling and couldn't save herself. She 
remembered nothing after this till she came too in the ves- 
try ; then she felt tired, her head seemed tightened across 
the top. She was taken to her room and put to bed ; that 
afternoon she had another in which she was violent, 
straightened out, threw her arms about, not her legs ; she 
threw herself backwards and forwards very quickly, then 
she stiffened out straight. Her eyes were sometimes open, 
sometimes shut ; at times they were crossed, always "set." 
This attack lasted an hour. After the second her head 
ached dreadfully, all on top, and it was very sore there. 
She went to work on Tuesday, and in five or ten min- 
utes she had the same feeling of things growing black, and 
felt she was losing herself. She had an attack in the office. 
After this she was sick in bed two and a half weeks ; she 
had attacks once a day, or even twice. 
The Saturday after the first attack she had three severe 
attacks, one lasting three hours. She first worked her mus- 
cles all over for ten or fifteen minutes, then was rigid and 
then lay passive, the face and hands moving a little, the fin- 
gers closed and the fist rotating. 
The following week she had one every two or three 
days, lasting an hour and a half. During this time there 
was considerable mental-excitement apart from the illness, 
which must have acted to increase her nervousness, and 
probably caused the attacks to be more frequent. She went 
into the country ; had one on the train ; the next day one, 
and after that only at the catamenia, except when she had 
the grippe at Christmas. That night she had one lasting 
three hours, the next day one of four hour hours duration, 
and in the afternoon one lasting two hours. Two the next 
day. 
On the sixth or seventh of February she had one at the 
catamenia as usual. She was taken to the New England 
Hospital and had five during the week she stayed there. 
The menstrual flow continued the whole of that week, 
but usually it lasts only two or three days, and generally 
she has only one at each period. 
Between her periods she has severe headache, not every 
day, and after an attack the pain is behind her eyes, under 
the brows, and shoots to the top of the head. There is no 8 
5. G. WEBBER. 
increase of micturition after the attacks. Just before ahead- 
ache her face is flushed, and it seems as if all the blood 
rushed to her head. 
Her appetite is poor and she does not sleep well. Bow- 
els are constipated ; she has no leucorrhcea. She was 
examined by a female physician, who found no uterine 
disease. 
On March 9th she had three attacks. This was the 
time for her catamenia, but there was no flow, During 
the next week she had two severe headaches on the top 
of her head. Phenacetine powders relieved the head each 
time, and afterwards it felt light as if the top were gone. 
After the 9th she felt ill for three days, but did not flow. 
I saw her after one of the above attacks. She was then 
much weakened, and had the appearance of being ex- 
hausted. The attack was described as one of the worst 
she had ever had. She was delirious most of the night ; 
it required three or four women to hold her and prevent 
her leaving her room. During the convulsive stage she 
was more violent than usual. 
About a week after these attacks I began to hypnotize 
her. The first trial had no effect. She simply became 
quiet. After the third time she went to sleep in my office, 
but it was a troubled sleep. After a few treatments she 
slept quietly without dreaming, as in natural sleep. Most of 
the time during her sleep at my office there was more or 
less twitching of the muscles of the chin and face, especially 
on the right side. She said that while going to sleep she 
felt herself sinking down gently, and just as she lost con- 
sciousness she felt that she had reached the bottom. This 
sensation was not unpleasant, but rather agreeable, and 
seemed to resemble that of which Mrs. S. spoke. When she 
is asleep I can make any noise about the room without dis- 
turbing her, even throw a book on the uncarpeted floor 
with considerable force without awaking her, but at first if 
I spoke she woke up. After I told her not to mind my voice 
she was less easily disturbed by it. A touch would arouse 
her at any time very quickly. 
During this time she was taking sixty grains of bromide 
of potassium a day. Notwithstanding this she did not sleep 
well the nights when she had not been hypnotized, but the 
nights after a treatment she slept well, often eight or nine 
hours. Her room-mate said that she slept much more 
soundly than before the treatment was commenced ; for- 
merly she would jump in her sleep, her limbs were rarely 
quiet, and she was much disturbed not only by anxiety lest HYSTERIA TREATED BY HYPNOTISM. 
9 
there should be a spasm, but also by her restlessness. Af- 
ter the treatment had continued a week or ten days this 
restlessness disappeared and the sleep was quiet. The pa- 
tient's countenance changed for the better ; the eyes lost a 
stupid look they had, the nutrition became much better and 
there was a general appearance of health which was not 
present at the first. The patient herself said that she was 
stronger, could walk longer distances without fatigue, and 
felt more like working. 
April 19th I hypnotized her and allowed her to sleep 
longer than usual. I thought I would see how long she 
would sleep if not disturbed. It was just the time for the 
catamenia. After fifteen minutes she woke, seemed more 
confused than usual, said that her head ached, then went 
into a spasm. The convulsion began with a twitching of 
the chin and right side of the face, next there was a stiffen- 
ing of the body and rigidity of the arms with tremor, the 
hands being clenched. There was loss of consciousness from 
the first sign of an attack. In a minute or so there was spasm 
of the muscles of the back causing opisthotonos, the hands 
were extended and in extreme pronation with the wrists 
flexed. Pressure over the ovaries seemed to cause relaxa- 
tion at once of the spasm, and she lay relaxed and limp. 
The right side of the face and the right hand still twitched. 
Her eyes opened for a few minutes, but she did not seem to 
see. After about twenty minutes she had another attack 
much like the previous but less severe, lasting only about 
three minutes. After this second attack the face twitched 
and the hands were slightly convulsed, mostly on the right 
side ; the legs were quiet. In forty-five minutes from the 
beginning of the attack she was conscious. Pier friend said 
it was a very light attack. 
In four days she was able to come to my office again. 
The catamenia had not appeared. In ten days that func- 
tion was established and she had a very light attack of only 
a half-hoyr's duration, and so light that she did not know 
she had had one. She slept for two hours after it. She 
thought that the attack was due to having her sleep dis- 
turbed by a toothache, and that caused a headache 
When she came to me the next time she had been to 
the dentist and had had the tooth filled. It still ached much 
with a jumping pain. When she went to sleep I suggested 
that on waking the pain should be gone. On waking she 
had no pain, and it returned only once for a few minutes. 
On other occasions I suggested that pain in one part or 
another of the body should leave her, and on waking it was 
gone. 10 
S. G. WEBBER. 
About a week before the time for her last catamenia I 
suggested that she should come round at the regular time 
(she had been two weeks late the two previous periods) and 
that she should have no convulsions. I made this sugges- 
tion each time I hypnotized her. She was only two days 
late and had no attack, and scarcely any headache. At the 
next menstruation there was no spasm, it was normal and 
nearly at the right time. The bromide had been reduced 
to a small amount taken only a week before the catamenia, 
The first is a complicated case. There was a peculiar 
condition of the nervous system, a condition of neuras- 
thenia, also a hysterical state. In some way, which I do 
not understand, the patient came into a state in which she 
lost her memory of recent events, and her relation to those 
about her were changed to such an extent that she did not 
recognize those whom she had seen and known only a few 
hours previously. Then she returned to her normal condi- 
tion and had no recollection of what had just occurred. Her 
brain then became a dual organ ; in some way the awaking 
of one set of ideas and associations in one group of nerve 
cells seemed to inhibit the activity of the group of cells 
which was cognizant of the other set of ideas and associa- 
tions. 
Later when I had put her to sleep there was the mani- 
festation of other phenomena; there was not only the 
two states of brain activity, but also the power or ability of 
receiving suggestions when all the mental faculties seemed 
to be dormant, and it would have been supposed that she 
could not hear nor the brain receive any impression, at least 
so as to have a permanent effect. 
Memory, consciousness and will were perverted, or in 
the artificial sleep they seemed to be abolished ; certain 
groups of nerve cells, which are usually active during wak- 
ing hours, were inhibited in their action. For a while they 
were placed in an enforced quiet. This was seen in the sec- 
ond case. I could easily put the patient to sleep ; there was 
no cataleptic state of the muscles ; she simply went to 
sleep, a quiet sleep such as any one might have, with dreams 
or without as the case might be. She was, however insensi- HYSTERIA TREATED BY HYPNOTISM. 
11 
ble to all noises, was not disturbed by the rattling of paper, 
opening of table drawers, the slamming of doors outside, 
nor by my moving about the room. As soon, however, as 
I spoke to her, she showed that my voice reached her brain, 
there was a change in the expression of her face, and if I 
continued to speak she soon waked up. 
It will be interesting to compare these peculiar mental 
conditions with what is seen in an ordinary case of delerium, 
in which there is a more or less complete unconsciouness 
of one's surroundings. I will report a very simple case 
which resembles hypnotism. 
Miss A. has had severe headaches, especially at the 
time of her catamenia, and in these is sometimes delirious. 
March 20 was called to her about seven in the evening, 
as she was delirious. I found her lying on her right side ; 
the muscles of her neck and arms would occasionally twitch 
and she carried her hand to her neck every now and then, 
and showed by slight groans and sighs that she had severe 
pain. She seemed to imagine herself at home, and called 
her mother in a rather low tone of voice. When the nurse 
came she told her to go for her mother. She seemed to 
think I was her uncle Edward. She tried to get up once or 
twice, and said she must go or be going. There was no vio- 
lence and no loud outcry ; she was simply in a quiet deli- 
rium. She did not realize where she was nor what she 
said, yet seemed to realize that she was in bed, and tried not 
to uncover herself. Under the use of remedies and massage 
to the head she fell asleep, awoke at a slight noise, then 
went to sleep again, and soon woke up in her right mind, 
astonished to find me by her, and asked if she had done 
anything out of the way. 
In this case there was an entire misapprehension of her 
condition and surroundings. She was as much out of touch 
with those about her as the hypnotic, more so in fact. Yet 
she retained a certain amount of receptivity; she knew that 
someone was near, and made known her request that her 
mother should come. In this patient the memory and con- 
sciousness were perverted or suspended, the will was still 
active, but acted in an abnormal way, because it had not 
correct data to guide it. Ideation was more affected. In 
hypnotism there was a more orderly sequence of ideas ; in 12 
5. G. WEBBER. 
delerium the sequence of ideas was less regular ; slighter 
influences served to give rise to new ideas not in harmony 
with those preceding. It seems to me this may be one of 
the differences between hypnotism and delerium ; not only 
are memory, consciousness and will affected, ideation is 
irregular and dependent upon accidental influences, arising 
outside or perhaps within the patient. In hypnotism, when 
ideation is affected, it is perverted according to the will or 
suggestion of another. 
It would be interesting to compare these two states with 
dreaming. This seems to be a modification of the above con- 
ditions, the cause being within the brain itself, or often com- 
ing from without. But in dreaming there is less order, the 
control of the thoughts, which is not wholly lost in hypno- 
tism, and which still is found to some extent in delerium, 
is very imperfect in dreaming ; the logical faculty is more 
afiected, or it may be said the memory is more at fault and 
does not act to regulate the sequence of ideas, so these run 
riot in the brain, and the different groups of nerve-cells are 
awakened to activity and silenced in a most unorderly man- 
ner, giving rise to the most absurd and incongruous group- 
ing of ideas and images. 
Dreaming is likely then to be the least orderly of these 
abnormal activities. There are to be sure dreams, which 
seem to be perfectly orderly and logical. Perhaps they are 
so, or it may be that they seem to have this order because 
the waking mind unconsciously reduces the mass of ideas 
to something approaching order. It would be interesting 
to follow the anologies in these states much further.