Introduction There have been many theories put forward to explain the not uncommon symptoms of depersonalization. They were aptly summarized by Ackner (1954) in the following way. There are theories which regard depersonalization as a symptom with an organic basis; there are theories which consider it a disturbance of a particular psychological function; there are analytic theories; and finally...
Favourable results have been reported from the use of lysergide in a wide variety of psychiatric conditions, but controlled studies (2, 3, 4) have not confirmed the existence of a therapeutic effect. In this experiment, alcoholics and neurotics who had been referred by Saskatoon psychiatrists for LSD treatment were allocated at random to Treatment and Control groups after undergoing a series of...
“When man experiences that certain sequences of mental events lead to behavior which has, as a matter of fact, survival value, he calls such mental facts ‘right’. It would be better, however, if instead of this word some neutral symbol were being used for those particular events; because the word ‘right’ leads to the unfortunate notion that some combinations of mental facts are intrinsically...
It is twenty years since the appearance of Stoll's paper: “Lysergic acid diethylamide, a hallucinatory agent of the ergot group” (23). In this he sought to reproduce in a group of subjects Hofmann's personal experiences of the drug, and so set the LSD snowball on its way. Some 1,500 papers must by now have been gathered to it; they deal with a greater range of uses than has been thought of for...
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The view that depersonalization experiences can “be regarded as occupying a position somewhere between the delusional and the non-delusional” was first suggested by Ackner (1954) who gave as an example the depressive's experience of malaise. If this is accepted into the normal framework of experience it will be attributed to illness or fatigue. If it is accepted and organized into a delusional...
In carrying out short term therapy involving one to six sessions with doses of 75 μ g. to 200 μ g. of LSD, the author gained a definite clinical impression that suggestibility was influenced by LSD, although there is little mention of such a parameter in the classification of LSD effects. Remarks meant to be helpful sometimes proved much more effective whilst patients were influenced by LSD...
There have been relatively few studies concerning the occurrence of depersonalization phenomena in normal subjects. Roberts (1960) and Dixon (1963) studied college students and reported a high incidence of brief depersonalization experiences in their samples. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between depersonalization, the conditions under which it occurred and a...
Suicide and the Soul. By James Hillman. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Pp. 191. 1964. 25s. - Psychedelic Experience. A Manual based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. By Timothy Leary, Ph.D., Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., Richard Alpert, Ph.D. New York University Books, New Hyde Park. 1964. Pp. 159. Price $5. - Volume 111 Issue 475
It has been shown that in depressive states (Sedman and Reed, 1963) and in schizophrenia (Sedman and Kenna, 1963) there is an association between the occurrence of depersonalization, a premorbid insecure personality and depression of mood.
In the course of studying the clinical effects of LSD-25 various workers have commented upon its possible use as an aid to psychiatric diagnosis. Stoll (1947) and Becker (1949) considered it to be of limited value in this respect. Condrau (1949) pointed out that it tended to exaggerate catatonic and hebephrenic features in schizophrenics and to produce a caricature of the personality in normal...
The constellation of symptoms which is termed depersonalization is often as perplexing to the doctor as to the patient. It is more easily diagnosed than defined, and much of the controversy over its nosological position can be attributed to this vagueness of outline. Saperstein (1949) reviewed the historical development of the concept and concluded that the essential feature is the experience...
Numerous recent electroencephalographic studies have revealed the cyclical alternation of two distinct types of sleep (Dement and Kleitman, 1957a), which have been termed “fore-brain” and “hind-brain” sleep by Jouvet (1962). The former is accompanied by slow waves and spindles in the electroencephalogram (EEG) and the latter by a low-voltage, fairly fast EEG pattern; spasmodic, conjugate rapid...
Depersonalization has been so frequently reported in connection with incipient schizophrenia that some diagnosticians have regarded it as a pathognomonic sign of schizophrenia. More generally, however, it is regarded as a non-specific psychiatric syndrome since it has been reported in a variety of psychotic, neurotic and neurological disturbances (Ackner, 1954).
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has been used at Powick Hospital since 1952. During the early years of the treatment it became apparent that many of the dramatic psychic manifestations of the drug, including the vivid hallucinatory experiences, sensory hyperacuity, etc., were of no therapeutic value and that the chief use of the drug lay in its ability to bring into consciousness repressed...
All who have used lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) acclaim it as a valuable aid to psychotherapy, regarding it as a “deep” abreactive agent, in that in certain cases it erupts early traumatic experiences as far back as infancy, with appropriate emotional catharsis which is believed to be of considerable therapeutic benefit to the patient. It is also claimed that it facilitates and enhances...