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The law of psychic ambivalence and ambitendency, as so nicely developed by Bleuler, here shows itself in marked degree. There is both the positive and the negative tendency toward the performance and execution of these activities and reactions which are necessary for the living of a life of a high or low degree of efficiency, so that the ticquer is obsessed by the problem of "to do or not to do."
Wernicke, unhampered by classifications of catatonia and manic-depressive insanity with inelastic boundaries, calls all stupor reactions akinetic psychoses with varying prognosis. He does not make Kraepelin’s mistake of confusing the apathy of stupor with the retardation of depression, stating distinctly that the processes are different. Bleuler also has grasped this discrimination.
The interpretation of one's own dreams, reading and studying of the principal literature about analytical psychology or deep psychology, as Bleuler calls it; and the application of what is thus learned, at the start to simple, later to more difficult cases, must do the rest in making an independent investigator in this branch of psycho-therapy.
But in stupor the deficit in understanding, incapacity to solve simple problems and failure of memory seem deep-rooted and fundamental symptoms. So far is this true that Bleuler looks on “schizophrenic” cases with this symptom of “Benommenheit” as organic in etiology. It may be said at the outset that we do not share this view for many reasons.
The inconsistency of mental operations which characterize dementia præcox, however the “splitting” tendency which Bleuler has emphasized in his term “schizophrenia” is just that added factor which may produce disproportionate developments of the various stupor symptoms in the dementia præcox type of that reaction. Examples of this have been given in the two cases just quoted.
He was able to analyze only one case and she retained her affect; it was even labile and marked. One suspects that such a case might, perhaps, not really find a place in the “Benommenheit” group even as Bleuler himself describes it.
The prevalence of sadism and the rôle of the cloaca of the anal zone stamps it with an exquisitely archaic impression. As another characteristic belonging to it we can mention the fact that the contrasting pair of impulses are developed in almost the same manner, a behavior which was designated by Bleuler with the happy name of ambivalence.
Soon the eminent Austrian will have the pleasure of seeing a half-dozen schools that have split off from his own, followers of Bleuler, Jung, Adler and others. There IS a subconsciousness in that much of the nervous activity of the organism has but little or no relation to consciousness.
Bleuler has used the term ambivalent, thus comparing these individuals to a chemical element having two bonds and impelled to unite with two substances. The ambivalent personalities are always brought to a place where they yearn for two opposing kinds of action or they fear to choose one affinity of action as against the other.
The whole field of hysteria, and perhaps still more that of the anxiety neurosis, has come into new perspective through this pioneer work which men like Bleuler, Jung, and Stekel have developed in various directions.
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