Psychopathia sexualis: With especial reference to contrary sexual instinct

woman, be happy, and make her happy. December 14th. While out walking to-day, patient saw a handsome man, and felt himself powerfully drawn toward him. From this time there were hypnotic sittings every second day, with the above suggestions. December 18th (fourth sitting), somnambulism occurred; the impulse to onanism and interest in men disappear. At the eighth sitting “complete virility” was added to the above suggestions. The patient feels himself morally elevated and physically strengthened. The neuralgia of the testicles has disappeared. He now found that he was without sexual feeling. He now believed himself free from masturbation and contrary. sexual inclination. After the eleventh sitting he thought that further help was unnecessary. He wished to go home, and marry. He felt well and potent. Early in January, 1890, treatment ceased. In March, 1890, the patient wrote: “I have since had several occasions on which it has been necessary for me to use all my moral strength in order to overcome my habit, and, thank God, I have been successful in freeing myself from this vice. Several times I have had opportunity for sexual intercourse, and I have found pleasure in it. I look calmly on my happy future.” Case 135. _Acquired Contrary Sexual Instinct. Marked Improvement under Hypnotic Treatment._—Mr. P., born in 1863, official in a manufactory. He comes of a highly respected patrician family of Middle Germany, in which nervousness and insanity have been of frequent occurrence. His great-grandfather on the father’s side and his sister died insane; the grandmother died of apoplexy; father’s brother died insane, and a daughter of the latter died of cerebral tuberculosis. The maternal grandmother was melancholic for years; maternal grandfather, insane. A maternal uncle took his life in an attack of insanity. The patient’s father is very nervous. An elder brother is very neurasthenic, and has anomalies of the vita sexualis; another is the subject of Case 155; a third is eccentric in conduct, and is said to be subject to fixed ideas. A sister suffers with convulsions, and another died of them when a little child. The patient is constitutionally predisposed; for he was early very peculiar, irritable, irascible, and impressed those around him as being abnormal. His vita sexualis appeared very early and in great intensity, and was satisfied, without any seductions, in onanism. From his sixteenth year the prematurely developed boy visited brothels of the Capital, using his permissions to go out on Sundays and holidays for that purpose. He took pleasure in coitus, but during the week he satisfied himself with onanism. After his twentieth year, when he became independent, the patient indulged with prostitutes excessively, and fell ill with neurasthenia sexualis, becoming relatively impotent and unsatisfied in coitus, owing to weakness of erection and premature ejaculation. His sexual libido became more powerful than ever, and was satisfied in onanism. Early in 1888 the patient made the acquaintance of a young man. “By his pleasing face, his attractive manner, and his beautiful form, he conquered me entirely. I wished to speak to him, and was happy at mere sight of him. I was completely in love with him. With this, my love for women was extinguished. Any man could excite me to such an extent that, for some moments, I would feel my memory fail, and I would stammer. “Soon after this I made the acquaintance of a gentleman who was likewise very attractive, and who had a decided influence on my future life. He was male-loving. I confessed to him that I no longer felt anything but aversion for the female sex, and that I was attracted to men. “When I once asked my companion how he brought it about that soldiers would surrender themselves to him, he answered that the principal thing was skill; almost any of them could be brought to it. Late in 1888, thinking of these words, I was attracted by an officer’s servant, and was intensely excited by him, but ejaculation never occurred. Since I saw that the soldier would surrender himself without trouble, I approached him. Alium quondam militem in cubiculum allectum rogavi ut veste exuta mecum in lectum concumberet. Rogatus fecit quæ volui et alter alterius penem trivit. “Though after this success I misused many persons, I was never really in love, so to speak, with but one. He was a very handsome young fellow of seventeen. His voice was so attractive to me, and his manner was so delicately proper, that I cannot forget him. In my dreams I thought only of handsome young men, and often for whole nights I could not sleep, owing to sensual feeling.” Early in 1889 the patient’s conduct awakened a suspicion of male-love. A threatening communication frightened him, and plunged him in deep depression, so that he contemplated suicide. At the advice of the family physician, he came to the Capital. Since the patient was unable to overcome his habitual desires by his own will, hypnotic treatment was undertaken. It induced but mild lethargy, and, in opposition to the seduction of former lovers, it had but little effect. At that time the patient was wanting in earnest desire. There was some improvement in matters, in the face of the disgrace to relatives and the prospect of a legal examination that was actually threatening. The patient determined to attempt a cure with the author. I found him to be a delicate, pale, very neurasthenic man, much depressed, and despairing about the future. He was without degenerative signs. He realized his perverted situation, and seemed to be willing to do anything in order to become again a decent, moral man. He regretted exceedingly his sexual perversion, which he regarded as abnormal, but also as having been acquired. He made no attempt to conceal the fact that he could not control himself with young men, and likewise he would not say that he could abstain from onanism, to which, _faute de mieux_, he was driven. Only a powerful, imperious will could keep him from it. Thus far his male-love had consisted exclusively of mutual onanism. Erections occurred only when touching men he loved; ejaculation resulted early, but simple embrace was not sufficient. He had never felt himself in any particular sexual _rôle_ toward a man. Genitals and vegetative organs normal. In addition to treatment directed to his neurasthenia, on April 8, 1890, hypnotic suggestion was begun. Hypnosis was easily induced by simply looking at him, with verbal suggestion. After a half-minute the patient passed into deep lethargy, with a cataleptiform state of the muscles. The awakening was brought about by suggesting it at counting three. Post-hypnotic suggestions were always successful. The intra-hypnotic suggestions were:—