ABSTRACT
In a recently published paper, 2 Löwenfeld has dealt with certain peculiar disturbances in neurotics which have not previously been given sufficient consideration in the literature of the subject. As an introduction to my subject I will quote Löwenfeld’s general description of these states. He says: ‘The external world does not make the usual impression on the patient. Familiar and every-day things seem changed, as though they were unknown, new and strange; or the whole surroundings give the impression of being the product of a phantasy, an illusion, a vision. In the latter case in particular it seems to the patients as though they were in a dream, or half asleep, or were hypnotized or somnambulic; and they generally speak of these conditions as their dream-states.’ The author also says that these states differ greatly in degree, exhibit considerable variations in their duration, are often associated with the affect of anxiety and are, as a rule, accompanied by other nervous symptoms.
