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Schizophrenia before 1800? The case of the Revd George Trosse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Edward Hare
Edward Hare*
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital, London
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr E. Hare, 47, Alleyn Road, London SE21 8AD.
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Synopsis

Trosse's account of his life has been described as one of the strangest pieces of realism in the English language. It gives a detailed description of the author's personal experience of three episodes of psychotic disorder during the years 1656–7. The disorder has been considered an early instance of schizophrenia, but evidence is presented here to suggest that a more plausible diagnosis was alcoholic psychosis and affective disorder.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , May 1988 , pp. 279 - 285
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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