Psychosomatic Medicine 16:148-155 (1954)
© 1954 American Psychosomatic Society

Thyrotoxicosis

Psychosomatic Conference of the Cincinnati General Hospital

¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and Psychosomatic Service of the Cincinnati General Hospital

The psychodynamic mechanisms of a man with thyrotoxicosis were discussed at the psychosomatic seminar of the Cincinnati General Hospital. A study of the personal history revealed that the patient was a sickly child who required more than the usual care and protection from mother. The satisfaction of these needs was interfered with by the births of siblings in the two successive years following his birth. A solution to the problems arising from this early frustration of dependency needs was attempted through early maturity and self-sufficiency. In so doing, the patient identified with his mother, the object of his own dependency longings. Feminine identification was strikingly apparent in the patient's relationship with his son and in his maternal wish for further children. A disturbance in this relationship with his son, which was brought about by domestic difficulties, played a significant role in the patient's illness.