Historical Case Study - PowerPoint Presentation Example

This was the first he was placed into an institution for this disorder. Common belief was that the drugs and numerous “cures” that were available during that period, and that he was administered harmed him and made his condition worse, especially the treatment with electric shock. After the death of his mother, who had cared for him, Eduard Einstein spent his remaining days at a Zurich psychiatric hospital where he passed away aged fifty-five from a stroke. He had already broken ties with his father after his illness after telling him that he felt hatred for him (Tom Blaise Shepherd Existential Society, 2006).

Einstein exhibited distorted perceptions of reality. He had perceived reality that was different from what was shared and seen by those that surrounded him, making him feel confused, anxious, and frightened. This caused him to feel and behave in different manners at different times, sometimes seeming preoccupied, detached, and distant while sometimes he was alert, vigilant, wide-awake and always occupied. Einstein also experienced illusions and hallucinations (Szasz, 2008). These are perceptive disturbances.

These hallucinations manifested themselves as occurrences of perceptions that lacked a connection to any appropriate source. This was in the form of sounds and voices that other people around him could not hear, as well as seeing, smelling, tasting, and touching things that those caring for him could not. In these hallucinations, he would carry conversations with invisible people, describe his own activities, issue orders to various individuals, and even warn them of impending disaster. His illusions manifested themselves when he would interpret sensory stimuli incorrectly, even though the stimulus was present.

Einstein also exhibited signs of delusional behavior. These are personal beliefs that are false and not subject to any contradictory evidence or reason. His delusions could not be explained by his normal cultural