Abstract
This is a case of hyperventilation syndrome which was successfully treated by the application of behavior therapy.The patient was a twenty-seven year old married woman telephone operator, who had been living with her husband's parents for seven years. During this time her thoughts and feelings had been suppressed by these inlaws.While working at her telephone exchange, she had an attack of hyperventilation and palpitation with numbness and rigidity of the extremities. After that, the attack occurred almost every day. Due to a strong fear that the attack might happen again, she became unable to continue her occupation.I used psychotherapy by persuation and support, and pharmacotherapy using a minor tranquilizer, but all in vain. As a result of behavioral analysis, it became clear that her symptoms were conditioned avoidance-responses to anxiety. So I decided to use systematic desensitization and assertive training in accordance with the theory of reciprocal inhibition, following the procedures of Wolpe's method. The systematic desensitization and assertive traiing were carried out for two months.At present, two years after treatment, she is quite free from her former symptoms and has not developed symptom substitution.
