Abstract
In this study, ten cases of hyperventilation syndrome were divided into 'mild' and 'severe' groups, based on the extent of their clinical attack and on the effectiveness of therapy.In the 'mild' cases, the clinical attack of heperventilation syndrome was provoked by emotional factors such as anger and tension as well as physiological factors including over-strain, fever and disturbance of ventilation in individuals who were physiologically hypersensitive to variationso f the content of gases in the blood.In the 'severe' cases, particular traits such as hysteric and compulsive traits were observed besides the above mentioned somatic predisposing factors. The clinical attacks of the individuals who possessed psychic conflict and psychic trauma were triggered by the psychological situations associated with these factors.In both groups, anxiety and phobia, which give rise at the onset of the clinical attack due to the aggrevating situation, resulted in a cause of induction and/or maintenance of symptoms when confronted with comparable situations.The improvement of the 'mild' cases was achieved by having them breathe CO_2 rich air (breathing into a paper bag), medication with tranquilizers, and instruction concerning the psychosomatic correlative factors to the patient. In the 'severe' cases, the improvement of the symptoms was achieved only by a combined treatment with these therapeutic procedures and a systematic psychoterapy. This combined treatment, including autogenic training, induction of the hyperventilation syndrome by suggersting stress under hypnosis, and desensitization therapy to situations precipitating the symptoms, psychological integration of the psychic conflict was successful even for the most severe cases.
