Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-08-23
\ VERY COMMON MIND TROUBLE.

One OF the common ways in which the
trouble arises is the mischievous practice of
trying to do several things at once, or to
divide the attention" A scholar will
insist on having several books open on HIS
table before him, and he unconsciously
forms the habit OF spreading first mis-
mental perceptions and then his thoughts
over wide field, and of taking in the larg,
est possible number of objects. At the
outset this is q habit of physico. mental
sight, then it becomes habit of the intel
lectual organism or it may begin ss an
intellectual exercise, and afserward como 90
be, In purely physical way, sensory. Lit
erary men often establish the distressing
condition described by work which re-
quires continual reference to books or. pa.
pers, and the IS bearing in mind" of large
number of data for the purpose of COLA
ton. 1t is probable that DR.. johnson, the
great photographer, formed his habit of
post.touching in this way. Men whose
mental work consists in managing"
may contract the same habit if they
are themselves stationary = sitting in
chair at particular desk,
while books, papers or persons
crowd In upon them. Another and very
dissimilar class of minds, which, instead
OF being worried by multiplicity of brain
work, have SO little to occupy their atten.
ton to their consciousness form habit of
daliying with the details of every little
thing that falls in its way, suffer the same
malady. So long as the habit is purely
mental it exerts mischievous effect on the
miEd and lowers the tone of its intellectu.
atty; but it does not generally attract at.
tention until, or unless it extends to the
senses, then the evidences of doubt de.
clare themselves, and the mental state find
ing expression in acts, is rapidly confirmed
The evidence of one sense is no longer suf-
ticlent to convince the consciousness. What
is felt must be seen, what is seen must be
felt ; what has been done with one form of
attention, acting through a particular
sense, must be repeated with another form
and sense. The victim of this habit is not
sure he has turned the key properly in the
lock unless he hears it click, or he must see
it turn or carefully examine the door to
convince himself that it is really smut.
After time he has to do this several,
1t may be a number of times, e. n,
three, seven, or nine. So it is with every.
thing. As he walks along the streets he
must touch the posts or ratings, because
The evidence of sight alone is not sufficient
to convince him of their tapgIbility. To
confirm his visual impression of separate
stones n.>the having Of the footpath, he
must tread Sn center of csck. II he !
misses one - must go back, or if the pro-
cess has No. yen properly performed it
will have to be repeated. Cases differ
widely in the particufsy manifestation of
this peculiarly, and it ma. occur in any
degree, rangug from mere aesitancy
about leaving things to the eccentric acts l !
have enumeratd. The troub'eis, however,
the same IN ar all its divers forms aod |
varieties d. not mean to imply that the,
consciousness knowingly reasons as tn the :
proposition that corroborative evidence
must be procured by the application of ad- !
ditional sensory tests, but that is the |
metho2 instinc,ively taken % reEloge t!.o |
doubt, ;and 1t tnrcws lght or tbe zatnra Of |
the neurosis.E The consciousness is doing |
work for which it is untitled, and Is does /
it in fussy ar d cllmsy fashion, wi !. &c.
casions much needless effort and rltself J
distressing. - Fiood Words.