Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1882-08-19
A Very Common Mind Trouble.

One Of the common ways In which the
trouble arises is the mischievous prac-
tice of trying to do several things at
once or to s'divide the attention" A
scholar will insist on having several
books OF en- on his table before him,
and he unconscioGsly forms the habit
of spreading first his mental perceptions
and then his thoughts over q vide
field, and of taking In the largest pos
sible number of objects. at the outset
this is habit of physico-mental sight,
then it becomes habit of the intellec-
tral organism; or it may begin as an in
tellectual exercise, and afterTzrd come
to be, In a purely physical way, sensory.
Literary men often establish the dis
tressing condition described by work
which requires continual reference to
books or papers, and the bearing IN
mind of large number Of data for the
purpose of collation.. 1t is probable
that DIR. johnson, the great lexicog-
rapher, formed his habit of post-tOuch-
ing in this way. Men whose mental
work consists IN managing" may con-
tract the same habit If they are them
selves stationary-sltting In chair al
q particular desk. while books, papers,
or persons crowd in. upon them. An
other and very dissimilar class of minds,
which, il stead of being worried By a
multiplicity of brain-vOrk, have so lit
tie to occupy their attention to their
consciousness forms habit of dallying
with the details of every little thing
that falls in its way, suffers the same
ualady. So long as the habit IS purely
mental ii exerts mischiev0us effect on
the mind and lowers the tone of its in
tellectuality; but it does not generally
attract attention until, or unless, 1t ex-
tends to the senses, then the evidences
of doubt declare themselves, and the
mental state finding expression IN acts,
is rapidly confirmed. The evidence of
one sense Is no longer sufficient to con-
vince the consciousness What is felt
must be seen; vha. is seen must be felt:
what has been done with one form of
attention, acting through 3 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 1t
click, or he must see it turn or carefully
examine the door to convince himself
that it is really shut. After time he
has to do this several-it may be 3
number of-times, e. g., three, seven,
or nine. So it is with everything. As
he walks along thestreets he must touch
the posts or railings, because the evi-
denee Of sight alone is not sufficient to
convince him of their tsngibility. To
confirm his visual impression of separ-
ate stones in the paving of the foot
path, he must tread on the center of
each. II he misses one he must go
back. or if the process has not been
properly performed it will have to be
repeated. Gases differ widely IN the
particular manifestation of this pecu
liarity, and it NAV occur in any degree,
ranging from 3 mere hesikancT about
leaving things to the eccentric acts !
have enumerated. The trouble L.
however, the same under all its dI-ers
ferns and varieties. do not mean to
imply that the consciousness knowingly
reasons as to the proposition that cor
roborative evidence must be procured
by the application of additional sensory
tests, but that is the method instructive
ly taken to remove the doubt, and IT
throws light on the nature of the
neurosis. The consciousness is doing
work for which it is untitled, and it
does it in q fussy snd clumsy fashion,
which occasions much needless effort
and is in itself distressing.-[ Good
Words.