The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-09-30
A PUBLIC INSANE ASYLUM.
An Ex-Patient's Words of Warming
How to Avoid Mental Disease.

An Ex-Patient's Words of Warming
How to Avoid Mental Disease.
1 would earnestly entreat the relatives
and friends of lunatics never to put them
in an asylum if there is the slightest hope
of their recovery. In these institutions
everything is against their improvement
the associations for one thing. Imagine
Il consump ptive, for instance, shut up with
fifty other consumptives; the sympathetic
action woild certainty in9i~::>" IL" Nr
leuce of his disease and retard its cure.
The same thing is true Of mental diseases.
A=ain, person is taken from q home
where he has delicate food on Il table fur
niSled with respectable, for want OF Il
better word l will say, furniture, clean
cloth, dainty dishes, glassware, etc There
he must cat off IL bare plank. with III
tasting knives and spoons, made OF pewter.
while all his food is mixed together on one
plate. All around him are his fellow luna
tics, eating like hogs with their fingers
and muttering to themselves. The Keep
crs meanwhile are cursing and swearing
or throwing potatoes at the men for
Joke. Your appetite is destroyed, and the
little food you manage to force down Is
not digested and barely suffices to keep
body and soul together. | have no specla!
fault to find with the quantity or quality
of my food, although was never able :"
cut the beefsteak, and rs for the tea "li'l
cOffee-well the paupers had enough 10
eat such ;ls it was.
Finally the rntients in asvlnms nre al-
ways more or less cruelty treated. The
medical attention is purely perfunctory
and all the officials are Indifferent to every
thirr av"nn+ thn'r eo'n~ias IF "n'' Irn"'
to see poor human nature at its worst
spend three months in a mndhouse. II
YOU want to realize the value Of money
and what it can do for you live in public
insane asylum I've been Il miser ever
since left it. A good private nurse and
L sl;ilfG! doctor can cltcn rcGtorc p@-
tient to reason who would never recover
if placedin IN asylum.
A word or two 10 individuals suffering
from nervousness mild form Of insanity,
and which is always liable to develop into
q serious mental disease. Never, under
any circumstances, use either liquor or
tobacco the fewer drugs the letter All
these things render the nerves more sen
Sitive and can say from bitter experience
do far more harm than good Avoid
anodynes as you would poison You h,'d
better lie awake AL night than suller
from the effects that invariably follow
r.;.:. l.. -: -. -:t.... -, --.-'-' -.
cise-violent exercise is very injurious
and suitable employment are the reme-
dies that will alleviate this disease. Don't
think about yourself; get outside of your
self as much rs possible. accomplish
this by frequcnting places of amusement
and losing self in the woes of the hero. |
forget myself and my troubles, most of
which are equally fanciful. But the best
of all specifics is music, which acts like II
charm to soothe the aching and feverish
nerves. Make up your mind to avoid
everything that Injuries you, screwing
your courage up to the sticking place.
bearing always in your mind the mad
house. Ii you do not exert your will
power, its doors may close on you, per
haps for Hfe.-"Jaques" in Brooklyn Eagle.