The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-01-12
SHYNESS is SERIOUS.
MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY 1T IS A sYmP-
TOM OF MELANCHOLlA.

Time-Afects Men as Well as Women
AT last it has been discovered that th
reason the girl who seems exceedingl
shy acts in the fashion she does is tina
she is demented.
This is the result of extensive investi
CATION by insanity experts on both side
Of the water. Exceptional bashfulness
as is is called, is really shyness. 1t is
morbid condition of the mind, a certain
sort of denentia.
Often is the expression heard that
person is pain fully shy. Yet in such al
instance no DOUBT has been raised as I,
the mental condition of the object O
the remark Nevertheless, il is far NOR,
than probable that the individual refer
red to was suffering from insanity JUS
as much if not more. than many per
sons who are living out tortured exist.
ence within the walls of madhouse.
1t Is we'll known fact that one OF
the most notable symptoms of insanity
is that which causes the person afflicted
TO shun the company Of others Loneli-
ness IL an incentive 10 insanity. Con-
tnement in a solitary cell in prison
often breeds madness Ii is altogether
an unnatural mental condition which
lmpels person 10 avoid the society of
humanity. No one whose condition is
normal ever consents TO such an exist
ence.
just how the insanity expert looks at
shyness is shown by the following state.
ment, made by DR.. G.. W. Kunz Of New
York, whose wide experience makes his
opinion well worth considering:
"Shyness is as much a disease as scar
let fever. 1t is recognized as a symptom
or dementia or melancholia, just as an
extremely strong willed person, or one
who IS what is termed unusually self
assertlve, is regarded by physicians as a
possible subject for acute paresis.
This shyness takes various forms,
such as sudden feeling of faintness
and weakness on looking down from
any extreme height. 1t is present when
woman persists in looking under the
bed before retiring, although she knows
full well that there is no man there.
know OF one case Of a woman who.
when she turns out the gas, invariably
lights match to see if she has turned
1t completely off, and nine times out of
ten she lights another match to see if |
she threw the first match into the coal |
scuttle or fireplace. That is another form |
OF what may be termed shyness.
This shyness is due to a variety of !
causes. 1t is very often the case that a
system which is run down leads TO this
condition OF mind. The continual think
Ing upon any subject, or what is termed
proodlng over certain thing, leads to
thls. II not checked in time, melan-
cholia results.
Ihls sbyness is as common to men
as to women. Some men seem embar-
raised and i'll at ease when in the pres
ence OF women, while, on the other
hand, 1t is often noticed that the pres
ence OF gentlemen makes some women
very Ill at ease, only, in Justice to the
SEX IL must be stated that this very
rarely happens.
Ihere are many reasons for these
facts, but the most common one is i'll
health. Should person so troubled 90
% physician, he or she would be re-
sarued as possessing symptoms indicat-
hS lack OF will power and approach
hg insanity in some form. There are
waves of morbid shyness, Just as there
re waves OF insanity. There are waves
L certain kinds of suicide, resulting ,
rom insanity. There are waves of ,
rldge jumping, killing with razors or !
nives, shooting and death by poison.
Many suicides arc due to temporary
Insanity, brought on by variety of l
auses' One OF the first symptoms is
1yness Persons afflicted with this :
lyness never take up any Of the sciences s
professions or become students. They
lck the Will power necessary to do so. :
mere the normal mind Of man over
'mes difficulties and troubles when
icy come, the shy, retiring man seeks e
lief in suicide. " =,
Dr' henry Campbell, who is the ply p
can IN charge Of the Northwest Lon. N
N hospital, says that morbid shyness l.
IKE other mental disorders, an exag.
ration OF an unnatural physical state.
Is among women, he declares, that
Is symptom Of mental disorder is most
zen seen. Lacking the physical strength o.
man in most instances, they are nm. 81
Ie to withstand the depression that ci
metimes seizes them. That depression w
yes birth to a desire to be unobserved. in
re is the beginning of the fit of sbv. a,
ss which results in unbalancing the ii
nj and creating the idea that the ell
y sight Of others is an affection to be- es
Dided 81
several New York doctors who dis. ri
'sed the question at length said that ST
y had noticed particularly among al
lng women whom they had been cali th
upon to see that those who had ex. eli
'ited the greatest embarrassment in Tn
presence Of young men were lacking on
that mental equipoise necessary to the on
mai brain. Modesty is one thing. or
y said, shyness quite another. The ce
causes the young woman to refrain FRI
u action that would bring upon her vi,
criticism. The other is simply im- tir
ied TO course Of action for which te,
re Is neither rhyme nor reason. and la,
that only results in general discom. ais
!. New York IournaI =,