The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1897-01-16
SHYNESS IS SERIOUS.

SHYNESS IS SERIOUS.
MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY 1T is A SYMP-
TOM OF MCLANCHoLIA.
It Taxes arinus Forms, but Is Invariably
l'orcrunncr Of Dementia-A Disease
Tine-AfIt cts Men as Well a. Women.
At last it has been discovered that the
reason tie gin wlso seems exceedingly
shy acts il the fashion she does is that
she is dcnentcd.
This is tn, result Of extensive investi-
cation by insanity experts OH both sides
of the water. Exceptional hashfulness.
as it is called, is really shyness. 1t is u
morbid condition Of the mind, certain
sort of dementia.
Often is the expression heard that q
person is painfully shy. Yet in such an
instance no doubt has been raised as to
the mental condition of the object Of
the remark. Nevertheless. it is far more
than probable that the individual refer
red to was suffering from insanity just
as much if not more, than many per-
sons who are living out a tortured exist
Gnce within the walls of a 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. Lonei-
ness is al incentive to insanity. Con-
finement in solitary cell in prison
often breeds madness. 1t ia altogether
an unnatural mental condition which
impcls IL person to avoid the society of
humanity. No one whose condition is
normal ever consents to such an exist
ence.
Just how the insanity expert locks at
shyness is shown by the following. state.
ment, made by DR.. G. w. Kunz of New
York, whose wide experience makes his
opinion we'll worth considering:
"Shyness.is as much q disease as scar
let yer. 1t is recognized as symptom
Of dementia Or melancholia, just as an
extremely strong willed person, or one
who is " hat is termed unusually self
asscrtive, is regarded by physicians as a
possible subject for acute paresis.
'"This shyness takes various forms,
such as Sudden feeling of faintness
and weakness OH looking down from
any extreme height. It is present when
a woman persists in looking under the
bed before retiring, although she knows
full we'll that there is no man there. l
know of one case CT woman who,
when she turns cut the gas, invariably
lights mattel, to see if she has turned
it 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 q
system which is run down leads to this
condition Of mind. The continual think
ing upon any subject, or what is termed
brooding over u certain thing, leads to
this. If not checked in time, melan-
cholia results
''This shyness is as common to men
rs to women. Some men se'm cmbar-
raised and i'll at ease when in the PRES
ence CT women, while. OH the other
hand, it is ftcn noticed that the pres
ence Of gentlemen makes some women
very i'll at ease, only, in justice TO the
sex, it must be stated that this very
rarely happens.
''There arc many reasons for these
facts, but the most common one is i'll
health. Should person so troubled 60
70 physician, he or she would be re-
gurdcd as posse ssing symptoms indicat.
ing lack Of will power and approach
ing insanity in some form. There are
waves OF morbid shyness, just as there
are waves CT insanity. There are waves
of certain kinds of suicide, resulting
from insanity. There are waves of
bridge jumping, killing with razors Or
knives, sEcoting and death by poison.
"Many suicides arc due to temporary
insanity, brought Oh by q variety Of
causes. One Of the first symptoms is
shyness. Persons afflicted with this
shyness never take up any of the sciences
or professions or become students. They
lack the will power necessary to do SO.
Where the normal mind of man over
comes difficulties and troubles when
they come. the shy. retiring NAH seeks
relief in suicide.
DR.. He2,y Campbell, who is the ply.
sician in charge Of the Northwest Lon.
don hospital. says that morbid shyness
ia, like other mental disorders, an exag.
geration of al unnatural physical state.
It is among women, he declares, that
this symptom of mental disorder ia most
often seen. Lacking the physical strength
Of man in most instances, they are IN
able to Withstand the depression that
sometimes seizes them. That depression
gives birth to desire to be unobserved.
Here is the beginning Of the fit of shy
ness which results i'll unbalancing the
mind and creating the idea that the
very sight Of others is all affection to be
avoided.
Several New York doctors who dis
oussed the question at length said that
they had noticed particularly among
young omen whom they had been call
ed upon to see that those who had ex.
hibited the greatest embarrassment in
the presence Of young men were lacking
in that mental cquipoise necessary to the
normal brain. Modesty is one thing,
they said, shyness quite another. The
one causes the young woman to refrain
from action that would bring upon her