The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-02-17
SHYNESS rs SERIOUS.
MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY IT is A SYMP-
TOM OF MELANCHoLlA.

IL Takes Various Forms, but Is Invariably
Forerunncr OF Dementia--A Disease
That Should BE Carefully Treated In
Time-Ahccts Men M Well as Women.
At last il has been discovered that tho
reason tho girl who seems exceedingly
shy acts in tho fashion she does Is that
she is demented.
This is the result of extensive investi-
cation by insanity experts on both sides
of the water Exceptional bashfulness,
as it is called, is really shyness. 1t is q
morbid condition Of the mind, q 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, ID il far more
than probable that the individual refer
red to was suffering from insanity Just
as much il not more, than many per-
sons who are living out tortured exist
ence within the walls of n madhouse.
1t is well 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 is an incentive to insanity. Con-
finement in solitary cell in prison
often breeds madness. 1t is altogether
an unnatural mental condition which
impels 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 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 il M much disease M scar
let fever. It'll recognized as a symptom
OF dss eirtia "a melsncholis, just az an
extremely strong willed person, or one
who Ia what 10 termed unusually self
asssGve, 10 regarded by physicians as u
possible subject for acute paresis.
This shyness takes various forms,
such 40 a sudden feeling of faintnoss
and weakness os looking down from
any oSttens height. 1t il present whom
q wos,sn persists in looking under the
bed befors retiring. although she knows
full well that there is no man there. /
know of one csHe Of woman who
whes she turns out the gas, invariably
lights match TO see il she has turned
1t oo~rpletely off, and nine times out of
ten she lights another match to SEQ If
she threw tho first match into the coal
scuttlc or fireplace. That is another form
of what may be termed shyness
This shyness is due to 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 upu, any subject, or what Is termed
brcoding over certain thing, leads to
this. II not checked in time, melan-
cholia results.
"This shyness is as common to men
as to women. Some men seem embar-
rasscd and i'll ut ease when in the pres
ence OF women, while. OH the other
hand. It is sften noticed that the pres
ence Of gentlemen makes come women
very i'll at ease, only, in Justice to the
sex, IL must be stated that this very
rarely happena
There are many reasons for these
facts, but the most common one is ill
health. Should person SO troubled 20
TO a physician, he or she would be re-
garded ns possessing symptoms indicat.
Ing lack Of will power and approaoh-
ing insanity in some form. There are
waves Of morbid shyness, just as there
are waves Of insanity. There are waves
of certain kinds Of suicide, resulting
from insanity. There are waves Of
bridge jumping, killing with razors or
knives, shooting and death by poison.
MANY suicides arc due to temporary
insanity, brought Oh by o variety of
causes. One Of the first symptoms is
shyness Persons afflicted with this
Ishyness 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 man seeks
relief in suicide"
DR.. Henry Campbell, who is the ply
sician in charge Of the Northwest Lon
don hospital. says that morbid shyness
Is, like other mental disorders, an exag-
geration of an unnatural physical state.
1t 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 un-
able 10 withstand the depression that
sometimes seixes them. That depression
gives birth to desire to be unobserved.
Here is the beginning Of the at of shy
ness which results in unbalancing the
mind and creating the idea that the
very sight Of others il an affiiotion to be
avoided.
Several New York doctors who dis.
cussed the question at length said that
they had noticed particularly among
young women whom they had been oall-
Cd upon to see that those who had OK.
hibited the greatest embarrassment in
the presence Of young men were lacking
In that mental equipoise necessary to the
normal brain. Modesty 10 one thing,
they said, shyness quite another. The
one Caueea tho vOunU WOman IN rafrsiu