The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1915-10-23
Nervous Prostitution
AZ ". AppINcToN BRUCE.
Author of The Riddle OF Personality.
Psychology and Parenthood. etc

Neurasthenia the technical name for nervous
prostration, is one OF the most widespread anu
most battling OF diseases. The diffcuity OF treat
ing Il arises from the fact that, though II may
have in part a physical basis, II Is essentially
mental rather than physical malady.
A neurasthenic person Is the victim os wrong
mental attitude Phychologicai,y speaking he -
suffering from disints ,rltio1 OF hts personally
He can no Longer exercise his vfll-poweF prop
erly and he is slave to his feelings.
His chief sympto IL constant sen%atinn d
fatigue. He Is obsrssel with the belief that ne
cannot exert himself mensally or ply sically. ANY
exertion. indeed soon exhausts him. a fact which
has caused his diseas1 40 b. frequently te.,res
nervous exhaustion.
Usually however, there Is organic exhsus
ton of the nervous system. His fatigue sensa-
tons are mainl. sometimes wholly, subjective.
This explains why II Is that tue so-caled rest
cure" for nervous prostration Ia often Ineffective
| Rest in some cases may be advisable. in some
| il may be indis peusatle. Also. In many cases,
the giving Of medicine is required 10 correct
unfay orable conditions Of the stomach, blood,
letc.
But the great thing is to find means Of pleas
lu-eabiy occupying the patients mind. What ne
needs Ia not rest 80 much mental diversion.
He has TO be trained directly or indirectly. to
occupy his mind with something other than
thoughts Of himself and his symptoms.
His fatigue sensations may In the first place
have had physical cause The patient may have
worked so hard, physically or mentally, as 20
cause mis- system TO become overloaded with the
poisonous products which fatigue is known ~
generate. But such substances do not stay In the
system long. and have serious consequences
unless one thinks too much about the sensations
TO which they give rise.
This Is precisely the plight OF the neurasthenic
patient. As one wellknown specialist H. mental
} and nervous disorders. DIR. l. IL Coriat, concsely
, lexpresses IT,
In most cases OF neurasthenia. we are not
) dealing with an exhaustion OF the nervous sys
, TEN. but merely with a conscousness OF memory
OF past muscular fatigue"
BY worrying about the sensations which Al
first were real enough. and by concentrating hts
attention on them, the nervous patient has abnor
mally intensified and prolonged them Also b,
unduly dwelling on his organic sensations In
general, he often creates other symptoms besides
the feeling OF constant fatigue.
He may In this way create symptom which
takes the form or abnormal senstiyeness 10 ligh-
, \ or TO noises. He may also create feelings Of
numbness In the limbs. or muscular twitchines
lSubjectively caused palpitation OF the heart /,
; another common symptom in cases OF neuras
thenia.
2 Whatever the symptoms, once a thorough med
zeal examination has made IL certain that Their,
Is no organic disease OF the neroyus system IN,
, task OF the medical man is 10 find a way a
induce bis patient 10 FORGET his symptoms "a
cease thinking about himself When this ha.
been accomplished y cure soon follows
IT, difficulty Is that every case requires care
lful Individual treatment. II Is not n question ~
Following routine treatment as In the admin
ilstraton Of Quinins for malaria II IN a que.
, ltion Of discoyyt9e Inst what van 20 strongI,
{l91tEloe - 4y9ooo1 Do1tcre = - e1ve 81,
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