Norwich bulletin., 1916-03-11

ueNSlOplnS QlSGdSe may pOSSl- l ply be considered as vague and of doubtful value, or even unnecessary. | The powers of resistance of an lndi- | vidua1 mind against undue strain | cannot be accura tely estimated, but | the same reasoning would apply to | preventive work in physical disease. | We cannot say that a certain member | of a family would of necessity devel- | op typhoid fever if exposed to infec- | tion, but that does not stop us from l establishing proper precautions con- l cerning the water and milk supply of problem may seem intangible, 1t is not difficult to see the mental danger to a young girl in monotonous factory work for ten hours daily, based on ieved by the prospect of social pleas ure and relaxation. One trained to observe can see the perils threatening the overburdened worker who turns home to face the care of an invalid and who finally from mental exhaus- tion gets distorted ideas of the neigh bor's interest in her. The man whose father died insane is haunted by fears of inherited weakness, and If not ad- vised and reassured may soon bring on himself the fate he dreads. The woman who remembers the depres- sion which two years ago clouded her reason needs to be helped through periods of despondency if she is to re- main sane.
 Needed In Family.
 Preventive measures are also defn- itely needed in a family where one tai disease. The sane hereditary pre- disposition to nervousness may be the heritage of all the members alike, and the precautions of a hygienic planning of the daily life and a smoothing of difficulties of adjustment in family or social relations will do much to pre- vent a second case of insanity. Bad mental habits of suspicion, sulki- ness, breeding, excitability, or out bursts of passion, are just so many ble ahead. We have learned that a habit of stopping makes the lungs liable to disease; we know that con tinued breathing of impure air pre- dispoSas to illness: we believe that too rapid eating imDairs digestion. We must also learn that unhealthy habits of tho" c:'S can produce even more ser ious results in our mental condition. Advisory work should not be limited to families already afflicted. Special care and thoughtfulness in bringing up a nervous child will do much to cor rect tendencies which unchecked oft en deepen into a definite disease. There are hundreds of such cases in the community, and the problem is to reach them while the need Is still pre- NCAAN4Oh anu A4Ol NuINs
 What Society Is Doing.
 The Connecticut Society for Men tai Hygiene is endeavoring to apply the principles of prevention by deal ing with the conditions indicated | above. Individuals who have reason to fear mental disease seek us out or are sent to us by doctors, clergymen, ! visiting nurses, settlement workers, teachers, probation officers, and l iIlHonS Ts lot ! prevention, but suitable treatment, if | arranged for promptly, may effect a 1 cure. The extreme importance of early treatment cannot be too strong Iy emphasized. Many of these Peo- | pie ask to attend the Mental Hygiene | Clinic established by the Society at | the New Haven Dispensary. The ad- vice of a specialist free of charge is a great boon to people of limited or scanty income. Such clinics should ] be accessible in all the larger centers of the state and would prove in Con- necticut, as they are proving in | Massachusetts and New York, to be a powerful agency in the prevention of | insanity.
 Not only may serious disease be | prevented by such means, but a com | prehension of the early symptoms fol- | lowed by prompt action may not only save the patient but also prevent a tragedy. Such was the case of a
 
 1 Matron of Day Nursery. Upon | investigation the social worker of the | society found a very respectable household with a grandmother, a hard-worlxing husband, four children and the mother who showed many symptoms of acute insanity. On ex- animation of the woman at the Men tai Hygiene Clinic the specialist stated that her condition might lead her to attack her children at any moment and that she should have immediate hospital care. The necessary legal steps were hastened, she was prompt ly sent to a state hospital, her young baby was placed under the care o1 the Infant Welfare Society, and all matters relating to the patients fu- ture car were carefully and satis- factorily explained to the husband
 Preventive Work.
 PreveItive work may rescue a pa tient on the border-nne of insanity This was the condition of an attrac- tive young Jewish girl of sixteen, who from overwork and an unhygieniS mode of living, became haunted by
 evil thoughts, depressed, and suicidal The family physician asked to have her supervised by the social worker
 of the society. By means fof Ire quent talks, by arrangement of he1 work, by provision for suitable recre- ation and companionshIp, she ha, become cheerful, healthy, and appar. ently normal. Her family are de.