New-York tribune., 1918-02-17
Medicine
lGand& &
)nf9erY
~
Psychasthenia, a Disease toWhich,
DR.. Mascher Maintains, Ameri-
cans Are Peculiarly Suscepti-
BILE, With Suggested
Treatment

of being threatened as a race with actual
phvsical breakdown. Now comes DR.. L
L. Mascher, writing in "The Medical
Times for February, wondering if
Americans are not in danger of similar
ing nation of psychotics?
condition in the brain similar to
that preceding a physical breakdown is
broad definition of this new threat. DR..
Mascher's views follow:
This mental breakdown is called psycnas-
thena and the sufferers are called psycho-
paths. But before complete mental break
down occurs there is mental condition cor
responding to physical nervousness, and as
we have name for this we can call those
in this condition psychotics, corresponding
to neurotics. They are not insane, though
their views may be distorted. Just as the
neurotic's nerves twitch, jump and must be
doing something all the time, SO the psy-
chotc mind must be kept busy. If he writes
his thoughts run faster than his pen and
he omlts letters words, or one word fol-
lows the other without stops or spaces In
calculation his figures come faster than he
can combine them and he makes errors of
calculation. When speaking of the present
his mind is on the future, days, weeks or
years ahead. He plans not for day but for
all time. He accomplishes things mentally
just as the neurotc accomplishes things
physically. But what the neurotic does ac-
complish is done rapidly and is so far
beyond the normal progress of more normal
minds to resemble rather the suddenly
acquired enormous strength of the maniac
than the gradually acquired strength of the
athlete The neurotic gets distorted sense
OF physical activity. The work which caused
his condition becomes more difficult than
other work which may be physically harder,
and he will find it easier to chop down trees
than to work the typewriter
NTTHE psychotc has the same trouble in
L mental operations. He gets a dis |
torted sense of space and distance.
If he travels by boat from Pittsburgh to
Cairo he will say it is five times as far as
from New York to Chicago because it takes
about five times long to make the trip |
10 this distorted sense of space we owe our
skyscrapers, monstrosities in the ewes of |
more predetermined foreigners, who recog- !
nze a sense of proportion, not only between
the various dimensions of the buildings
themselves, but between the buildings and
their surroundings, their purpose and human
beings. The placid minded man looking up
from the street to the top of the Woolworth
Building marvels at the size of the struct-
ure, and if he reflects but a moment upor
his own size he must stultify himself The
American, especially the city man, becomes
accustomed to these Inconsistencies since
they have grown gradually, but to the for.
eigner, accustomed to structures erected with
a sense of proportion, these structures and
the people bring to mind the proportion be-
tween the anthill and the ants. Just as the |
neurotlc must walk fast and act fast, Just
as he is mpelled to climb to the highest
lont, make the highest building the largest |
dam, the longest bridge, so the psychotic !
mind works fast and figures in thousands |
and millions when he should work slowly |
and figure in units and hundreds.
THE psychotic gets a distorted sense OF
Time and he abors for the immediate pres
ent or else for the dim and distant future
instead OF for the morrow and the day after.
ne wants to wipe out customs and insttu-
tons that have existed for centuries in
moment and by word of command; he figures
that II hundred men can build ship in a
year, hundred times many ought to build
IL IN one-hundredth part of the time; yet
ne builds water supply for New York City
Tor population of .12,000,000 (allowing 100
days reserve), builds battleships that are
antlquated before they are completed, post
pones marriage until he is thirty or forty,
earlier and longer widowhood upon his wife
Inc psychotc has dsordered sense of
orentatlon. Slight changes in familiar sur
roundlngs disturb him and he cannot readily
accommodate himself to new surroundings
or to situations.
0'THls accounts for the mental confusion
under such circumstances. He has
disordered aesthetic sense and un-
less he gets into routine of FOLLOWING
single line or style his work will show
rococo or BIZARRE appearance in which all
the styles with which he is familiar are
mingled This is evident in our architectnre
and art When following a new style or tync
he goes to extremes, copying tho latas+
schools, fads and ideas and celebrating unon
them.
The psychotlc has distorted moral
sense, exhibiting at the same time ostenta-
tious prudery and extreme RIGHTEOUSNESS.
seeking either fame notoriety, denouncino
crime and vice, yet secretly admiring the
criminal and the vicious. This is we'll seen
IN the trend of literature and the drama
where only the sensuous and the sensual are
abie TO produce Impressions sufficiently pro-
found to overcome the complexity of ideas
that are forever coursing through his brain
Many cases that we call neurasthena are
really cases of psychasthenia, and most neu-
rasthenias arise from and are associated
with psychasthena Brain fag, headache or
crowsiness following study or mental work,
'rrltaollity of temper arising during such
WORK 1orgetfulness, momentary mental con-
'usion and observation-disclosures are symptoms
" =. psychasthena or the earlier stage as is
found ,, IN the class we call psychotics Neuras-
thenIa and psychasthenia cause mental and
inyscal deterioration and precocious Sc
nifty ''
, treatment; Slow up Less work Slower