New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1919-01-29
CURE SHELL SHOCK BY GOOD,
COMMON SENSE
Disease Mainly Nervousness, Best
Treatment is Good
Environment

He isn't coward and he isn't much
abused hero put out of the running for
life by the war; he's just man who has
played the game and had an extra tough
time in the process. He can forget all
about the tough time, if you will only
let him, and settle down into contented,
useful citizen. He. is what is popularity,
and enormously, ca led shell-shocked
soldier. You will understand him great
deal better if you cure yourself Of the
idea that there is such a thing as she'll
shock and realize that the shell shocked
soldier is simply a man who became
nervousy overweight to the breaking
point, and snapped. It is about as
intelligent to say that man gets shell
shocked from being knocked down by
the explosion of shell as it is to say
hat the war was caused by the hurting
CT bomb in Servajo. That bomb was
an Immediate and not 3 fundamental
cause, and Though the Immediate cause
Of the "shen-shock' may be, shell, It
may also be a row with your captain
or a gloomy letter from home.
But first Of al we must stop calling it
shell shock. So. far. the doctors have
offered no better substitute than 3'ner-
voushess' and "neurasthenia,' so we
are obliged to content ourselves with
those. Nervous breakdown is not SO
very far wrong, though that Is dangerous
term to play with, too. Neurasthenia
comes from the cumulative effect of
hard work and excitement, cold aard
sleeplessness and hunger, the anxiety
due to the constant pressure of danger
and death, in the abnormal, exhausting
ife of the trenches. Sometimes with a
nervous, highly strung Individual. it
comes before the man has gone into the
trenches at ALL simply from apprehen-
sion and worry about what is ahead of
him. The man is exhausted, nervous,
strained to the limit; then the shell
bursts, and; his taut nerves snap. He
becomes trembling, nervous, shaky, ex-
cited, fearful. or The neurosis may mani
fest itself in paralysis on partial paraly-
sis Of an arm. or leg or hand.
This paralysis is a curious phenomenon.
It occurs oftan in a totally uninjured
member andsa skillful physician must half
coax, half trick the man into using it
again. NiEety-nine and nine-tenths per
cent Of such cases are durable. In
occasional instances where the man is
taking he. soon learns that the doctor
sees through him and gives up. the
bluff. In the majority Of cases he honest
" wants to be cured, but even when he
lis apethetic and Indifferent it can be
overcome.
None, or practically none, Of these men
Twill be dismissed from the hospitals in
France and sent home until they are
cured. When they do get home, how
ever. there is danger Of relapse if their
relatives and friends fail to treat them in
a reasonable manner, If you ta,lnt Jim
with being coward because he was
sent back to the hospital and spent
weeks there without being wounded at
tall, Jim is likely to have a relapse SO
that he can let you see Just how serious
a thing 'neurasthenia,s' is, On the other
hand, if you receive Jim with tears and
lamentation, if you commiserate him
on the terrible strain he has gone through,
Lii you keep wondering how long that
paralyzed arm will stay in working
order, Jim is only human, the arm is
more than likely to become paralyzed
again. Don't consider Jim either with
pity or as a coward, treat him like {
i man.
The American doctors in France arr
I getting little worried lest people in tn,
i United States should not receive jim
| in the right way, SO the American Rel
4; Cross is sending medical man or tw,
lover to America to speak and write 8,
the subject. Itisa matter for physician
8 rather than for laymen, but you q,
q help your particular Jim, when he come
home, by giving him q fair chance.