Evening star., 1927-10-09

|, Increasingly depressed. ne Wnpie'
world seemed very dark, very dark.
And all life seemed useless and pur-
poseless" Vague fears of various
sorts assailed him--that the theater
where he sat would he burned down.
that he was injecting people around
him with disease that he had lost his
chance forever in the business world.
that he was to he poisoned. that ne
was losing his mind. He decided to
kill himself by jumping in front OF
train.
Severe as this case sounds, the
trea tment was not very difficult. Mr..
H consulted a psychiatrist, who
had many conferences with him. point
ing out the psychological factors in-
derlying his sudden panic and depres-
sion and tracing them back TO child
hood experiences which tended to un-
dermine his self-confidence in certain
situa tions. He was cOunseled to give
up his work entirely for A year and
put himself pa ssively in the ands of
certain intelligent friends, who were
given specific instructions as to how
they could best help him overcome his
depression. Travel of all kinds was
absolutely prohibited, and quiet seclu-
sion, with constant but unobtrusive
compa nionship. was provided for. A
y
had re-esta blished himself in business
and was doing as we'll as or better
than before.
A phenomenon frequently observed
is that some people seem to be obliged
to carry with them some form of suf-
fering. so that if one affiction is taken
from them they straightaWay develop
another. Opera tiOns are rarely ad-
visable for nervous patients. as they
are frequently followed by depres-
sions, particularly il the Operati is
successful in it's immediate objective.
This is to be explained purely on a
psychological basis too complicated to
be analyzed here. In any particular
case, however, it is Of the utmost i'm
portance from the standpoint of pre-
venting the recurrence Of these at.
tacks for the patient to work out
analytically the psychological mocha
nisms which cause him to penalize
himself in this way; this can he done
in many instances, but it is generally
agreed among psychiatrists that no at
tempt should be made to do it during
the height OF a depression. In other
words, the time to treat depressions
by psychological means Is when the
patient is not depressed.
X X \
FAILURES in school because OF
pathological depression are rarely
noted before high school. Occasionally,
however, children in the grades suffer
from unmistakable episodes of depres-
sion which should be danger signals
demanding immediate investigation OF
the most skillful sort.
In high school and college there are
surprisingly many instances Of depreS-
SION among the students. The atten-
ton of the public has been called to
this fact during the last year by the
spectacular emphasis on the frequency
Of suicides among college students. In
the acute pressure Of the readjustment
Of their lives to the strenuous require
mentS of a critical age period. college
students do experience many stresses
and strains and present many prob
lens of mental i'll health. of which sui
eide IS an occasional disastrous termi.
nation. The great mass OF distress
which leads up to these spectacular
failures is usually overlooked by the
public, which concerns itself only with
sensational news. For it must always
be borne in mind that suicide is never
the first act Of the tragedy
The depreSsions OF college students
are ostensibly associated with va.
rietS of causes-difficulties in scholds-
tic achievement. social dissa tisfaction.
lnfrequency OF dates with the opposite
sex, athletic djsappointments, etc.
AS in all cases. however. these osten-
sible causes are not sufficient to ey-
plain the picture. Frequently stu
dent thinks he is blue because he has
not made the foot ball team, whereas.
in reality. his failure to make the
foot ball team has been caused by his
dispiritedness.
1t should never b. forgotten that
even the most profound melancholia
has beginning and the beginnings of
these. depressions are usually slow
and insidious--a slight inactivity,
suggestion of undue preoccupation.
little sleep disturbance: later a slight
loss of appetite and weight. a sugges.
tion of restlessness or irritability. OBJ
sessive worry. Later come feelings
or 1nadequacy, uselessness, futility,
wrongness, sinfulness. poverty. etc.
A common symptom-always an i'm.
portant one in mental health consider
ation--is loss of interest in things.
with usually a corresponding loss of
efficiency.
All depressions are not melancholias.
The picture of melancholia may occur
as result OF tumOr or growth in the
syphilis on the nervous system, or as
form of neurosis. 1t also occurs
occasionally in several other condi-
tions. The most frequent form is due
to none of these, but to a recognized
mental disturbance arising from un.
conscious psychological processes.
definitely influenced by hereditary con.
stitution and perhaps by misfunction-
ing of the endocrine glands. The
task of diagonsis is for the physicians:
1t is enough for the public to know |
that melancholy is a condition. mani. |
tested as above described. capable of !
serious consequences arising upon |
different bases. susceptible of scientific |
diagnosis and trea atment.
X x y X
TREATMENT of the proper sort is
exceedingly important. because
the great ma jority of these cases re.
cover. This recovery sometimes oc-