The Sun. — 1842-11-24 (London, England)

THE HEALTH OF • BODY AND .114.14. VD, by Forbes Winslow, Esq., M. R. C. S., London, Author of " The Anatomy of Suicide," 1.0.,1 vol. 8. v. Renshaw, London, 1842. No subject can be of greater importance to ate worldly comforts than the health of the body and mind, and of the various branches. into. which it may be divided, there is none of greater interest or greater difficulty than that which: treats of insanity or the diseases of the mind.. So limited are the data from which conclusicos can be drawn, so refined andabstruse- the process by which any clear results can ,be arrived at, that- until of late years it had lain comparatively neglected in medical science, as. though huraair • skill could do little or nothing towards curing such distressins, affections. A person demented. I was considered as fit only to be at once removed from society, to herd with others in the same unfortunate condition as himself, and there to be tended arid treated more like a beast of the field than a human being. Little or no inquiry was made into the causes that had in-. duced the calamity. Little or nothing had been previously done to avert it. The mind was affected; the body was healthy, the common. animal functions were performed with regularity, and so -the patient was left almost to himself, to recover or not, as the case might be. Of late years, However, a most material change has taken, place ; the treatment has been improved; attention has been paid to the 'bodily health; and the result has been, if not a diminution in the number of cases of mental disease, at least a very great increase in the proportion of those who have been restored to the possession of their reason. These observations have occurred to us from the perusal of a work which has been recently publiShed under the title of " Diseases of the Body and Mind," by Forbes Winslow, the author of " The Anatomy of Suicide," and which consists of a variety of essays upon the subject of health generally, but more especially upon that which we regard as the most important, viz. insanity. To that branch the author appears to have chiefly devoted himself, and extensive experience; aided by acute observation, has enabled him to lay down inany principles with. regard to insanity, and particus larly as to the treatment of the premonitory symptoms, which we doubt.not will, if attended to, check many an incipient case in the outset, and facilitate the cure of those which., either from neglect or the violence of their character, • have advanced to what is commonly termed actual madness. The leading principle of the author is, that it may generally be traced to some derangement of the bodily functions; and that only. by careful treatment for the correction of that derangement, can any cure be effected. That such, however, will be the result in most cases, and when it is but in an incipient stage that it may be altogether arrested, is proved by the author in a great variety of instances to which lie refers. The essays on mental influence and the first indications of insanity, arc those to which be would direct especial attention in reference to this subject; but all the essays abound in highly useful information and suggestions, and arcs so replete with fact and anecdote as to make them suited to the general reader, besides being most valuable fo the professional practitioner. We give the following extract as a specimen of Mr. Winslow's work. It refers to the connection between suicide and bodily disease. Mr. Winslow observes " The notion that the suicidal impulse is in the majority of cases a purely mental act, unconnected with physical disease, has been productive of the most. melancholy and fatal consequences. Medical men, and the public generally, have, with a few exceptions, been too much disposed to consider this subject as one coming almost exclusively within the domains of the metaphysician. The bodily disease which almost uniformly gives origin to the morbid perversion of the natural instinct of self-preservation, has been overlooked, and the unhappy person has been allowed, unprotected, to end by his own hands.. his miserable existence. Where no disease is suspected, no remedy will he sought. Tell a man who has attempted to slay himself, that he is perfectly sane—that his judgment is sound—that his will is not perverted—that the impulse which drives him to the commission of suicide is not associated with any deviation from corporeal. health—and you • inculcate ideas not only fallacious, but most pernicious in their character and tendency. We might with as much truth tell a person playing with a lighted taper at the edge of a barrel of gunpowder, that his life is not in jeopardy, as to say to a person disposed to cut his throat, blow out his brains, poison or hang himself, that he is in the perfect enjoyment of health, and requires no moral or medical treatment. It may be laid down as an indisputable axiom, that in every case of this kind, bodily disease may, upon a careful examination, he detected. I never yet saw a case where a desire to commit suicide was _present, in which there was not corporeal indisposition. Instead' of inculcating the tiotion that this morbid propensity is independent of material lesion, it should be our constant endeavour, and, in fact, it is our duty, to establish the necessity of obtaining medical advice directly the idea of self-destruction takes possession of the mind. I have seer, the most happy results ensue from adopting such a course of procedure. Patients have consulted me, complaining of being haunted by a desire to kill themselves, and I have invariably found them to labour under latent physical disease. To know ourselves diseased is half our cure,' is a wise maxim when applied to this subject. It ought to be our object to persuade those so unhappily afflicted, that the unnatural propensity is but the consequence of physical ailments, which are amenable to those medical principles which direct the practitioner in the treatment of other diseases. We,ought tb diffuse through society generally the notion that i is a matter of essential importance, that the patient whose mind is haunted by the idea of suicide should instantly subject himself to medical treatment. He should be informed that his feelings are but the effect of physical disorder, which can easily be removed if he will confide in the judgment of a medical practitioner. I have seen, in cases of this description, a strong and apparently uncontrollable suicidal impulse yield to a few simple remedies. The physician, when consulted in a case of suicidal mania, should carefully ascertain whether there'be congestion of the brain or abdominal viscera. The latter affection is often present in this class of patients. The condition of the liver should also be inquired into. In the majority of cases that organ will be found in a 'morbid condition. Much may be done by medical treatment in cases of insanity attended by this sympton." •