The nerve-rest cure : a plea for the nervous.

  • Howie, James Muir.
Date:
1887
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The nerve-rest cure : a plea for the nervous. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    8/8
    cases in both sexes where alcoholic indulgence has undoubtedly been the chief cause of the ailment. Although the most severe forms of this disease have alone been discussed it must not be supposed that milder forms do not also) require special nerve rest. This cannot be secured without more or less change being made in the ordinary mode of life. Nervous agita- tion is the chief cause of nervous exhaustion. It is almost impossible even for a healthy man to avoid a certain amount of agitation in con-1 nection with his affairs, while for the nervous man it is absolutely i impossible. For the latter, therefore, a frequent holiday is essential. The way of spending such a holiday is a matter of urgent importance.] Many nervous sufferers return home worse than when they left.] They climb mountains in Switzerland when they ought to be loitering on the sea-shore or lounging on the deck of an ocean steamer. They rise early ‘ to make the best of to-day ’ when they had better lie several hours longer to fix the benefits of yesterday, j Like the unskilled rider, who dismounts for relief, they are frequently driven to bed to recover from their holiday exertions. The amount of exercise must be regulated by its effects on head’ or spine. Mere muscular fatigue may be overcome by regular: walking, but nervous fatigue must be entirely avoided. If the patient cannot take sufficient exercise to sustain his appetite and digestion, he had better undergo an hour’s massage daily. And when he has once gained the power of walking from five to ten miles a day without fatigue of head or spine, he ought, by constant practice, to endeavour to retain it. There is no better preventive of nervous exhaustion than regular, unhurried, muscular exercise. If we could moderate our hurry, lessen our worry, and increase our open-air exercise, a large propor-! tion of nervous diseases would be abolished. For those who cannot get a sufficient holiday the best substitute is an occasional day in bed. Many whose nerves are constantly strained in their daily vocation have discovered this for themselves. I A Spanish merchant in Barcelona told his medical man that he! always went to bed for two or three days whenever he could be spared from his business, and he laughed at those who spent their holidays on toilsome mountains. One of the hardest worked women in England, who has for many years conducted a large wholesale* business, retains excellent nerves at an advanced age, owing, it is believed, to her habit of taking one day a week in bed. If we cannot avoid frequent agitation we ought, if possible, to give the nervous] system time to recover itself between the shocks. Even an hour’s seclusion after a good lunch will deprive a hurried, anxious day of much of its injury. The nerves can often be overcome by stratagem when they refuse to be controlled by strength of will. James Muir Howie.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3