AN AGE OF NERVES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 8, 22 October 1935, Page 8

AN AGE OF NERVES

OLD AND NEW ATTITUDES.

CASES OF FAMOUS MEN. One of the most interesting features of modern life, symptomatic of the effect of machinery, organisation, and haste upon human beings, is the growth' of irritating, nervous tricks, sometimes mere unconscious muscular reactions which, while affording relief to those who indulge in them, are in the highest degree annoying to other people, says a writer in the Sydney “Telegraph.” We are, in fact, a generation which thinks in terms of its “nerves,” and encourages nervous disease by this.very attention.

In Victorian times children were peremptorily commanded not to fidget, with the result that they early acquired a measure of self-control which produced a generation that, with all its faults, included many striking characters and achieved great things. Nervous troubles, of course, are no new development. They have existed at all times. They are not things which one can afford to neglect. It is true that very often they lead to no very serious results. On the other hand, they may become a species of tyranny, a settled physical or mental habit which it is well nigh impossible to break. A case which camo under the writer’s notice is typical. A young man had the habit of fidgeting with his feet. He did it unconsciously, at home, at his place of business, in church, everywhere. It transpired that his occupation was sedentary, and a regular practice of taking long walks proved to be an effective cure.

Famous men have been the victims of nervous tricks. One famous man, at least, understood them. The late Lord Northcliffe used to persuade his callers to smoke, because he said it relieved them of awkwardness. It did, of course, not so much from the sedative effect of tobacco, hut by'reason of the fact that the ordinary mechanical movements of lighting and applying a match, by their routine nature, servo to divert attention of the mind, and therefore tension of the nerves.

The Emperor Napoleon had one very curious habit. When lie was thinking Out the many problems of •State which confronted him ho would sit in his office 1 chair hacking pieces out of the arm of it with a pen-knife.

When ho had arrived at a conclusion upon the matter ho was considering he would cease to punish the chair and start singing, grossly out of tune, .the ditty, “Marbronk s’en va’t-en guerre,” to the tune known to Englishmen as “We Won’t Go Home Till Morning. ’ ’ There was once an English barrister who invariably fingered a short piece of string while ho was addressing the Court. To the wits of the legal profession this became known as the “thread of his discourse.” The day came when some practical joker purloined the piece of string, which had served many faithful years, and then the unfortunate advocate was only able to stammer a few incoherent sentences and sit down. This most clearly demonstrates the hold which a nervous habit can gain over the intellect of a human being.

It will be remembered that the great Dr. Johnson, biographer of poets and lexicographer, had many queer foibles. He would take pains not to tread on any of the lines as he walked in the streets. This is a survival of a game which one still sees played by children, who avoid the divisions between the paving-stones. Another of his idiosyncrasies—and he had many—was concerned with the posts which bounded the footways of Fleet Street and the Strand. He would count the number of paces be took between one post and another, and if he used more or less than his usual quota he. would go back and measure the distance again. He also made a point of touching the posts as he passed them. , The involuntary speaking of one s thoughts is at times very disconcerting, both to those who speak and to those who hear. This complaint is one which chiefly manifests itself m people who lead lonely lives, and the cure for it is the company of others. Thinking aloud, in short, is a psychological phenomenon due to the instinct of fear, and is akin to the lear of darkness in children. The ordinary forms of fidgeting which one commonly sees are not very serious, but there is always the possibility that they may be indicative of epileptic tendencies. I hey can very often be conquered by an ■effort of will if the patient is made aware of any involuntary tricks. . Fidgeting of purely muscular origin usuallv indicates that the subject takes insufficient exercise, and the remedy does not necessarily lie in a frantic devotion to athletics. A reasonable amount oi activity will usually prove adequate. „ The typist who taps her foot all day under her desk need not devote the whole of her week-ends to strenuous tennis; probably if she walks part of her way home each day- instead of ndinc in a public vehicle the desired result will bo achieved without unnecessary exhaustion.