MIND AND BODY

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 57, 5 September 1934, Page 17

MIND AND BODY

THE PLACE OF PAIN

REMARKABLE STORIES

(Written for "The Post" by Nelle M,

Scanlan.)

A woman, just returned 'from America, told me some amazing stories of thought-cures and the power of suggestion. She claimed that one iperson could take over the pain of another, and that persons closely bound by great affection could share an illness, one harbouring the germ, as it were, and the other exhibiting the symptoms. I have seen something of these circles in America, where obscure individuals spring into sudden fame- by claiming magic powers in the realm of physical or spiritual healing, but I am still a sceptic, and remain so until I have personal evidence. Imagination plays a large part in theso things, and no doubt the power of mind over matter is considerable, and many people suffer from imaginary ills which can. be cured by creating a more healthy' attitude of mind. But when my informant told me tbat'she had made a magnolia tree, which was ill-nourished and stunted, suddenly burst into a second and prolific blooming simply by "loving it," my doubts increased. When I asked her to try her skill at "loving" a pot of seeds that had failed to come up, and bring them into blossom, as watering, sunshine, and manure had failed, she seemed hurt by my lack of faith. There is scientific evidence, howeffer, of the fact that some people are proof against pain, and at the Medical Association conference in England " last week many strange stories were told. ■ Dr. Mac Donald Critchley, of London, related the tale of a man"—a small, weedy, miserable, undersized man —who had all his teeth extracted without an anaesthetic, and appeared to enjoy the experience. The dentist pulled one tooth, and the man came through without a twinge. He pulled out two more, and the patient was evidently delighted. He.continued the operation and removed., the remainder of his teeth, and the little man quite enjoyed it. Again, there was a man, who in the heat of a political argument, was struck violently over the head with an umbrella. The umbrella broke, but the man went on arguing, apparently quite unaware that ho had been struck.

In another case, during a fight, a man of fifty-four had one finger trodden on so severely that it was almost severed from his-hand. He did not feel any pain, but the dangling finger so annoyed him that he bit it off. When Dr. MacDonald Critchley related this incident, the doctors present roared with laughter. This man had never experienced the- sensation of pain in his whoWiife, and on his deathbed he merely complained of a little discomfort. Another experience related nad reference to a music-hall artist in America.. He had sixty pins stuck into him, and felt no pain. Then he staged a crucifixion, with■; nails piercing his hands and feet. The man appeared to enjoy the experience, but the performance was brought to an abrupt close, as most of tho audience had collapsed. Perhaps, this explains how some men appear to thrive on a diet of carpet tacks and broken glass.

Dr. David Wateiton of St. Andrew's University, Professor of Anatomy, stated that many of the secrets of the action of the nervous system yet remained undiscovered, and they have yet to. penetrate the secret of the mechanism of pain production. It was disclosed at this medical conference that there are in Great Britain 2,500,000 people who are deaf. Only a .pp.Ttip.n. iqf this _ngnjb_srj.-.about 400,000, are totally" deaf."'/", The.development of amplification of sound, which has come about with the introduction of wireless, has greatly improved the mechanical apparatus by which people who are slightly deaf are enabled.to hear.

A few years ago the: majority of recruits who wero rejected for the Army on grounds of physical disability, were, on investigation, found to have middleoar disease. At that time the ratio was 41 per 1000, and this headed the cause of rejection €rom the Army after enlistment. ■

One of the unpleasant aspects of flying is the. noise' of the engine, and pilots flying .noisy engines suffer from fatigue to a much greater extent than those whose machines are of the -more silent type. Aviation-authorities aro now endeavouring to. eliminate noise in the construction of aircraft. '

Another question discussed at the conference was food and fads. The fashion in food has changed, and less meat is now eaten, which. Is one reason for the decline ia beef, and there is a corresponding increase in the use of cereals, vegetables, and sugar. Professor Mottram declared there should be no fads about food, but an all-round diet containing dairy produce, market garden produce, and sea food with anything else you fancied, was the wisest way to live.

The coddling of children was another subject discussed at the conference. Dr. Maitland Gwyrine declared that the Spartan mother did make meu. He declared that pain has a definitely educational value, and the obsession to eliminate pain has one unlooked-for consequence, in that it is certain to increase sensitivity, and enormously extend the field of painful exposure. When a child is hurt the soothing words and out-stretched arms and the coddling exaggerate the child's idea of pain. After the necessary eaTe to treat the hurt, it should be ignored, and the child's mind distracted- from it. Pain that is inevitable has its proper place in life, and it will not, as with, so many, cause a latent1 fear and useless inhibitions evinced by the dread of all hazards and adventure. Unnecesary pain should not be inflicted, but children should be taught to endure it without undue fuss..