THE "DUMPS."

Otago Witness, Issue 1994, 12 May 1892, Page 39

THE "DUMPS."

A Medical Man's Opinion of Them. Most of v«, when " down in the dumps," imagine that there is some special feature of our own life that affects us with this unpleasant melancholy. We are unsuccessful, unfortunate; onr cherished plans seem doomed to disappointment; consequently we are more than usually troubled by a depressed, condition o». mind. Starting with a slight attack of the blues, it is qnite possible to think that one is the most unfortunate person in the whole world ; but, if one make 3 inquiries, one will find that the " dumps," like the influenza, afflicts just whomsoever it' pleases. The happy man, the poor man, the rich man, the clever man, the stupid man— yes, and, despite commonly accepted notions, even the very active man suffers. The most depressed person I ever knew was a bluff jolly-looking gentleman who had quite recently inherited L 50.000 a year, and married the most amiable and affectionate wife in the country. Curiously enough, a " fit of the blues will often come on when the victim has some special cause for elation, some unexpected causeof good luck. More usually, however, itis brought on by a wound, real or imaginary, inflicted upon the feelings by injured pride, misfortune, or any unexpected reverse or disappointment. The weather, too, has tremendous Influence on the spirits. The most usual form of " dumps " is that hopeless dejectioa when " all the world seems most unkind," when " all is wrong," and nothing right. An unthinking expression dropped haphazard or in chaff by an acquaintance is brooded over until it appeara a complete avowal of hatred and dislike. One. even begins to analyse every look or glance of any person with whom one is brought into contact. The victim then grows irritable and rebtleS3. IE he ia pot careful, he will become that most trying of friends, a " touchy " man. The circumstances which immediately precede these attacks, are as varied as they are strange. Every one must know what it ia to be depressed by peculiar presentiments for no obvious reasons. The ieeling takes possession of you that some evil is pending, some crisis in your life approaching, and an irresistible dread .of the unforeseen damps your spirits most completely. The form which the " dumps " very often answers is the hqrror of growing old, a feeling that the prime of life is passed, and that henceforth to live means simply to rash headlong down hill. And now comes the main object of my article. I want, as a medical man, to warn every person that the giviDg way to Buch attacks renders the patient subject to a renewal of the complaint. The " dumps " may he entirely overcome by being determined to resolve to resist them, aided by the selection of cheerful friends, and amusing and instructive reading. It is absolutely necessary to avoid brooding over one's real or imaginary troubles. Sometimes it is wise to pour forth one'B worries to a friend in confidence. The pro* cess may lead to the righting of imaginary wrongs, and perhaps to a complete cure. But, oh I what a fool a man feels afterwards, when, having thuß taken a friend into his confidence, he looks back, and reflects upon the intrinsic pettiness of his grievances 1 ! Fresh air, exercise, cheerful companions and papers, plenty of work, and a determination to cast off depression, are the best ways to effect a cure. If the "dumps" proceed from our good old friend the liver, there are* plenty of medicines known to every one which would soon rectify matters, and one cannot too greatly accentuate the necessity for ascertaining whether your " blues " proceed from mental or physical causes, Quite as often as not that much-abused and little understood organ is to blame. Do not forget Punch's famous riddle : "Ia life worth living ?— lt depends upon the liver." Perhaps the best punning riddle on record.