Insanity: Its Causes and Prevention

CHAPTER II.. Increase of Insanity.

INCREASE OF INSANITY.

Indications which point to the probability of its increase in a greater ratio than that of the population: (1) in relation to the general conditions of society; (2) in occupations; (3) in the character or tendency of disease--Increased demand for hospitals for the insane not a conclusive evidence of increase of insanity; other reasons exist for this--Improvements in hospitals--The chronic as well as the acute insane now provided for more generally than formerly--Accumulations in asylums-- Statistics--Those of England and Scotland--Their character and import as presented in the yearly reports of the Boards of Lunacy Commissioners 11

CHAPTER III.. Insanity and Civilization.

INSANITY AND CIVILIZATION.

Prevalence of disease among savage nations--Conditions of life not such as to produce insanity--Definitions of civilization-- Several conditions attending civilization combine to increase diseases of the brain--Increase of brain activity-- Over-stimulation of the brain in schools and by the use of alcoholic beverages--A community of interests exists in savage life which is lost in civilized life--In the latter the strong thrive at the expense of the weak--Monopolies in land and other forms of property--Inference to be drawn from the tendency of insanity to increase--The primary condition of insanity one of the brain--Investigations should relate to the nature and causes of this condition 33

CHAPTER IV.. The Insane Diathesis.

THE INSANE DIATHESIS.

The ideal human system--The actual human system--Physical and mental differences among persons in health--Periods during which there exist considerable changes in the character of mental action in the case of many persons while in a state of health--Excitement and depression of mental activity--This tendency to unstable activity of the nervous system may be inherited or acquired--Illustrations from the effects of over-exertion, "writer's cramp," chorea--A similar condition of that portion of the brain which is concerned in mental operations may exist--Illustrations--The effects of sudden mental shocks and long-continued mental application-- Recapitulation--The condition which we term the Insane Diathesis is the prime factor in the causation of insanity 53

CHAPTER V.. The Influence of Education.

THE INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION.

The higher conception of education--The ordinary course pursued in schools--Too many subjects studied at one time, and too large a number of scholars under the supervision of one teacher--Little opportunity to study individual characters and tendencies--Numerous subjects of study tend to confuse the mind rather than invigorate it--Illustrative cases--Teachers only in part to blame--Courses pursued in colleges--The importance of avoiding over-stimulation of any portion of the system in the period of youth--Ball clubs; rowing clubs--A similar tendency to over-stimulation of the brain in study prevalent in England--Over-exertion in the use of the brain tends strongly to create weakness and instability of action, and a condition which may be transmitted to children 73

CHAPTER VI.. Industrial Education.

INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION.

Occupations of persons admitted to State asylums--Percentage of those having no education in industry, or regular occupation-- Importance of industrial education to the brain--Difficulty of obtaining it greater than formerly--Education of the brain has taken the place of industrial education, and with unfavorable results--The education of the schools does not qualify the mass of people to earn a living: it tends rather to unfit them for industrial labor--The interests of society require that the largest number be educated to be self-supporting--To secure this it is necessary to begin early in life--The same principles apply to education for domestic labor 95

CHAPTER VII.. Moral Education.

MORAL EDUCATION.

Examples of deficient moral education--It more especially pertains to the influence of home and relates to obedience-- Respect and obedience toward persons in authority essential to any efficient system--This must be learned in early life if at all--Self-control essential to the growth of mental strength and discipline--The tendencies in the modes of home and school education 115

CHAPTER VIII.. Heredity.

HEREDITY.

Its importance as a factor in causing physical and mental characteristics in families and nations--Illustrations-- Tendencies to morbid action, both mental and physical, may also be transmitted--Insanity--Dipsomania--How may unfavorable tendencies be avoided?--The influence of heredity acts toward elimination of unfavorable tendencies when existing on one side of the family--Importance of understanding this in relation to marriage--Education may do much toward aiding in the removal of unfavorable tendencies--Weak-minded children--Those born with peculiarities of physical and mental constitutions 125

CHAPTER IX.. Consanguineous Marriages.

CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGES.

Different views in relation to the influence of consanguinity-- The customs of the ancient Egyptians, Syrians, and others-- Experiments in the inter-breeding of cattle--Popular impressions as to its effects--Opposite views explained by understanding the laws of heredity--Favorable as well as unfavorable tendencies are increased--Hence unfavorable ones may be eliminated 145

CHAPTER X.. Alcohol.

ALCOHOL.

General considerations concerning its effects upon the nervous system--Its use at the present time as compared with that of the past--Society now reaping the effects of its use in the past--Physiological effects of alcohol upon the system-- Experiments of Dr. Parkes and Count Wollowicz--Its effect upon the action of the heart--Its effect upon the circulation of the brain, the blood-vessels, and cells, resulting in a less sensitive condition of these parts, and ultimately in organic changes--Its effect upon the character of mind; upon the electrical currents of the brain; upon other portions of the body; upon the brains of children and young persons--The alcoholic diathesis likely to be transmitted 153

CHAPTER XI.. Tobacco.

TOBACCO.

Opposite views as to its general effects upon individuals--The physiological effects upon the mucous membranes, the heart, and the nervous system--Nicotin--Its elimination from the system by the lungs, skin, and kidneys--Its effects those of a narcotic and not of a stimulant--Its effects upon the brains of children and young persons--The use of tobacco by children should be forbidden by law--Its general effects upon society, socially and politically, as presented by M. Fievee--It is not directly responsible in any large degree for producing insanity--Creates a diathesis which causes a diminution of intellectual and moral power 173

CHAPTER XII.. Sex in Relation to Insanity.

SEX IN RELATION TO INSANITY.

Relative frequency of the occurrence of insanity in the sexes-- The sexual system in the female exerts a larger influence upon the nervous system in certain ways than that of the male-- Sexual derangements dependent upon the debility of the nervous system--They are generally consequents and not causes of nervous debility--Functional derangements of sexual organs rare among the insane--A tendency to recovery in case they do exist--Other conditions not favorable to mental health 187

CHAPTER XIII.. Poverty.

POVERTY.

Physical labor one of the largest promoters of health--Sudden increase of wealth often results most unfavorably--Too constant application to labor and household cares--A case illustrative-- In the contests of life the weaker go to the wall--They are often surrounded by most unfavorable sanitary surroundings, impure air, poor tenements--They become the psychological windfalls of society--Have been and will continue to be dependent when stricken down by disease 199

CHAPTER XIV.. Religion.

RELIGION.

Influence of religious belief upon man--Not a cause of insanity--Religious belief natural to man--It is found in all nations--Man instinctively looks up to a Superior Power in hours of suffering and need--He needs such a belief to sustain and give hope--The laws of health and a religious life are in harmony--A religious belief tends toward health--So long as the present conditions of life exist, man will require its sustaining influence 211

CHAPTER XV.. Insufficient Sleep.

INSUFFICIENT SLEEP.

Conditions of the brain which are supposed to produce sleep-- Congested state of the blood-vessels--An anaemic state-- Suffering when a person is for any cause deprived of sleep-- Persons usually sleep too little rather than too much-- Physiological reasons why children require more sleep than adults--They generally sleep too little, especially when living in cities--The importance of sleep for the brain learned from its universality in nature and especially from the functions of other portions of the body--In this state it recuperates its exhausted energies and stores them up for use when in a state of activity--Inability to sleep a precursor of insanity 223

CHAPTER XVI.. Conclusion.

CONCLUSION.

The primary causes of few diseases are fully understood-- Prevention of insanity must come mainly from education received at home and in the school--Difficulties in the way of securing any efficient preventive measures--Educational processes may be improved in several ways: (1) by securing a larger degree of individuality; (2) more attention to industrial education; (3) more efficient home education--Changes in certain habits; (1) in reference to the use of alcoholic beverages; (2) in the use of tobacco; (3) the importance of longer periods of rest and recreation; (4) improved sanitary surroundings in those portions of cities occupied by the poor and laboring classes of society--The importance of systematic measures toward the prevention of insanity 237

CHAPTER I.. Preliminary.

PRELIMINARY.

The subject of insanity, in its relation to both individuals and society, is becoming of greater importance every year. A larger measure of interest in relation to it has been manifest, not only in the writings of specialists, who have made it a study, and the care of its subjects a profession, but also in those of general practitioners of medicine and philanthropists, who are ever seeking to improve the conditions of society.

This results from two causes: 1, the change which has taken place in the public mind in relation to the nature of the disease, it no longer being regarded as something for which an individual is responsible in a larger measure than for other diseases, or as entailing a stigma upon those who are so unfortunate as to have experienced it, but rather a disease which invades the brain in the same way that diseases of another character affect other portions of the system, bearing with it neither more nor less of responsibility or disgrace; 2, and, as a result in part from this change, a more clear realization on the part of the public, that there exists an obligation to make provision for care and treatment of those who are deprived of reason, and consequently unable to care for themselves, to a larger extent than for any other unfortunate class in the community.

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