Nervous Breakdowns and How to Avoid Them

by Charles David Musgrove

Yet such resentment is slight compared with that of the men or women who have to be warned that they are wasting their energies by restlessness and worry or lack of recreation. These strenuous natures are apt to take umbrage at the fact of their work being interfered with. They do not realise that what we wish is that they may be enabled to do better work and more of it in the end.

Man, know thyself.

When a medical man sees a patient he has to do more than diagnose the disease. Often it happens that before he can find out what is the matter, and certainly before he can treat it efficiently, he must discover what type of man or woman he is dealing with. Any coachman will tell you that before he can drive a horse well he must get to know the animal itself. For some are restless and excitable and need the curb, whilst others are lazy and require the use of the whip. And for all who wish to guide themselves in matters of health it is of the first importance that they should know their own temperaments.

It is said that people are always the last to hear any gossip or scandal about themselves. It is equally true that they are usually the last to observe any change in their health or dispositions. A person may be growing thinner, paler, and more tired looking, and yet be unaware of the fact. Much more does this apply to all the nervous symptoms and other peculiarities which denote that he is on the down-grade and gliding towards a breakdown. Yet if any such signs are pointed out to him by others, either by a medical man or some candid friend, the best thing he can do is to give full consideration to their opinion. Let health be preserved while it can. The day may come when it will be lost never to be regained.

Adjusting the mind.

Throughout this book we have laid stress on the influence of the body on the mind, and the importance of attending to its various functions in order to keep the nervous system healthy. Yet we must not overlook the other fact, viz. that we are gifted with a certain, even if limited, amount of control over the mind itself.

Some writers have told us, and quite rightly too, that we can cultivate a brighter outlook on the future. We are recommended to persuade ourselves that there is no season in the whole year so acceptable as the one that is just commencing—no beauty like that of spring, no glory like that of summer, no time so welcome as autumn with its dying splendours. And when winter comes we can look forward to the delights of the cosy fireside, so much more sociable than the long, garish days of summer. Instead of which, too many of us dread the heat and the cold and a good many other things, that are never so bad when they come as we think they are going to be.

A little calm philosophy undoubtedly goes a long way towards negotiating many of the difficulties and anxieties with which we are all confronted at times. Yet it is impossible to acquire a cheerful, philosophical frame of mind unless the body, with its nervous system and various organs, is in a healthy condition. After all, the chief thing is to attend to its requirements.

The secret of preventing breakdowns.

When all is said and done, we come back to the elementary rules of health. It is around these that the whole question of breakdowns hinges. On the observance of them depend both the prevention and cure of this condition. If they were always carried out, this dire calamity would rarely, if ever, happen. When once it has loomed ahead there is only one thing to be done. The man or woman who sees it threatening them must retrace their steps and get back to the place where they took the wrong turning. They must work their way back until they have regained the health and vigour, which they once enjoyed but forfeited through their neglect of those laws.