Is not nervousness a state in which the mind does not rise to the situation? Is it not a condition of uncertainty? Is it not, as it were, a feeling that you know not what step to take next or what answer to give to a question? Is it not a conviction that you are out of place?
Indeed, it seems to us that nervousness is the expression of being mentally ill at ease.
Few persons realise what a terrible disease nervousness really is. It is one of the greatest annoyances of youth. It renders many girls utterly miserable when they first “come out.” It is most fearful suffering, and one which brings many girls to a life of misery.
There is but one other condition which troubles girls more than nervousness, and that is excessive blushing, and blushing is but a physical expression of nervousness.
It is commonly held that the work of physicians is confined to the body, and that they have no knowledge of the troubles of the mind. It follows from this that the study of the mind has been grossly neglected by medical men, and even the simplest mental aberration will baffle many worthy practitioners, simply because they consider that the mind is not their province.
We can delay no further and must get on to consider the practical side of our task, the causes and treatment of blushing and nervousness.
We suppose that we must first mention the physical causes of blushing and nervousness. Many would consider these to be of the first importance. They are not.
Blushing is a momentary relaxation of the minute blood-vessels of the skin of the face, caused by an impression received by the brain. The vessels relax, they become distended with blood, and the face becomes red, hot and swollen.
If this phenomenon lasts but a minute it is called a blush; if it lasts for a longer period it is called a flush. The former is usually due to mental causes, the latter invariably to physical conditions.