Mental hygiene

Front matter

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CHAPTER I. Mental Hygiene as affected by Cerebral Conditions

Relation of the mind to the brain, 2. — Mind, what powers it embraces, 3. — Mental movements, how far dependent on spiritual or physical causes, 6. — Unity of man, 7. — Phrenology, 9. — Ends of our being provided for in the organic arrangements, 10. — Limits of mental excellence, 12. — Laws of breeding, 13. — The fortunes of the race dependent on mental efficiency, 16. — Organic traits or qualities transmitted to offspring, 17. — Insanity a source of mental imperfection in the offspring, 18; also, other nervous affections, 19; also, unfavorable surroundings, 20. — Crime, 23. — Objections to the law of transmission considered, 27. — The sound and the unsound may exist together, side by side, 30 ; Lord Byron, 32 ; Dr. Johnson, 33. — Insensibility to moral distinctions, 34. — Impulses to crime, 36. — Marriages of consanguinity, 37 ; statistics thereof, 38 ; mixing of common blood in secluded places an evil, 40. — Rural and manufacturing districts compared in point of insanity, 41. — Intemperance a cause of cerebral deterioration, 44 ; producing in the offspring idiocy, 44, intemperance, 45, criminal impulses, 45. — Sound bodily constitution essential to vigorous mental health, 46 ; though bodily infirmities are sometimes overcome by strength of will, 47, as exemplified in Pascal, Cowper, Hall, Channing, 48. — Tendency of disease to absorb the attention and draw the mind from other thoughts, 48. — Few of the distinguished names in English literature belonged to men in bad health, 50; highest degree of health necessary to the highest success, 51 ; Wellington and Napoleon, 51 ; mortality decreasing and ill-health increasing, 53 ; our women peculiarly subject to ill-health, 54 ; tone of our literature affected by it, 56 ; a constitu-

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tion with great powers of endurance the source of some men's greatness, 58. — Objections to the doctrine of the close connection "between the mental and organic conditions considered, 60; freewill, free agency, 61; the moral sense, how constituted, 62; Dr. Hoi mes on the moral sense, 64.

CHAPTER II. Mental Hygiene as affected by Physical Influences

Air, 66. — Vitiated air generally affects the exercise of the brain, 68. — Some climates produce irritability, 69. — Depressing effect of English east-winds, 70. — The American restless, impulsive temperament attributable to climate, 71. — Exercise necessary to mental health, 72; much neglected, 73; badly managed, 74; English customs, 75; exercise should be accompanied by mental recreation, 76. — Diet, 77; kind most conducive to mental health, 78 ; much animal food not necessary to the highest mental or bodily vigor, 79; Scotch laborers, 81; Chinese, 81; American laborers much subject to temporary illness, 81. — Animal and vegetable food compared as to amount of nutriment, 83. — Drinks, 83 ; alcoholic drinks considered as a beverage, 84 ; whether required by the exhaustive influences of civilization, 83; distinguished literary men abstemious, 85; Pitt's habits, 86; Burke's, 87. — Alcoholic drinks habitually and abundantly used, impair the health of the brain, 88 ; useful in abnormal conditions of the system, 89. — Irresistible impulses to drink, 90 ; means of prevention and cure of drunkenness, 92 ; hospitals for the insane, 93 ; asylums for inebriates, 94 ; self-confidence of inebriates, 95. — Sleep, 97; consequences of insufficient sleep, 98; Southey's case and Newton's, 99; loss of sleep an exciting cause of insanity, 100; the proper amount of sleep, 100; night-study, 101; the late hours of evening amusements prejudicial, 103. — Prevalent overworking of the brain, 104. — A certain amount of mental activity favorable to health, 106. — Age as connected with mental vigor, 108 ; German scholars, judges, 108; amount of mental exercise compatible with safety, 110 ; habits of Scott, 112. — Waste of nervous energy in civic life, 113 ; demands upon the brains of lawyers, clergy-

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men, judges, 115. — Excessive mental labor leads to a peculiar nervous erythism, 116. — Demands upon the brain of the young, 117; false views of education, 117. — Amount of study consistent with health, 119 ; amount required in common schools, 122 ; examples of days' work, 124; evening study, 125 ; boarding-schools, 126. — Severe exercise of memory, 131. — Effect of excessive study, 133. — Age at which school-instruction should begin, 135.

Chapter III

Mental Hygiene as affected by Mental Conditions and Influences.

The true end of mental cultivation and discipline, 139. — Partial cultivation of the mental powers to be avoided, 140 ; its mischievous effect when applied to the imagination, 143, to the sentiment of religion, 145, of benevolence, 147. — The well-cultivated mind most capable of enduring shocks, 149. — Ill-balanced minds of various kinds, 150 ; viz : a lack of administrative ability, 150, of stability, 151 ; defective development of the moral powers, viz: imperfect co* scientiousness, 152, excessive self-esteem, 154, jealousy, 154, a envy, 155. — Sympathy or imitativeness, 155 ; witnessed in the pi alent opinions and feelings, 156 ; its agency in producing virtue vice, strength and weakness, 157 ; its effect for ill favored by healthy susceptibilities, 159; witnessed in men's daily life, 159; i spective of moral qualities, 160; witnessed in great social and po ii cal movements, 163 ; it involves the animal frame, 164, as in hyst< chorea, stammering, 164; it is also seen in the convulsive mot - accompanying great religious epidemics, 165; mal de laira, ! mewing, &c, in old convents, 166; Trembleurs of Cevennes, Convulsionnaires of St. Medard, 167; the Jerks, 168. — Epiderr character of suicide, 169, of homicide, 169, of mania, 170, of wi craft, 171, case of Grandier, 171; confessions of witches 17.' Simulation of illness, 175. — Ill-balanced persons unfit associate the young, 178. — Political and religious occasions of mental ex< ment to be avoided by persons of unhealthy tendencies, 179; t danger increased by the disregard of the common rules of healt

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which they are accompanied, 183, and the interruption of the ordinary exercises of mind, 184. — Pleasing less dangerous than painful emotions, 185. — Political less dangerous than religious excitement, 185. — Frequency of the latter attributed to the prevalent interest in the subject, 187. — The truths of Christianity conservative, 193. — Cases of mischief from religious excitement, 194. — Bodily condition affected by mental impressions, 197. — Mental health affected by the character of the passions, temper, and disposition, 198. — Effect of habit on the mental health, 200. — Recreation, 206. — Unsteadiness of purpose a national fault, 208. — Work essential to mental health, 210 ; as necessary to women as men, 215. — Amusement in relation to mental health, 217. — Aspiration beyond ability mischievous, 220. — Impulsive temperament a source of danger, 221.

Chapter IV

Mental Hygiene as affected by the Practices of the Times.

Mental activity more common in modern than ancient times, 225. — Prevalence of insanity, 227. — Civilization regarded as increasing insanity, 228; reasons of this result, to be found in the peculiar agencies of a highly civilized state, 230; printing, 233; books, 234; newspapers, 235 ; novels, 241 ; facilities for enterprise and adventure, 245; trade, 247; inquisitive disposition, 247; devotion to ologies and isms, 250; disposition to excess and exaggeration, 251; republican institutions, 253; hurry and impatience, 256. — Popular views of education require intellectual rather than moral culture, 257. — Domestic training at fault, 259. — Ordinary virtues degraded, 261. — Intellectual education partial, 262. — Juvenile books, 265 ; calculated to weaken the youthful mind, 267. — Vicious books, 272. — Effect on the common mind of the general change in domestic pursuits and arrangements consequent on change of times, 277.

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CHAPTER V. Mental Hygiene as affected by Tendency to Disease

Predisposition to mental disease, 285; liable to be developed by bodily ailments, 286. — Physical education of children predisposed to mental disease, 287; their mental training, 288. — Children put to study when too young, 289. — Adults should avoid whatever in food, exercise, and recreation is calculated to impair the vital energies, 292. — Depreciated health of American women, 293. — Mental regimen most suitable to such as are predisposed to mental disease, 294; their employments and recreations, 295; their mental exercises, 297; disposed to cultivate the imagination, 299; the poetical temperament, 300. — Exclusive devotion to some special object, 302. — Moral as well as intellectual powers subject to disease, 304. — Duty of friends in the early stage of disease, 308 ; their immediate interference justified by indications of violence, 310; or high exaltation, 311 ; or suicidal disposition, 312. — Restraint suitable to the required purpose, 312. — Travelling, 313 ; water-cure, residence in the country, 314; hospitals for the insane, 315; reasons of their superior efficacy, 316; physicians and attendants familiar with their duties, 318; moral management more easy than in one's home, 322; absence of exciting scenes and painful associations, 322; the stage of convalescence best managed in a hospital, because the patient continues to be looked after and judiciously restrictedj 323; character of hospital service, 327. — Hospital treatment should have a fair trial, 331 ; experiments disastrous, 332 ; visits of friends, 333. — Progress of an attack often marked by fluctuations, 337. — Proper time for removal, 338.

MENTAL HYGIENE.

Chapter. I. Mental Hygiene As Affected By Cerebral Con- Ditions

Few, even of those who are accustomed to think and inquire, recognize, fully and practically, the important truth that the efficiency of the mental powers is determined in a high degree by the hygienic condition of the bodily organs, especially the brain. This organ has always been regarded as somehow necessary to the mental manifestations, but beyond this single fact, there has been noticed scarcely any other indication of their mutual dependence. Indeed, the spiritual element of the mind has seemed to place it beyond the accidents of health and dist ease. Besides, the idea that it could be affected by any merely physical conditions seemed to be degrading to its dignity, and indicative of the coarsest materialism. If the mind may be diseased, then it may perish, and so our hopes of l

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immortality be utterly destroyed/ This startling conclusion has been sufficient to deter the mass of mankind from admitting very heartily the facts which physiological and pathological inquiries have contributed to this subject. The people who have no difficulty in discerning the relation between the health of the lungs and the atmospherical conditions around them, or between the health of the digestive organs and the food they are expected to elaborate, utterly ignore all connection between the hygienic condition of the brain and the mental energies dependent upon it. Thus they completely missed the principle which is the foundation of all true mental hygiene, viz. that the manifestations of the mind and the organic condition of the brain are more or less affected by each other.

The conditions of this relation, — the parts respectively borne by the bodily and the spiritual element in the production of the mental manifestations, — of course, are but imperfectly understood. And perhaps much of the reluctance to accept and apply the facts which physiological and pathological inquiries have contributed to this subject, may be traced to a fear of the ma-, terialism which they were too readily supposed I to imply. The difficulty always has been so to define the limits between the physical and the spiritual, as to secure to man the exclusive possession of a high prerogative. If the mind is the only part destined to be immortal, it seemed to be necessary, in order to avoid an unpleasant conclusion, that it should be so defined as to exclude any manifestations of the brutes. Hence have arisen countless speculations more ingenious than sound concerning the nature of mind ; and hence it is, too, that after all that has been said and written, the current philosophy on the subject does not fairly represent the facts of science. What we know as certain is contained within a very small compass, and may be briefly considered before entering upon the task before us, in order, especially, to prevent any misunderstanding as to the meaning of common terms and modes of expression.

The mind, as I understand it, embraces all the powers, qualities, and attributes, which are concerned in maintaining those relations to other beings that are necessary to our highest welfare. The faculty which investigates the relations of cause and effect is not more truly a manifestation of mind, than the power to love and to hate. Whether we meditate on lofty truths, or on the beautiful creations of the painter and sculptor; whether we recognize and revere the claims of superior virtue, or burn with desire to revenge a wrong ; whether we yield to the allurements of love, or start with horror from impending destruction,— in each and every instance, we manifest some quality of mind. Like the flower, like the insect, like the crystal, like every work of God, the mind is complete and perfect in its kind. Every one of its powers is designed to accomplish some indispensable purpose, and bears the marks of unerring wisdom. Unlike the works just mentioned, however, it is susceptible of indefinite development, whereby it becomes capable of fulfilling the nobler ends of our existence. In this life, at least, the mental powers are connected, in some way, with the brain. On this point all are agreed, but, as to the nature of this connection, there has always been the greatest possible variety of opinion. The most prevalent belief, both among the wise and the simple, is that the mind is an independent essence or principle requiring the brain, not for its existence, but only for the mode of its manifestation.

As the music is in the player, not in the instrument he uses, so is the brain the material organ by which the mind is enabled to exercise its powers. On the other hand, among men whose views on philosophical subjects are determined more by the testimony of sense than any subtle deductions of reason, there are some who regard the mind as entirely a function of the brain. Without the brain there is, and there can be, no mind. This question, as already hinted, derives its importance chiefly from its theological bearings. If the mind is an original, independent principle having only an incidental connection with the body, then, it is supposed, it may, and indeed must exist after the dissolution of the body. But, if it is merely a phenomenon resulting from the play of organic elements, it must necessarily perish with the organism from which it sprung. It is not quite certain that either of these views will warrant the inference that is drawn from it. Although we may admit the independent existence of the mind, there must be other reasons, I apprehend, for believing it to be immortal; and, though we may admit that the mind is a product of vital movements, it does not necessarily follow that there can be no conscious existence after the component parts of the animal mechanism are dispersed. We are not to measure the resources of Almighty Power by our own feeble conceptions, nor to suppose that a fact is impossible merely because some of its conditions are beyond our comprehension.

In this question is involved another of a more practical character, viz. is the development of the mind a result exclusively spiritual, or exclusively cerebral? When a person has grown wiser and better with ripening age, has the change been effected by increasing the delicacy of the organism, or by developing the faculties independently of any such process ? When the mental traits of the offspring resemble the parent's, is it the physical or the spiritual element, that has been transmitted ? We know too little of the connection between mind and body to answer these questions very definitely. Each supposition is burdened with difficulties that indicate some radical defect in the common philosophy on this subject. It may be doubted if it is quite correct to consider the individual as composed of two things essentially distinct both in origin and nature, instead of regarding him as a being endowed with various powers which, though serving each a special purpose, form an harmonious whole — a single, individual man.

The difficulty of explaining upon the common theory the facts that meet us at every turn, little as it may seem in some instances, is perfectly insuperable in others. When a sinner is suddenly turned from his wicked courses by an awakening appeal, or a painter has embodied upon the canvas some new-born conception of his fancy, it is obviously a practical absurdity to suppose that these persons have only experienced some change in the arrangement of the organic particles of the brain. Equally absurd would it seem,, to suppose that the disease, or injury, or old age, which has impaired the vigor of the intellect, acted immediately on the mental powers, leaving the nervous system endowed with all its original integrity and delicacy. In the cases here indicated, there can be no difference of opinion ; but who would venture to make the requisite distinction in all the countless movements that constitute the mental life of the individual, ranging from the transitory emotions of the child to the profoundest deductions of the philosopher? And in those cases where we think we witness both a corporeal and a spiritual movement, who shall undertake to assign the part respectively borne by each ? When a choleric mortal becomes red in the face, and foams with rage under the sense of insult or injury; or a troop of jolly companions are making merry over their liquor, we are accustomed to say that a movement of blood to the brain or a fresh impulse of the nervous current, has given rise to a strong mental emotion, but beyond the simplest statement of the fact we can say nothing, though quite sure that this is not the only agency in the case. On the other hand, when we see the accomplished orator swaying at his will the convictions and passions of a vast assembly, we call it a triumph of mind ; but we are obliged to admit that it is accompanied by an unwonted degree of cerebral activity. This doctrine of the unity of the individual man, as applied to the subject of mental hygiene, obliges us to be content with the general principle, that whatever improves the physical qualities of the brain also improves, in some way or other, the qualities of the mind ; and that judicious exercise of the mind is followed by the same result. In both cases, in fact, we observe the same law of development whereby the systematic and appropriate exercise of a part is followed by increased vigor, capacity, and power of endurance, while a deficient or excessive exercise is followed by weakness and premature decay.

Another point touching the connection of mind and body demands a passing notice in these preliminary remarks. The simple fact that the brain is the material instrument of the mind has not always satisfied those who were familiar with its structure. When they looked on the intricate convolutions of its surface, and observed its division into hemispheres and lobes ; when wTith knife in hand they exposed its various rounded masses of nervous matter, and traced the medullary bands that united one side with the other ; when they unfolded its ventricles and followed the sensorial nerves to their origin, they could scarcely help conceiving the idea that the different parts of the wonderful organ before them must have each its particular office in the work of manifesting the mind. It was reserved for our own day, however, to see this speculation assume the shape of a complete and systematic body of doctrine, in which every portion of the cortical substance of the brain is assigned to some particular faculty, sentiment, or propensity, each of which is regarded as an original, innate, independent power, exercised by its appropriate organ. In the localization of these organs the founders of Phrenology profess to have been guided solely by observation ; but they also endeavor, in every instance, to show that the necessities of the human economy require such a power. In the latter branch of their system, they have been more fortunate, perhaps, than in the former. In a few instances, both the existence and the place of the organ have been established by abundant proof; but, with these exceptions, the evidence has not satisfied the deliberate and unbiassed judgment of scientific men. [As a speculative theory, it unquestionably contains much truth, recognized as such, too, by many who have little sympathy with its anatomical doctrines. Its analysis of the mental phenomena is clear and precise, indicating\ — what metaphysical inquiries seldom have — a shrewd observation of the springs of action, anil a profound insight of the relations of man to the sphere in which he moves. Deficient as it is, as a theory of mind, it is nevertheless valuably as having indicated the true mode of investigation, and especially for the light it throws on the whole process of education and development}

It is proper, in this connection, to consider that the essential ends and objects of our existence are not left to the accidents of education, but are provided for in the very constitution of our nature. Such a provision, whether in the shape of an animal propensity, an all-prevailing sentiment or belief, or a special aptitude and ability, must be regarded as conclusive proof of the reality and importance of the end thus secured. Every sentiment or power must have its means of gratification, or field of exercise. To suppose the contrary would be as repugnant to every idea of moral fitness as that fancy of the poets which attributed sensation to the trees, though without the power of pursuing pleasure or avoiding pain. That sentiment which impels us to shrink from death, and cling to life however burdened with sorrow, we call an original sentiment of our nature, required for that indispensable end, the preservation of the individual. With equal reason we may say that the longing for existence beyond the present life — the conviction, not derived from philosophy or poetry, that this is not the be-all and the end-all with us — is an original sentiment of our nature, and thus proves the reality of the existence which its gratification requires. We must adopt this conclusion, or believe that the mind, so perfect in every other respect, is at fault here — endowed with a power which has no possible sphere of activity. It may be said that this is one of those convictions which result from education, and consequently has none of that certainty which belongs to an original sentiment. The premise may be partly true, and the conclusion false. "We admit the fact that the sentiment in question, not being necessary to the preservation of the individual, sometimes gives but faint tokens of its presence, because development is required to make it a quickening principle, inspiring him with loftier aims and pointing to a nobler destiny than any which the largest experience of life could reveal. The nerves are not originally endowed with that delicacy of feeling, nor the muscles with that degree of power which training is capable of conferring ; but it is no less true that these organs are possessed by the infant as well as the full-grown man.

The limits within which mental cultivation may produce its appropriate effects have not always been very correctly defined. Some of the elements of the question are beyond our reach ; but, in regard to others, our knowledge is abundant, and there can scarcely be any diversity of opinion. Cultivation of the bodily and mental powers raises the individual to a higher point in the scale of being ; and, of course, the more widely it is diffused the greater will be the number of those who achieve, this elevation. The effect in question is not merely an increase of knowledge with its accompanying benefits, but an enlargement of all those qualities on which the efficiency of the mind depends. It is exemplified in the difference between a native Australian and a cultivated European ; between the unthinking multitude and the Bacons and Newtons of the world. Individuals of the former classes may be improved, but no ingenuity of discipline could possibly raise them to the level of the latter. | The only question is whether any point of development reached by the individual may be regarded as a step established and secured towards the indefinite elevation of the race ; whether, in other words, the improvement of the individual may not become congenital in his offspring, and thus furnish a new starting-point, at every remove, for higher advancement. In reply, we need only refer to the well recognized laws which govern the transmission of qualities in the inferior animals.' These laws warrant the belief that, by complying with their requirements, the traits of the individual, mental as well as bodily, may be made permanent in the race, with such limitations as are imposed by the distinctive character of the species. Under any possible improvement of this kind, man must still remain a man — he cannot become a demigod or an angel.J

"We must distinctly understand what can and what cannot be accomplished by a faithful compliance with the laws of breeding. "We are entirely destitute of any experiments on the subject, but we have no reason to believe from analogy that the mind can be lifted to higher grades of excellence than it has already reached. The remarkable quality which stock-breeders succeed in rendering permanent in the domestic animals — fleetness in one, power in another, size in another, a certain relation between bone and muscle in another — represents but a small fraction of the whole constitution. The fleet Arabian cannot be considered as nearer the point of equine perfection than the immense English dray-horse ; nor would any one but a Smithfield drover contend that a Berkshire or a Suffolk is a worthier specimen of the porcine race than the wild boar of the forest. Thus the question as to the extent to which improvement of the race may be carried cannot be settled by these results in the arts of breeding, which indicate only partial elevation. There has not yet been obtained in any particular breed a considerable number of desirable qualities ; for the general rule is that each special excellence is obtained at the expense of some other. So well is this now understood, that nobody attempts to obtain in one breed the excellences of all. Now, what we seek for as the proper result and aim of mental cultivation is, not a particular endowment that may be transmitted from one generation to another, but a large range of capacity, great facility of achievement, and great power of endurance.

That these qualities may be rendered permanent by a faithful compliance with the laws of breeding, there can scarcely be a doubt; but this, it must be observed, is something very far short of indefinite development. "We have no reason to suppose that, by any possible scheme of training and breeding, finer specimens of the race can be obtained than Pericles and Alcibiades ; but we are warranted in believing that by this means individuals of distinguished general excellence would be far more common. If it be true, then, that, in the various stages of its progress, the mind, like the body, is under the government of inflexible laws, it follows that these laws should be thoroughly understood, in order to obtain the highest possible degree of mental efficiency. To show exactly what they are, to exhibit the consequences that flow from obeying or disobeying them, is the essential object of jL Mental Hygiene, which may be defined as the art of preserving the health of the mind against all the incidents and influences calculated to deteriorate its qualities, impair its energies, or derange its movements. The management of the bodily powers in regard to exercise, rest, food, clothing, and climate ; the laws of breeding, the government of the passions, the sympathy with current emotions and opinions, the discipline of the intellect, — all come within the province of mental hygienel A complete and scientific treatise on tfter subject would require discussions, details, and references, of little interest to the general reader, for whom this work is chiefly designed. I shall aim to present only the general conclusions that have been reached, with no more of detail than is necessary to make the matter intelligible and impress it the more strongly on the mind.

In using the term, mind, in the following pages, I shall not restrict myself to its popular meaning, as something separate and distinct from the body, but shall employ it as a generic expression of the mental phenomena without reference to their origin or nature. And so of the term, brain. However I may use it for the sake of convenience, I would not be supposed to favor any theory whatever respecting its connection with the mind. Being the instrument of the mind, its condition must necessarily affect the mental manifestations, and therefore it may not be improper to speak of mental disorders as if the brain were the only agency concerned in them.

Now, more than ever before, the fortunes of men, the welfare and happiness of the race, are determined by mental efficiency. The time has been when the mass of the people had but little use for their minds. They had no occasion to think. Indeed they were forbidden to think. A few favored mortals did their thinking for them. It was enough for them to do as they were bid. Stout limbs, stalwart frames, robust health, were what the times demanded and what the times admired. A man was valued by the force of his blows, by his swiftness of foot, by his capacity for hardship. Now, these qualities will give him but a low place in the social scale, and secure for him but a small share of those privileges which constitute the highest kind of human happiness. Never before did so large a portion of mankind think. Never before did so large a portion of the race strive together for the great prizes of life, in a contest of mind with mind, not muscle with muscle, nor limb with limb — a contest in which, in the long run, the mind will win that can accomplish the greatest amount of work. I use the phrase advisedly.