Diseases of the nervous system : a text-book of neurology and psychiatry / by Smith Ely Jellife and William A. White.

  • Jelliffe, Smith Ely, 1866-1945.
Date:
1929
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Diseases of the nervous system : a text-book of neurology and psychiatry / by Smith Ely Jellife and William A. White. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    a description of the joint conditions. Tooth infection from the Streptococcus viridans is of importance as a chronic infection in pro¬ ducing several neurological syndromes. The role of the infections in mental pathology is very marked. Typhoid fever and influenza1 both constitute severe infections with marked influence on nervous tissues. Long standing focal infections of different organs of the body are not without very serious possibilities as factors in breaking down the resistance of the individual. Under shocks is included sudden mental and moral influences tending to disturb the emotional life. Loss of money, of parents, husband, children, or loved ones, interference with one’s hopes of a career, unfortunate entanglements, all call for investigation. The great importance of emotional disturbance in all nervous reactions should be borne constantly in mind. Faulty marital adjustments with resultant phantasy formations are responsible for a great amount of disease, whether evidenced as mental or physical. The psycho¬ analytic technic has revealed how much of this material is hidden from consciousness and goes on working year by year until a final “break down” occurs. As to drugs, particular attention should be directed to alcoholism. The use of other narcotics, as opium, its allies, cocaine, the various hypnotics, bromides, etc., call for record. The use or abuse of these substances is an index of underlying difficulties which work havoc with the personality. The craving is the thing to understand. The cigarette habit, with inhaling, is often evidence of a strong narcissistic fixation. Occupation toxemias should not be overlooked. They are daily assuming increased importance in America by reason of the increasing number of dangerous occupations. Workers in lead, arsenic, mercury, copper, pewter, pottery, dyes, sulphur compounds, and others suffer often from obscure symptoms, due to chronic poisonings. Occupation fatigues explain many neurasthenias. The erotic interests should be inquired into. Infantile masturbation (often concealed) is almost universal. Persistent masturbation, is a symbol of unconscious conflict; it may be a cause of a neurasthenic group of symptoms. Unconscious masturbatory activity is the chief cause of the neurasthenic syndrome in the sense of Freud’s definition of this syndrome. Frustration of the orgasm either in biological intercourse or its many variants is an important element in the develop¬ ment of neurotic symptoms (anxiety neurosis). The rarer anomalous erotic manifestations call for investigation in some cases. Masturba¬ tion may be unconsciously carried out in sleep; it may accompany phantasy, day dreaming without any genital contacts, and other areas of the body, may be used as unconscious, displaced genital areas. Thus many itchy patches on the thighs may be utilized for the inner satisfaction of the masturbatory impulse. The whole subject of the 1 Jelliffe: Influenza and the Nervous System, New York Med. Jour., 1918, also see in monograph edited by Crookshank, F. G., Influenza, Heinemann, London, 1922. 3