The common neuroses : their treatment by psychotherapy ; an introduction to psychological treatment for students and practitioners / by T.A. Ross.

  • Ross, T. A. (Thomas Arthur), 1875-1941.
Date:
[1937], ©1937
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The common neuroses : their treatment by psychotherapy ; an introduction to psychological treatment for students and practitioners / by T.A. Ross. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    merely the subjects of caprice. It does not, however, follow that he recognized what the law was which he was obeying ; it is indeed fairly certain that though he was working according to a law he did not know it. His theory was that these patients wTere suffering from exhaustion of the nervous system, of a kind comparable to that of a run-down battery. Their voltage was low, and therefore they were easily fatigued ; they had no energy to send to their stomachs, and so could not digest their food ; their hearts became irritable from the same reason. The lack of nutrition which resulted from the failure to digest their food increased the exhaustion, and a vicious circle was set up, which was capable of continuing indefinitely. This exhaustion theory of the neuroses has flourished for a long time ; it is not by any means extinct, and it is the basis of much of the medical treatment of these disorders at the present time. It contains a great deal of truth ; there is no doubt that fatigue does interfere with digestion and nutrition, and that such interference does lead to further fatigue. But the great vogue of Weir Mitchell’s treatment has passed away; and if it had contained as much of the truth as its author thought it did, this would not have happened. That some other factor besides that of exhaustion is present becomes evident to anyone after a very short experience with these patients. That of the writer of this book may be given. At an early stage of his medical career he was brought into contact with patients suffering from functional nervous disorders, and for several years the only treatment he employed was that of Weir Mitchell. As is well known, this consisted in a logical application of the theory that they were exhausted in their nervous systems. They were confined rigidly to bed ; they were fed in a manner calculated to increase their body-weight rapidly, because it was believed that from this excess of nutrition their nerve cells would pick up energy more readily ; they were massaged, because people who lie in bed and do nothing become flabby; they were isolated from their friends and from their business, so that they might thereby obtain more complete mental rest than they otherwise would. As these measures were carried out a good deal of criticism was received as to their soundness. It was said that they were grossly overfed, and that their digestions were strained and even damaged by this. The