WAR SHOCK CUKES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3175, 28 August 1917, Page 6

WAR SHOCK CUKES

MODERN MIRACLES In a volume of deep interest and"; value alike ti> the medical profession and' to the public whose sons and brothers j and husbands are suffering from war ! shock, Dr. Eder, in "War Shock: its Psychology and Treatment," records his experiences in treating the victims of shell shock from tho Gallipoli campaign in Malta, where he had charge of the department for tho treatment of nerve cases. The majority of men suffering in this way can be cured by a treatment which, at ono time regarded, and still so regarded in certain quarters, as unconventional and unorthodox, is capable, under legitimate conditions and in tiie> hands of properly qualified men of character, o.f achieving this cure quickly and painlessly, and thus relieving suffering of the most painfnl and distressing!: kind for which the ordinary medical treatment entirely fails. The lay nerson, then, to whom "treatment by suggestion" has become associated with doubtful practices, will feel unreserved coa- '■ fulenco in what lie reads when he learns i that Dr. Eder, a properly qualified dector, who has given yeare to the study of this subject, carried out his treatment in the presence of his medical colleagues, with the approval and interest of hit , commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Scanlan, and his confreres, Colonel Purves Stewart and Sureeon-General Whitehead, to whose enlightenment and broadmindedness the public aro greatly JBr debted. Case of an "Irish V.C." One of the patients was recommended for the V.C. in the very fight th;\t brought him with a paralysed hand lo the doctor. He was a young Irishman, who was in a trench with a few mett which was'■attacked by 200 Turks. He lept out of the trench and engaged ia a hand-to-hand fight, during which hi received fifteen bayonet wounds, fortunatelv none of them dangerous. Fourteen of the wounds were on the right side of tho body, the most exposed part, because he was a left-handed man. After the wounds were all healed he was found by Colonel Purves Stewart, the distinguished nerve specialist, to be suffering from paralysis of the right hand j he had no feeling on the right halt of his body and could not feel when a pm was pricked into him. These symptoms were proved' to have no connection with, the wounds and to have no phjmcal cause at all. , _, , He was placed under Dr. Eder, who gives the following explanation of the condition: — The band was paralysed in the exact position in which it was held duTinsr the glorious bayonet fight. There was an inner self, "the unconscious mind," which wanted to continue the good fight and symbolised this desire in the bent hand. The absence of sensation on the exposed side of the body is made equally intelligible. lie was a higTily strung, sensitive young Irishman. Had he felt pain on the battlefield, lie would either have lmd to "ivo up the fight or let go his riflo and be killed. The motive was the same as Nelson's conscious motive in putting «P his telescope to his blind eve atvtbe battle of the Sound Nelson wanted to go on fighting. So did this soldier; he was not to be put., off by feeline pain from • never 60 •manv wounds; he would' not allow himself to feel pain. The patient ■was hypnotised, and on suggesting to him that the fight was over'and he cnuld let so the rifle his hand immediately relaxed. The normal fe?ling in , the skin was restored at the same time. ' Another striking case was that of an Australian who hnd been blind for six weeks in the right eye. He hnd Teen bv Colonel Stewart and the fyo specialist, who agreed there was noting the matter with the eye itself. Thy, natient was snipin* when on enemy bullet knocked a piece, off Hie stock of hi« riflV.- but he continned at his nost. A. liffle later he could not *ee the tw» "sights" nun ™ *■*"* hours later his rbh't eve was-quite blind. He was a lad nf 'great, omimee wifl< the .-ldie- <t ■ instinct stromrlv develop; he did not »ive ut> his post despite the darnrer: but when h« eye wt witul h( ~ wns "„ wftii'nnr If?" nf Fflf-rcsoeet in r'hro. JSr "suction" eight was regained in a few A similar striVinsr result i? eiven nf a snWier dumb n"d twtolvs<vl on <«ip sum of Hi" body. TrontiKPtit =neech, and the next day lie wns walking about. Mrw it i= Tlnnn. ' The rule was for. these patients to be seen first by the physicians, who decided that there was no physical cause tor tho illness. Dr.' Eder then mado a close psychological investigation. It was explained to the patient, that he was suffering from a mental trouble: he was encouraged to talk freely about himself: and his illness. This enabled the doctor to get the clue he was seeking tor and ultimately to make the appropriate suggestion, usually under hypnosis, which had often to be. repeated ill the desired result was obtained and the patient had re-assumed control. _ One more case lo raise the spirits ot those similnvlv aftVted. A clerk suffering from ehellshoek remained . » hospital and camp for dmrly ton a«raHis without any improvement. IJe wa» then dischavefl 'frnm the Armv with a !-'n>tutv of .£2O. Th« P«or fellow now. bel>ev- ,. himself inciir-Me and that he »ouM oT wruU nv add a cnunlp nf fira* "-,^ a - fnw to tho normal n.ud wir Mm '« » P telt,on '° deaf, dumb, i>11""- """ '", . i i iv « mrre H-nsn who *»£ l °J- f £,£ ~ew atd niosl b^Mjvw^