CIVILISATION'S STRESS

Otaki Mail, 4 January 1924, Page 3

CIVILISATION'S STRESS

RACE STANDING THE STRAIN. MORE NERVE: LESS "NERVES.' 1 LONDON, December 2. "People of this generation have the finest nerves that human beings ever possessed." This reassuring statement is made by a Harley Street specialist, who discusses, in an article in the "Weekly Dispatch," the popular belief thai, the present, generation suffers mor< from nerves than others have ii, the past. He writes: — "If war was not sufficient evideuce I here u;e uur streets, factories, and Modern life is lived among the flash, clang, and roar of niachin-

try. and the throb of engines. There j.-.- lioise everywhere, und 'vibration everywhere, and the speed is absolutely terrific, yet the perceatagre of breakdowns under the strain is insijrnificant.

"What is more, the largest number of breakdowns occur in a.uite places, not in the great cities. It is not th« modern engineer whose hands and nerves grow weak, but the man or woman of leisure, the man wliose work is sedentary, "A great physician was asked dur\ns the war why the wounded were seldom shell-shocked, and why the she:l-shocked -were seldom the wounded. He explained that the victim of shell-shock was an unfit individual, who broke down because he had neither physical nor mental stamina."

The writer continues: "My personal i experience as a doctor is that nerv. I cus peoQle_are nevt-r healthy. I am convinced that 'nervti' are merely a symptom of ill-health. The real causes of 'nerves' are not stress and strain, but anaemia. rheumatism, indigestion, and kindred iils. In that lies the reason why 'nerves' are less common to-day than ofl years ago. We lead healthier lives than our ancestors. Steam and petrol brought speed and noi".-'.- to the world, but also better sanitation cleaner streets, and better food."