What are these?
Nervous diseases are more difficulty to diagnose than diseases of the various organs of the body because the nervous system is hidden from the eye of the physician and it can be known only from the disturbances of the organs governed by the affected nerves whether and of what type the nervous diseases is. Under this head come apoplexy, forgetfulness, hysteria, mental defectiveness, mental illness, neurasthenia and others. The most common nervous weakness, nervous break down or nervous exhaustion.
Causes:
Many factors contribute to the production of nervous diseases. Some people are born with a nervous disposition and it is that category which generally suffers from headaches, neuralgia, hysterical manifestations and bizarre forms of mental activity. The nervous system is exposed to the fast pace of modern life, which tends to bring on many diseases like anxiety states, digestives disturbances and exhaustion. Shocks to both mind and body, such as the loss of a dear one, money reverses, an unfortunate love affair and an accident may be the starting point of many chronic nervous complaints. Certain organic poisons like the one produced in body by diseases like syphilis give rise to serious nervous disorders. Chronic alcoholism may bring on severe mental derangement. The organic disorders manifest themselves in the shape by hysteria, anxiety states and nervous breakdowns.
Weakness of the nervous system can give rise to diseases like dyspepsia or palpitation, which cannot be helped by remedies directed towards those organs. It is but natural since it is the brain and the nervous system enclosed in it, which controls the bodily functions. A sudden loosening of bowels or the bladder in case of fright is an example. Another example is of certain persons with a strong will power who are able to fight serious crisis brought on by diseases much better than ordinary individuals.
Symptoms:
A person suffering from nervous weakness or debility generally experiences a sense of nameless fear, agitation, perplexity, confusion, worry, disappointment, loneliness, irritability and insomnia. The physical symptoms are constipation, dyspepsia, headaches, vague aches and pains all over the body and feverishness. The patient is also inclined to be a hypochondriac. The moment he reads about or hears the symptoms of a disease he imagines that he suffers from it. The wise physician will keep him away from any medical literature.
The main cause of a nervous breakdown is the rat race in which modern man engages. The lust for money and success-which again is measured in the good things of life, -motivates a man to overwork, both mentally and physically. Constant worry about things being done and to be done lead to tension and a man falls prey to his imagination. Overstraining leads to mistakes which erodes his self-confidence and after that the only way is the way downhill.
Treatment:
Since a healthy mind can reside only in a healthy body, see that the body regains its health. The paint must live a normal, natural life. He should try to get sleep. During the day also he should be advised to relax in a bed for some hours. The loosening of tensions by relaxation will help his organs to do their work properly and he would be able to get rid of the poisons.
The next imperative for such a patient is exercise. He should take walks and if possible take a jogging. His foods should include bread made from wheat from which bran has not been sieved out, fruits and boiled vegetables. Since nervous debility shows a marked lack of vitamin B, the deficiency should be made up by inclusion in his diet of foods, which contain it in larger measure. Unpolished rice, milk, cucumber, mangoes, pears, pineapples, guava, tomatoes, raisins and leafy vegetables should be his mainstay. He should be asked to eat his food in a relaxed manner, chewing it properly before ingestion.
Massages can help in reactivating the nervous system. Hydropathic treatment is also recommended and that merely consists in bathing his spine with a garden or bathroom shower for a couple of minutes. The water should be cold. During summer cold showering of the spine could be done three times or more and in winter twice would do.
The patient must be told to exercise his willpower to get rid of the disease. He must be told that he is getting better. Psychological impressions must be created on his mind, which will help to understand that his disease is not incurable. Suggestion is the best thing in such circumstances. It has to be remembered that certain nervous diseases like hysteria are the result of autosuggestion and nothing else.
Persons suffering from nervous debility are always on the look out for crutches on which they can lean or shoulders on which they can weep. The wise physician tries to reawaken their self-confidence and the desire to stand on their own feet.
Exercises:
Some exercises are helpful in dealing with nervous debility.
Sit on your feet with your stomach touching your knees. Try to keep your spine straight and extend both your arms. Now thrust your right foot forward and stand up with a jerk. Resume your earlier position and repeat the exercise with your left foot.
Stand with your right leg about a foot from your left. Join your hands and extend the arms downward, upward and then backward. More the arms with the hands joined in a circular motion and inhale and exhale deeply during the movement.
Lie on your back on the floor with your elbows touching your sides. Then try to raise the body with your elbows and heels and then resume the former position.
Stand like a boxer and make positions like you are hitting somebody with your fists. Or, to put it differently, indulge in shadow boxing for some time, moving your feet as a boxer does.
Stand in the normal position and then sit down with a jerk on your toes, with your palms touching the ground. Suddenly jerk your legs back just as you were about to do push-up. The exercise is akin to doing sit-ups and push-ups simultaneously.
If this regimen is followed for some weeks, you can get rid of any nervous disorder. It is also beneficial for sciatica, hydrosel and dropsy.
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