The Borderlands of Insanity and Other Allied Papers

TO THE READER. I detached articles, all more or less bearing on the same subject-I have on the following pages-in a series of deavoured to show how fine is the line that separates Sanity from Insanity, and how large is the group of persons dwelling in the neutral territory. But slight occasions are sufficient to take them over the frontier the necessity of watchfulness, ere the line of demarcation is passed, and an individual finds himself deprived of his civil life, is, therefore, apparent, and needs no apolgy for being dwelt upon. Even in cases where insanity is declared, or mental weakness is confirmed, I have endeavoured to show that- excepting in the more violent cases where the appliances of an asylum are absolutely necessary-it is an error, especially during the period of convalescence, to crowd patients together in an atmosphere sodden with insanity, where they have to struggle through many adverse circumstances in their progress towards mental convalescence. The true method of cure, in the authors opinion, is to surround the patient with sane minds, and this desideratum can best be found in the family of the physician, where the influence of the family life of one of the best educated classes of the community, aided by professional tact, is by far the best mental medicine that call be applied to the patient. Even in chronic and harmless cases of insanity, the support of healthy minds is, the writer thinks, absolutely necessary to keep the mentally afflicted from deteriorating I and we cannot give a better instance of the fact than the success, both psychologically and economically, of the ancient community of Gheel, in Belgium, milere, for hundreds of years, there has been an Insane Colony living the social life and joining in the labours of the peasantry with the most marked success. In Kennoway, in Scotland, again, which has not inaptly been called the Scottish Gheel, an Insane Colony has for many years been planted, and has been lligllly eulogized by the Scottish Commissioners in Lunacy. It is only necessary to add that some of these papers have already appeared in the Quarterly Review and other publications, and are now first collected as a humble contribution to psychoIogical medicne there is an immense amount of latent brain disease in the community, only awaiting a sufficient exciting cause to make itself patent to the world, there can be no manner of doubt. In the annual reports from lunatic asylums, which would lead the public to believe that certain powerful emotions mere sufficient to disorganize the material instrument of thought. Thus we find love and religion figuring for a very large proportion of the lunacy of our asylums............