Practical observations on mental and nervous disorders / by Alfred Beaumont Maddock ; illustrated with cases.

  • Maddock, Alfred Beaumont.
Date:
1854
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Practical observations on mental and nervous disorders / by Alfred Beaumont Maddock ; illustrated with cases. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    nervous and melancholy, and generally have a sensation of con- fusion or giddiness in the head. About a week ago, during the operation of shaving, a most extraordinary desire came over me to cut my head off; had I not instantly thrown down the razor, and rushed out of the room, I firmly believe that I should have yielded to this extraordinary and dreadful impulse, at. which my soul now shudders. My bowels have not been re- lieved for the last three days, and they have been more or less costive for a considerable time, but particularly so during the last five weeks; the motions are always hard and knotty, and of a clay-like colour. My friends tell me that I am looking very haggard and care-worn, and have strongly urged me to consult our doctor here; but, for many private reasons, I have an ob- jection to fully lay before him my disturbed state of mind; and of course, it is worse than useless to consult a medical man, unless you give him your symptoms without any reservation. Although I set but little value upon life itself, I estimate the blessings of reason ; and I must confess that I feel uneasy about myself, (knowing the predisposition of our family to in- sanity,) and after thinking over the matter, it appears to me that I cannot do better than place myself under your treatment, seeing how successful you were in the case of my dear niece; we all feel that we can never be sufficiently grateful to you for her recovery. Anxiously awaiting your reply, I am, dear Sir, Yours truly, I wrote immediately to this patient, and assured him that I entertained no doubt of his recovery, by strict attention on his