THURSDAY, NOVEMBER t. 1362
The Medical Roundup
(f. Vy Kmerllm P
Emeritus Profinr of Medicine
Mayo Clinic
(RKiiter and Tribune Syndicate,
tmetitut Cniuullant In Medicaid
Mavo Clinic
1961)
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFOHD, OREGON
Hecogniiing Menial Trouble
As 1 say here from time to
tune, many a woman who
over the course of years has
M" complained
lir ''JM bitterly or an
V ahdnmrn full
!'J of miseries
gi4 and, because
' $ f of them, has
' inree or lour
o p e r a t ions,
1 " 'y has really
f Ia.'? J ' bcen depress-
J edand in need
aivarrt of a pnyema
Irist. I have seen cases in
which all of the woman's
aches and pains disappeared
almost overnight - after a
short course of elcctroshock
treatments which cured her
depression.
On several occasions, a doc
tor has brought me his wife,
who was full of pain. Strange
to say, he had not seen the
significance of the fact that
she was badly depressed. Re
cently, Dr. frank Ayd, Jr.,
wrote a splendid little book
to show that one of the com
monest diseases there is, and
one that is most often mis
diagnosed, is a mental depres
sion. The patient usually talks
ol his abdominal pain, or his
feelings of fatigue, or illness,
or toxicity, and fails to say
that he has had spells of sad
ness and discouragement and
depression - perhaps some
what like those of his mother
or aunt.
For 25 years, while 1 was
teaching graduate medical
students, I often found it dif
ficult to convince them that
the woman before us was in
need of psychiatric care and
not in need of an operation
for her gallstone or "fibroid,"
which was not producing any
symptoms.
To 111 To Work
Many times I have had an
able physician refer to me a
patient who was loo miserable
and ill to work, and was
thought to have some serious
disease, perhaps of his sex
glands. One glance at the shy,
sad-faced muii who couldn't
look me in the eye, and one
touch of his cold wet hand,
and I knew that he was a
schizophrenic. With a few
questions, I learned that he,
a man of 40, had never in his
life dated a girl, and had
never had a job. He had al
ways lived wilh his mother.
Trobahly the reason why his
physician had never noticed
that he was mentally disturb
ed was that in medical school
the doctor had failed to get
any training in psychiatry.
I am writing here of these
menially disturbed people be
cause I recently read an ar
ticle by Dr. Nathan S. Kline,
a professor of psychiatry at
Columbia university. He said
what is so true, that present
day psychiatric concepts are
so complex thai most medical
students, anticipating no great
need for them in their future
practice, either neglect the
subject or soon after gradu
ation forget what little they
were taught.
Consequently, in this field
of medicine a higher than
average number of patients
will be misdiagnosed, and as
a result they will not receive
(he treatment they greatly
need.
fastiH- csRelc - .gh kF xa
Deans . of medical schools
tell me that it is hard to find
teachers capable of interesting
Ihe students in the art of
recognising and helping men
ially disturbed and maladjust
ed patients. The students do
not want to attend a course
in psychiatry because llicy
think they will never in their
office see a patient with a
mental problem. They could
not be more wrong, because
mental troubles arc the com
monest of all. A third of the
people who come to me com
plaining of a stomach-ache or
indigestion have some mental
or nervous problem. .
Training in Big City
Anuthcr reason why many
doctors rarely recognize
"functional" (nervous) trou
bles is that they get their four
years of practical training in ,
a big lity hospital or a Uni-'
vc,-sity hospital in which !
nmJ o the patients are ser-;
iously ill wilh the end-results
of hardening of the arteries, ;
in Ihe heart, the brain, or the -kidneys,
or they are suffer
ing from the end-results of
high blood pressure, arthritis,
diabetes, chronic alcoholism
or cancer.
Many a young doctor has t
said to me, "How can you ex
pect me to recognize nervous
and mental troubles in cul
tured people when, during
my hospital days, my profes
sors never showed me a single
patient with such diseases?"
What makes matters worse is
(hat commonly, when a pa
tient comes in with symp
toms due to dissipation, alco- ;
holism, much worry, divorce j
trouble or trouble with a
problem child, he says nothing
about what he is going
through.
What is the lesson to be
learned from this by people
who are ill? The lesson is that
when you go to a physician,
and after having been ex
amined you are told that your
troubles are probably all due ,
to "nerves," and that you are
depressed, if you are going
through a time of great stress
or unhappiness, don't lie; tell
him the truth about your
troubles and sorrows and un
happiness. Then he may be
able to help you.
Seven Persons
Appear in Court;
Two Sentenced
Thomas Lang Johnson, 22.
Grand Rapids, Mich., was
sentenced in Jackson county
circuit court this week to
three years in Ihe Oregon
Slate Correctional Institution
for burglary.
He had pleaded guilty
earlier to breaking into Pa
cific Motor Trucking company
building, 202 Front St., Med
ford, on Sept. 30.
A hearing was set in circuit
court for Nov. 8. at 8:30 a.m.
on charges of probation vio
lation for James Brandel
Backes, 13, of 325 Columbus
si., Medford. He had been
placed on probation for grand
larceny.
Trial has bcen set for Nov.
19 for William Robert Eber
hardt, 40, of 516 South River
side ave., charge with receiv
ing and concealing stolen prop
erty. He pleaded innocent to
the charge when arraigned.
He is accused of receiving
knives, guns and ammunition
belonging to William Bryant.
Psychiatric examinations
were ordered for two men
charged wilh sodomy. Bobby
Vernon Wright, 316 Willamet
te st.. and Donald Lee Sco
ville, 21, of 108 South Central
ave.
Imposition of sentence was
suspended for three years on
Hallct Howard Anderson, 18,
of 230 Beatty St., Medford. for
contributing to the delinquen
cy of a minor. He was placed
on probation. He had pleaded
guilty to the charges earlier.
The case of Olc Thorvald
Nygard, 18, of Seattle. Wash
charged with contributing to
the delinquency of a mi:. or,
was continued until Nov. 8
for a plea to be entered.
All but nine stales end
their fiscal years June 30.
V) I, 1111 Mil
wtliltir
The Klocker Printery
WILL BE CLOSED
Friday, November 2
8 to 10:30 A.M.
in Memory of
Mrs. Ada T. Klocker
You will understand the I
realities of suffering caused
by nerves if you read Dr.
Alvarez' booklet, "Triumph
Over Nervousness." Order it
by sending 25 cents and a self
addressed, stamped envelope
with your request for it to Dr.
Waller C. Alvarez, Dept.
MMT. The Register and Trib
une Syndicate, Box 957, Des
Moines 4, Iowa.
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