ee (Jury, 
ON HYPOCHONDRIASIS. 
_ Tuere are few individuals more deserving of pity than the hypochon- 
driac, and yet there is no complaint, except perhaps the tooth-ache, 
which excites less commiseration than hypochondriasis.. The..reason 
of this seems to be either that this malady is held to depend upon the 
individual being merely Jilious, as it is rather indefinitely called, or else © 
that it arises from a sickly imagination, and may be thrown off by an 
effort of the will. That a deranged condition of the digestive organs 
may produce lowness of spirits is too obvious to admit of denial, or to 
require any illustration. But this kind of mental depression bears a 
direct relation to the state of the stomach, and as this regains its tone, 
the mind recovers its hilarity. Such, however, is not the case in hypo- 
chondriasis, in which there is for the most part a conviction pressing on 
the mind of the patient, that he labours under some incurable disease— 
an impression which no vigour of his digestive system can remove, 
and which becomes the constant object of his solicitude—paralyses 
every mental exertion, and poisons every rational enjoyment. Neither 
does the idea that hypochondriasis depends upon the indulgence. of 
fancy or caprice appear better founded. A man is laughed at who com- 
plains of pain in the great toe of the leg which he left on the field of 
Waterloo some ten years ago ; yet, however ridiculous this may appear, 
it is literally true that he feels the pain there, because the nerve which 
went to the toe conveys to the brain precisely the same sensation 
it was wont to do before the limb was amputated. In such a case no 
reasoning can alter the nature of the impression, nor any argument 
blunt the acuteness of the suffering. So I imagine it is in hypochondri- 
asis ; we may know perhaps that the sensations do not—cannot corres- 
pond with the reality—in a word, that they are but sensations, yet we 
cannot, either in the one case or the other, shake off the inconvenience 
by exertion, or drive it off by ratiocination. Ibeg not to be misunder- 
stood—I do not mean to assert that any hypochondriac may not aggravate 
his complaints by intemperance in his diet, indulgence in his caprices, 
or indeed any irregularity in his mode of life; but Ido assert that 
his complaint sometimes comes on notwithstanding the most rigorous 
bodily temperance and mental. discipline; yet all the doctors lay the 
onus of this miserable complaint upon the stomach, and direct their 
remedies against its supposed delinquencies. I am myself, one of the 
ill-fated race of hypochondriacs, and therefore, speak from. personal 
knowledge. I consulted Mr. A: , and was beginning to describe my 
feelings to him, thinking, ‘good easy man,” that a knowledge of the 
symptoms was necessary to a discovery of the remedy—not at all. He 
cut me short with “ don’t tell me of feelings! you're hipped, Sir, that’s 
all; take a blue pill every night and read my book.” Not quite satisfied 
with this off-hand method of prescribing, which looked as if he had made 
up his mind before hand to give me the blue pill, whatever my complaints 
were, I resolved to consult Dr. P. ; he too ordered medicines for the 
stomach, but luckily, without enjoining the perusal of his book, which 
Lam told is more difficult of digestion than all the drugs at Apothecary’s 
Hall. The idea of reading medical books having been suggested by 
Mr. A. , I speedily collected all which seemed likely to throw, 
light upon my complaints, and it is from the result of this inquiry tha 
I have formed my opinion that hypochondriasis does not depend so much 
on the state of the. digestive system as upon the irritation of certain 
“ 
