210 



THE SEX-COMPLEX 



Neuroses of 

 puberty. 



Sexual 

 psychoses 

 first evident 

 at puberty. 



disturbances, such as a depraved appetite, are not un- 

 common. Sometimes there is incessant regurgitation of 

 food, or there may be difficulty in swallowing. Diarrhoea 

 or extreme constipation may be seen. Cardiovascular 

 derangements are very common: flushing of the skin, 

 palpitation and rapid alterations of the pulse-rate are 

 most frequently observed. 



When excessive ovarian secretion occurs early in life 

 puberty may supervene precociously ; and in these cir- 

 cumstances with the development of the adult physical 

 phenomena a mental change occurs which often produces 

 sexuality greatly in excess of the normal. 



This mental disturbance is abnormal for two reasons : 

 first, the stimulus from the ovaries to the brain is far 

 stronger than that normally occurring at puberty ; and, 

 second, the mind of the child is taken by surprise, as 

 it were, before it has been educated slowly to self- 

 restraint and decent conduct. 



Such children may be sexually insane, and indulge 

 in masturbation and any other form of gratification 

 which presents itself to them. 



Apart from precocious puberty there may be an 

 excessive ovarian secretion not only at normal puberty, 

 but also throughout the sexual life of the individual. 

 We know how much more coquettish some girls are 

 than others ; we know, also, how much more lax in 

 their morals many women are than others, and how 

 some women cannot obtain sufficient satisfaction from 

 one man. It may be said that excessive sexuality 

 always commences at puberty, whether the condition 

 amount to actual insanity or merely to excessive 

 stimulation of the sexual instincts, which are normally 

 kept within reasonable bounds ; indeed, we may say that 

 the border line between sexual insanity and excessive 

 sexual desire is merely a question of whether there be 

 shamelessness in sexual conduct or not. Let me illus- 

 trate this statement by two examples which have come 

 under my own notice. 



In the first, a young lady at puberty developed habits 



