The famous old writer Sun Li wrote at the beginning of his short article "Red Cross Hospital" published in June 1986: "In the autumn of 1956, my illness seemed very serious, like a patient who suddenly lost his breath. Like a rubber ball, I have no energy at all, and the color of the sky and the earth has darkened in my eyes. I feel that I am about to die, and I am very pessimistic. In fact, this is a manifestation of long-term insomnia and extreme neurasthenia." The description can be said to be the "confession" and "main complaint" of the patient with neurasthenia. In just a few strokes, it makes part of the patient's thoughts and feelings vividly appear on the page.
“Neurasthenia” as a name for a mental illness was first proposed by Beard of the United States in 1868. He believed that neurasthenia was mainly due to excessive mental and physical fatigue, which caused irritative weakness of the central nervous system, which manifested as being very sensitive and prone to fatigue.
Generally speaking, there are four types of people who are prone to neurasthenia:
(1) People who lack self-confidence. This type of person has no confidence in anything and is highly dependent. I know a young woman who is already a sophomore in college, but she has to "ask for instructions" from her mother on what to wear and what to eat. She has no independent ideas and lacks independent awareness and independent action. She suffered from neurasthenia and often suffered from insomnia and difficulty sleeping.
(2) People with obsessive personality. This type of person is too demanding for perfection and always feels that things are not perfect. I know a middle-aged doctor who studies hard, has good medical skills, and enjoys prestige among his patients. But he has a "problem" that he can't change, that is, he has to wash his hands endlessly with soap, lest his hands are not clean and may be infected with infectious germs. He also suffered from neurasthenia and often suffered from insomnia.
(3) People with melancholic personality. Such people are always unhappy at every turn.
(4) People with hysterical (commonly known as "hysteria") character. Such people are self-centered, pursue vanity, and cannot restrain their desires.
Neurasthenia is closely related to occupation and type of work. People who engage in mental work are generally several times more likely to suffer from neurasthenia than those who do physical work. According to some surveys, college students in physical education colleges rarely suffer from neurasthenia; however, high school students who are preparing to apply for college have the highest incidence of neurasthenia, and as the fierce competition for college entrance examinations increases, the incidence of neurasthenia tends to increase year by year. From this simple investigation, it can be seen that neurasthenia is a brain disease, a disease that causes serious disorders of brain function due to "excessive" or improper use of the brain.
From the perspective that neurasthenia is a serious disorder of brain function, it can be determined that there are three situations in which you may get neurasthenia: (1) If you engage in mental work intensely for a long time, but But do not strive for or cannot get the relaxation and regulation of brain function; (2) If you suffer from strong mental trauma, but do not strive for or cannot get comfort and guidance; (3) If you continue to be depressed and sad, but cannot When fighting for or not getting warmth and care. In these cases, neurasthenia is possible.
What should I do if I have neurasthenia? ① Don’t be overly nervous and anxious; ② Carry out drug treatment and psychological treatment in a timely manner without delay. The best way is to reasonably arrange the time for study, work and life, pay attention to the balance between work and rest, and tighten and relax. Don't tighten your mind like a full bow, relax your thoughts and ease your emotions. Generally speaking, after one hour of intense mental work, you should take a walk and move your body. It is best to do simple gymnastics in an area with fresh air. Experiments have shown that doing this for ten minutes can increase endurance by more than 15% and shorten the time to eliminate fatigue by more than 80%. You see, doesn’t this kind of break not only “waste” time, but actually save time by improving work efficiency? As for how to prevent neurasthenia, there are two methods you might as well try. ① Maintain a comfortable and happy mood, think openly and let go, and not be troubled by worries; ② Develop a good habit of playing sports every day, rain or shine. If you are good at adjusting and stabilizing your own thoughts and emotions, and if you insist on exercising and increase the alternating process of excitement and inhibition in the brain, then I can say with full confidence that neurasthenia will escape from you. You will not feel tired and exhausted, but will feel full of emotions and energetic.