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Show NERVE CASES ON INCREASE IN GREAT BRITAIN Atom bombs, mothers-in-law, Russia, queued shortages, and controls are causing more "nerve" cases among the less stable section of the British population after a year of peace than in the days of bombs and black-outs. A leading Birmingham nerve specialist expressed this view recently, re-cently, suporting it with figures published by the Midland Nerve Hospital one of the biggest in the country where the intake of neurotic neu-rotic cases has jumped up nearly 33 per cent since 1940. Commenting on this increase from 357 to 479 among in-patients alone one of the psychoanalysts attached to the hospital, said: "If we had the nurses and the beds we could treat double the number of nerve cases we have now. We cannot can-not possibly cope with the number of patients the doctors want to send to us." Reasons for the "peace-time nerves" were given me by a medical medi-cal man who has an extensive practice among all classes. They are: Food: Lack of variety is telling on some people, not perhaps physically phy-sically but certainly mentally. Monotony of diet makes them edgy and touchy, and that ishow nerves start. Disillusion: Many , unthinking people expected so much when peace came. Some looked forward to a quick return of all the good things they used to enjoy, and it hasn't happened. Women are suffering suf-fering most because of this. War Fears: First the atom bomb and then the slump in international inter-national relationships have subconsciously subcon-sciously affected many people's nerves. They worry about the future fu-ture and wonder how it will affect them. Mother-in-law: Another cause is beyond any question, the fact that many young women are having to live with mothers-in-law. My experience ex-perience is that living with mothers-in-laws is causing as much nervous trouble and tension among young married women as almost anything else. The doctor added: "Relaxation of the moral code during the war is having a delayed-action effect. Bickering and recriminations among married couples who cannot can-not forgive and forget have a nagging nag-ging effect on the nerves both of man and woman." |