Neurasthenic nation : America's search for health, happiness, and comfort, 1869-1920 / David G. Schuster.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schuster, David G., 1969-

Series:

Critical issues in health and medicine.

Critical issues in health and medicine

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Neurasthenia--United States--History--19th century.

Neurasthenia.

Neurasthenia--United States--History--20th century.

Americans--Health and hygiene--History--19th century.

Americans.

Americans--Health and hygiene--History--20th century.

Industrial revolution--Health aspects--United States.

Industrial revolution.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (224 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, NJ : Rutgers University Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

As the United States rushed toward industrial and technological modernization in the late nineteenth century, people worried that the workplace had become too competitive, the economy too turbulent, domestic chores too taxing, while new machines had created a fast-paced environment that sickened the nation. Physicians testified that, without a doubt, modern civilization was causing a host of ills—everything from irritability to insomnia, lethargy to weight loss, anxiety to lack of ambition, and indigestion to impotence. They called this condition neurasthenia. Neurasthenic Nation investigates how the concept of neurasthenia helped doctors and patients, men and women, and advertisers and consumers negotiate changes commonly associated with “modernity.” Combining a survey of medical and popular literature on neurasthenia with original research into rare archives of personal letters, patient records, and corporate files, David Schuster charts the emergence of a “neurasthenic nation”—a place where people saw their personal health as inextricably tied to the pitfalls and possibilities of a changing world.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1. Professional Medicine and the Discovery of Neurasthenia

Chapter 2. The Popular Diagnosis

Chapter 3. The Search for Inspiration: Neurasthenia and Therapeutic Spirituality

Chapter 4. Neurasthenia, Health, and Gender

Chapter 5. Lifestyle and Managing the Healthy Balance

Chapter 6. The Decline of Neurasthenia

Epilogue: Neurasthenia’s Legacy

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-280-49346-1

9786613588692

0-8135-5222-2

OCLC:

776108922