Part 25 (1/2)

Daily exercise should be taken to the extent of fatigue. It is better that those who are still strong enough should have some regular employment which will secure exercise. Those who prefer may secure exercise and recreation in the pursuit of some study that involves necessary physical exertion; as, botany, geology, or entomology. The collection of natural-history specimens is one of the most pleasant diversions, and may be made very useful as well.

Pleasant companions.h.i.+p is essential to the best progress of these patients, especially in their walks, as much more exercise may be taken without an unpleasant sense of fatigue with a cheerful companion than when alone. Solitude should be avoided at all times as much as possible.

Diet.--So much has already been said upon the relation of diet to chast.i.ty and its influence upon the s.e.xual organs that it is unnecessary to add many remarks here. Nothing could be more untrue than the statement made by some authors that the nature of the diet is of no consequence.

The science of physiology teaches that our very thoughts are born of what we eat. A man that lives on pork, fine-flour bread, rich pies and cakes, and condiments, drinks tea and coffee and uses tobacco, might as well try to fly as to be chaste in thought. He will accomplish wonders if he remains physically chaste; but to be mentally virtuous would be impossible for him without a miracle of grace.

One whose thoughts have been so long trained in the filthy ruts of vice that they run there automatically, and naturally gravitate downward--such a one must exercise especial care to secure the most simple, pure, and unstimulating diet.

The following precautions are necessary to be observed in relation to diet:--

1. _Never overeat_. If too much food is taken at one meal, fast the next meal to give the system a chance to recover itself and to serve as a barrier against future transgressions of the same kind. Gluttony is fatal to chast.i.ty; and overeating will be certain to cause emissions, with other evils, in one whose organs are weakened by abuse.

2. _Eat but twice a day_, or, if supper is eaten, let it be very light, and of the most simple food, as fruit, or fruit and bread. Nothing should be eaten within four or five hours of bed-time, and it is much better to eat nothing after three o'clock. The ancients ate but two meals a day; why should moderns eat three or four? If the stomach contains undigested food, the sleep will be disturbed, dreams will be more abundant, and emissions will be frequent. A most imperative rule of life should be, ”Never go to bed with a loaded stomach.” The violation of this rule is the great cause of horrid dreams and nightmare.

3. _Discard all stimulating food_. Under this head must be included, spices, pepper, ginger, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, essences, all condiments, salt, pickles, etc., together with animal food of all kinds, not excepting fish, fowl, oysters, eggs, and milk. It is hardly to be expected that all who have been accustomed to use these articles all their lives will discard them wholly at once, nor, perhaps, that many will ever discard them entirely; but it would be better for them to do so, nevertheless. The only ones which should be tolerated under any circ.u.mstances should be lean beef or mutton, salt in very moderate quant.i.ties, and a moderate use of milk. Use as little of these as possible--_the less the better_.

4. _Stimulating drinks_ should be abstained from with still greater strictness. Wine, beer, tea, and coffee should be taken under no circ.u.mstances. The influence of coffee in stimulating the genital organs is notorious. Chocolate should be discarded also. It is recommended by some who suppose it to be harmless, being ignorant of the fact that it contains a poison practically identical with that of tea and coffee.

Hot drinks of all kinds should be avoided.

Tobacco, another stimulant, though not a drink, should be totally abandoned at once.

5. In place of such articles as have been condemned, eat fruits, grains, and vegetables. There is a rich variety of these kinds of food, and they are wholesome and unstimulating. Graham flour, oatmeal, and ripe fruit are the indispensables of a dietary for those who are suffering from s.e.xual excesses.

Further remarks upon diet, with a few useful recipes for preparing healthful food, will be found in works devoted to the subject of diet.[54] The patient must carefully comply with all the rules of a healthy diet if he would be sure of recovery.

[Footnote 54: See ”Healthful Cookery,” _Good Health_ Publis.h.i.+ng Company, Battle Creek, Mich.]

Sleeping.--It is from accidents which happen during sleep that the great majority of sufferers complain; hence there is no little importance attaching to this subject. The following suggestions present in a very brief manner some of the more practical ideas connected with this part of the subject:--

1. From seven to nine hours' sleep are required by all persons. The rule should be, Retire early and sleep until rested; Early rising is not beneficial unless it has been preceded by abundant sleep.

2. Arise immediately upon waking in the morning if it is after four o'clock. A second nap is generally unrefres.h.i.+ng and is dangerous, for emissions most frequently occur at this time.

3. If insufficient sleep is taken at night, sleep a few minutes just before dinner. Half an hour's rest at this time is remarkably refres.h.i.+ng; and even fifteen minutes spent in sleep will be found very reviving. Do not sleep after dinner, as a pollution will be very likely to occur, and, as a rule, after-dinner naps are unrefres.h.i.+ng and productive of indigestion.

4. Never go to bed with the bowels or bladder loaded. The bladder should be emptied just before retiring. It is also a good plan to form the habit of rising once or twice during the night to urinate.

5. The position in sleeping is of some importance. Sleeping upon the back or upon the abdomen favors the occurrence of emissions; hence, it is preferable to sleep on one side. If supper has been taken, the right side is preferable, as that position will favor the pa.s.sage of food from the stomach into the intestines in undergoing digestion.

Various devices are employed, sometimes with advantage, to prevent the patient from turning upon his back while asleep. The most simple is that recommended by Acton, and consists in tying a knot in the middle of a towel and then fastening the towel about the body in such a way that the knot will come upon the small of the back. The unpleasant sensations arising from pressure of the knot, if the sleeper turn upon his back, will often serve as a complete preventive. Others fasten a piece of wood upon the back for a similar purpose. Still others practice tying one hand to the bedpost. None of these remedies should be depended upon, but they may be tried in connection with other means of treatment.

6. Soft beds and pillows must be carefully avoided. Feather-beds should not be employed when possible to find a harder bed; the floor, with a single folded blanket beneath the sleeper, would be preferable. Soft pillows heat the head, as soft beds produce heat in other parts. A hair mattress, or a bed of corn husks, oat straw, or excelsior--covered with two or three blankets or a quilted cotton mattress--makes a very healthy and comfortable bed.

7. Too many covers should be avoided with equal care. The thinnest possible covering in summer, and the lightest consistent with comfort in winter, should be the rule. Sleeping too warm is a frequent exciting cause of nocturnal losses.

8. Thorough ventilation of the sleeping-room, both while occupied and during the day-time, must not be neglected. It should be located in a position to admit the suns.h.i.+ne during the morning hours. It is a good plan to keep in it a number of house plants, as they will help to purify the air, besides adding to its cheerfulness.

9. If wakeful at night, instead of lying in bed trying to go to sleep, get up at once, open the bed, air the sheets, remove the night clothing and walk about the room for a few minutes, rubbing the body briskly with the bare hand at the same time. A tepid sponge bath, followed by a vigorous rubbing kept up until really tired, will conduce to sleep in many cases. Sometimes a change of bed, or pulling the bed to pieces and arranging it again, is just the thing needed to bring sleep.

10. One of the most effectual panaceas for certain varieties of sleeplessness is going to bed at peace with all the world, and with a conscience void of offense toward G.o.d as well as man.

Dreams.--This is a subject of much interest to those suffering from nocturnal pollutions, for these occurrences are almost always connected with dreams of a lascivious nature.