Silas Weir Mitchell and the "rest cure"

Weir Mitchell ¹ (1829-1914), the American neurologist, renowned for his work on causalgia, was also interested in hysteria. He first encountered it in soldiers during the civil war.

In civilian practice when faced with patients with neurosis and hysteria he developed his "rest cure". It was based, he said, on moral and physical components described in his book Fat and blood ² ; the title reflected his experience that women with hysteria were often thin and anaemic. In addition to rest he insisted on removing the patient from their environment, asking them to write their life history, and using exercise, electrical stimulation, and a nutritious diet. In his hands, a rest cure was a success,...