Neurasthenic Nation investigates how the concept of neurasthenia, the ill effects of modern civilization such as insomnia or impotence, helped doctors and patients, men and women, and advertisers and consumers negotiate changes commonly associated with ï¿¿modernity.ï¿¿ 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 ï¿¿neurasthenic nationï¿¿â€"a place where people saw their personal health as inextricably tied to the pitfalls and possibilities of a changing world.

List of 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

DAVID G. SCHUSTER is an assistant professor of history at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne.