If a family or circle of friends is so constituted that some are obsessed
to _do_ certain things and others are obsessed _not to stand them_ the
foundation is laid for a degree of irritability inconsistent with mental
health. Mrs. X. simply cannot stand hearing Mr. X. tap the floor, and if he
continues, her discomfort becomes acute; the sound so dominates her that
she can think of nothing else and can accomplish nothing until the sound is
stopped. She can stand _anything_ but _that_. The daughter, Miss X., hardly
hears the tapping, and is irritated and impatient to the last degree on
account of her mother's "silly" notion. What Miss X. simply cannot bear is
hearing her brother continually clear his throat, and if he does not stop
she must leave the room or "go wild." Unfortunately, meantime, Mr. X. is so
obsessed to tap the floor that he cannot follow his task without it, and
Master X. _must_ clear his throat every few moments with a peculiar note
because he "has catarrh."

Here we have a common starting-point for family discomfort, and here we
have a clue to the advice of the physician who advises isolation as a step
toward the cure of the member of the family who first breaks down, not
simply under the stress of occupation, but of occupation plus the wear and
tear of minor but constant sources of irritation.

* * * * *

It is said that the victim of jiu jitsu, by breaking one hold, places
himself in the greater danger from the next. Similarly, after having
conquered a few obsessions, one is overwhelmed with the obsession to set
every one straight. Soukanhoff was right in warning the obsessive to beware
of pedantry.

The question here presents itself whether this line of thought does not