Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Nerve" in English language version.
[...] William Cullen [...] as early as 1785 [...] postulated that certain mental disorders were the result of some unknown physical change in the nerves, for which he coined the term neurosis. This term has since quite altered its meaning, as it now refers not to a state of the nerves but to a nervous state.
'Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves.' [...] 'You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least.'
[...] in everyday English we find [...] lay terms such as 'nervous breakdown' that relate to mental illness as a whole [...]
