The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-07-13
How to Get Recreation.


the oyerworked. The relief to be obtained
comes not through idleness alone. The
first condition Of relief is rest, and the or
ganism-physico-meutal-issoc 50 constituted
that one part, Of the whole may be rested
Independently of the others. This, in
| fact, is the way natural repose is commonly
taken, and it is a remarkable fact, that if
any one portion Of the system Is especially
active, and, so to say, charged with a large
amount Of energy, rest cannot be secured
unless some other part of the organism is
so worked as to utilize the force this par
ticular portion commonly consumes, by
increased activity in some new direction.
The individual who is accustomed to hard
labor with muscle grows impatient after
the first few hours Of repose, unless his
mind can be occupied, whilst the habitual
brain-work seeks rest, and commonly finds
it, in physical exercise-for example, strid-.
ing the moors, plodding over ploughed
I ~
fields, climbing mountains, or in the en-
crossing and labOrious amusement of the
chase. Failure TO recognize this eondi-
tion Of rest--the faculties aud force con-
sumers, relieving each, other in detach-
ments--is the fruitful cause of disappoint-
ment, particularly when rest is prescribed
as remedy for special forms Of exhaus-
ton. The advice to agct away" ," to Htrav-
el, to seek ereposo and recreation" unless
ampli6ed by precise directions adapting
the remedy to the peculiar needs of the
individual, is about on par with the sage
counsel to ''take medicine, without say
ing what. No real rest can be obtained
for the organism as a whole, or any of its
parts, unless Nature by instinct or spe-
ciaf craving amplffes the prescription.
The need for specific direction is the
greater because, without suggestion, ii
would seem sufficient to secure simple re-
lief from accustomed exertion
In the case of healthy person this viii,
indeed, probably safice-the spare force
win find new avenue for its escape. The
invalid or weakly subject, however, is not
so well provided; the energy, wont to be
converted into force and used in brain
work, win, if not diverted, produce worry;
the material that exhausted itself in mus
cular activity viii fret the physical organ
ism, and give rise to functional disturbance
of stomach or liver 1t is unsafe to lay
any organ or part of the system aside sud
denly, without providing for the use Of its
force 10 some other quarter; and the peril
is especially great in the case of an indi-
vidual who urgently needs rest in one re-
spect, but IS too weakly to take eompeusa-
tory exercise in some other Nor are all
the departments of activity capable of re-
lieving each other. This opens up ques-
tiou TO which the attention of the practi-
cal physician needs to be more specifically
directed, The principle that rest can be
secured only by relief, some other function
absorbing the disused energy, underlies
the rationale of healthfal recreation, and
should govern its pursuit.
To re-create, in its medical and natural
sense, is to repair in structure and renew
in strength. The organism deteriorates
in use as in disuse, though the impairment
from continued employment is not, if the
normal functions have been maintained in
their integrity, so exhausting as the defect
that results from non-development. The
recuperative faculty is an integral part of
the function as a whole, and the organ that
performs its proper service in the economy
most efficiently is eoteris paribUs, in the
best condition to sustain the wear and tear
of us. "0verwork" can only exist when
wear exceeds repair. In health this sell
dom happens, and when it does occur en-
tire disuse Of the organ is not the remedy
The exhaustion that eusues from excessive
activity in a particular part of the organ
ism is analogous to the paralysis that oc-
casionally supegvenes upon the inordinate
and unduly prolonged use Of special mus
eles. Something more than inaetion is
required to restore the normal vitality and
tone of the tissue in which consumption
has outrun supply and repair The first
condition of such recreation as the mind
and body require is rest for the overwork,
ed organs, and this, as we have said, is to
be sought in cessation from the accus-
toned toll, with diversion of energy in
some new direction. Practically, this
compensatory relief must, in case of the
mind, be secured by awakening a new in
terest 1t follows that the inclination
must be consulted in the choice Of a relief,
and, unless it can be stimulated to partici-
pate in some pursuit, the full benefits of
change arc not likely to accrue to any
removal