The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1881-10-01
WORRY AND OYERWORK.

ovcrworli is impossible 80 long a, tho
effort made is natural The use Of slim
ullnts in aid Of work is, perhaps, one OF
the ,oEinunc>i forms of collateral luiiri-
ru@r >uSpcnding tile warming sense of ry-
hau>tion. When the lab"ri..uS worker.
{ ";crromc with fatigue. "rutt>;.S linn
self with alcohol, coffee. tea. or any either
I agent which may chance 10 suit him. he
does not add a unit of force to his stock
Of energy: he simply narcotics the sense
uf WEAKNESS. and the guard being drug
gcd. he apprupriat,s the reserve. Not
Unlrrqurntly the warnn" scnSr is stilIetl
/ by the yriy intensity Of the motive power
| or impulse. Ambition, Lcal. love, some
| times fear. will carry u man beyond the
/ bounds set by nature. No matter what
| SllSpcndS the functions of the guard set
at the threshold Of the reserve. if the
I residual stock is ;uuc!led. two consc-
! pucnrc> ensuc-wa>tc and depreciation
! Without 4 reserve Of mental energy the
! mind can II" more cont inuc The heaithI'ui
/ cNcIciSct"i It's functions than i tlahby
muscle without t"uicjty can respond TO
! the stimulus Of strong Nuliti"n. and lit
Il heavy weight or strike a heavy blow.
! The cause. or condition. which most
! commonly rNposes the reserve Of mental
/ energy TO loss and ininry is worry. The
! tone and strength u' mind are seriously
! impaired by its wearing influence, and,
! if it continue long enough. they Will he
! destroyed. II sets the organism of
| thought and feeling vibrating with emo
! tionS which are not conSonant with the
natural liberation Of energy in work.
| The whole machinery is thrown out of
gear. and exercise, which otherwise
would be plcasuablc ;ud innocuols. be-
comes painful and even destructive. Ii
is easy to >yc how this must be- The
! longest note in music. the most steady
and persistent ray of liyht---to use an
old fashioned "XprcSSion-thc tonic mus
cular contraction. are AL, we know. pro-
ttiNG'i ~ II ldl''t 'N'tNNt>Nt'iI vi minute
motive impulses Vi acts like the cxplo-
sion and discharge Of electricity from
alternately connected and separated
points III Il circuit: in fact. Il series of
vibrations. Mcnta! energy doubtless
takes the same form of development. If
Il disturbing clement is intrDGured by the
ohtruSon of some independent source of
anxiety. or il. ont Of the business in
hand. the niint makes diScorU, confu-
sion cnSiics. a:l for the time being haT-
moniouS action ceases. Working under
these conditions in obedience to the will,
the mental organism sU>t;tius injury
which must be great. and may he lasting.
The function of the warHin" sense is Slls-
pended: the reverse is no longer stock
, IN allegiance. and it ceases To give sta
bility to the mind: the rhythm of the
mental forces IS interrupted: 4 crash is
always impending. and too often sudden
rnll&ps" occurs. The point To be made
clear is this: ovcrwork i, barely possible
aud seldom, if ever. happens while the
mind is acting in the way prescribed by
its constitution. and in the normal modes
of mcnta! exercise. The moment. how
cIer. the natural rhythm Of work is
broken and disc"rl cnSuc%. the nlind is
like an engine with tie safety valve
locked. the steam "au-" iai~ii,d, the
! governing apparatus oUt of gear: I break
down may occur ii any time. The state
pictured is one of worry. ana the hcsct-
ting peril is not depicted in TOO lulid
rnlor$. The victim of worry is ever on
| the verge Of catastrophe: if he escape.
the marvel is hot at his strength uf i'll
reflect 50 much as his good I"rtunc.-
Worry is disorder. however induced. and
disorderIy work is ahhoire,t 10y tlIc laws
ot nature. which lraE" ii wholly without
remedy. The energy employed in indus
try carried sm,icr this condition l. Law
'hcti IN pf",iuring i small .cs,.lt and
speedily exhausted. The reserve comes
into rlay very early in the task. and the
faculty Of rccuprration is speedily arrest
ed. Sometimes loss OF appetite an
npunccS the cessation OF nutrition: other
wise the sense of hunger. present in the
system, is Coz Il time preternaturally
acute, and marks the fact that the de
mand is occasioncd by loss of power to
appropriate, instead Of any diminution
Of supply. The effort to work becomes
daily more iaboriou>, the task of fixing
the attention grows interestingly difficult.
thoughts wander. memory fails. the rea-
soniny power is cnfceblcd; prejudice
the shade of dcfumct emotion or some
past persuaaion-tal,rs the place of iudg-
ment: physical nerve on brain disturb
ancc may sUrcryenc. and the crash will
then come suddenly. unexpected by on
lockers. perhaps unrcrccivcd by the suf-
fercr himself. This is TIE history of
IVORY" ar disorder produced by men
tai diSquictude and distraction. occasion
ally by ply steal disease.
The first practical Inference to be de
GHcrG from these considerations is that
brain work III the midst of mental gorry
is carried OH in the face OF cca<eleSS peril.
Unfortunately work and wnrry are so
closely connected in daily experience that
they cannot be wholly separated. Mean
while the worry of wurk-that which
grows ont of the business in hands
generally Il needless though not always
an ayodable evil. In LARGE proportion
Of instances this description of disorder
is Guc 70 the iarl, of education in brain
work Men and women. with minds ca
parnuS and powerful enough, but I'M
trained. ;tttcmp; icat> for which training
is Indispensable and. being unpreparcd.
they faii. Tie utilitarian policy of the
age is gradually eliminating from the
gdTcationary system many of the special
processes by which minds used to he de-
vclopcd. This j.. in part AZ least. why
eases Of sudden collapse are more numer-
nus now than in years gone by. ii is
not. as vanity suggests. that ihc brain
work ni to-day is much greater than