Wichita eagle., 1888-08-05
IMAGINARY ILLS
Why MANY PERSONS SHOULD LET
MEDICAL BOOKS ALONE.

Net Best 70 MAKO Too Clos . ss.ay q
O.s's Phy.aeaa ASfne,ss-TAs Resalss
Of Breeding Over Msss~rs-rAs Faith
Cur.
Is IS dangerous for many highly inteliec-
tual people TO study CT even resd . medical
treatise, because it VIII surely undermine
THAR comfort and peace, II not their heaish
I have known several who were compelled 20
turn back frun the study Of medicine pursay
because Of their having this over powerful
Imagination l am r-yseaf usaahie 81 tre--
many coHtaSicus diseases without securing
mid attacks Of the sane myself believe
the most serious eGccts On susceptible persons
Is sort OF congestion Of different c-ssas.
most hkeiy Of biaddes. kfdoeysaad the heart
That this Is dAnSero;s Il many Gases Is not
TO be disputed
The very best posEh.e et-ice b many per
sons = simply to let ~ medical BOOKS aloue,
and 20 50 employ ttea- minds tsat they VII
rot think Of matters & health and disease
do no. mean that on that account they uirs.
neglect al precautions against disease. and
refuse 10 exercise co11non sense IS to dies
and physical protection This can be dons
on general principles. with special attention.
and 50 without morbid conssGuences- Wna-
| do mean IS that there IS one hundredfold
moro doctoring going on than is Necessary,
and al of this is reading TO create false
symptoms and 81 unhealthy SCI ancsomy
Il is precisely Is IN moral affairs. Wise
teachers know that . person can form no
worse religious habit than = study OF bis own
nature Edward Evsrsss Hale makes the law
Of right living 20 be 10 hook upward. not
downward, outward. not inward; forward
not backward, and 70 lend hand l would
say that a similar law should control Us
phy.icany-.o look away from our petty all
nents, to lock Up, and forward, AID OUT
ward
EYFEcrs o. DsEyArIoS
Chronic medicine takers VIII soon develop
every III that they imagine. wish to en-
pneaZe thn sids Of che faith" question IL
is rot only true that faith cures, hut that
faith also diseases. and il b the diseases Of
faith that faith is as'le to r-rnove There ara
natures in whom Imagination is 50 dominant
tha. they can make themselves III or wei
as they decide to be But Les it be also IN
dars,ood that we are all liable 70 be moro or
ieS Dt OGs Or II
In cases Of insomnia, the one all important
point IS to convince the patient that be is
going TO have good night Of It BE viii
then promptly fall asleep and rest undis-
soirted probably all night But Il, jurt De-
fore bedtime, he begins to worry and imagine
that rs shall be vake,ul, the chances are he
viii be wide open eyed in spite OF your drugs.
It has been my custom in cass Of nervous
insomnia TO administer sweeSsned water.
Favored with some harmless substance az,s.
it works quite IS well as powerful soporifc
What is needed is b arotss the confidence Of
the patient
Il is an absolute necessity that VIE DO not
brood over any matter whatever. allowing 1t
70 make too deep an impression Oh t6e brain,
or as we say, on our ninds 4 large proper
ION OF the women patents in insane asyl1Tns
are there for no other reason but failure TO
restrain and curb their emotions Or. Como
molly says, through their habitual indul
ge1ce Of bad temper This statement OF the
case rlust, however, be modified By the fact
that bad temper is itseH result OF habitual
excited nerves. 4 chronic lea drinker Aay-
ing established an irri:Ated digestion tract,
is also iTritated and irritable cerebraliy The
result is a chronic display Of ill-semper and
then follows the need OF confinement In
asyIums. The danger Of fits OF anger, OF In
dulgence in irTitabfbty Of An extreme and
increasing sort, Il great It Is inapienr in
sanity To brood over a wrong. or TO fail
into q frenzy OF exc1temsnt over it, tends u
increase the probability that We shall become
victims TO the excitement q well as the Cause
Of the excitement
AN IRRATIONAL coNSER
Indeed, I an inclined to think that each
ard every one of as has in some corner OF the
mind . susceptibility that is nrauon.l Our
one oddisy or susceptibility may never bs
strongly called out, or il it be It may very
lIkeiy b harmless affair, canatng am9ss-
nent, bot doing no harm The large ma
jority indulge such fancies mainly IN coonec-
ton with their religion or nheooSy aid
never grow absurd except In affairs Of pha.
we often term the heart Here they sls-
tain a realm Of faith, and consider IL night
and rational TO believe what they underssAnd
20 be incredible and impossible on evIy
ground bus revelation AID faith This IS
not altogether harmless, however, and in
periods of excItenens leads 70 decisions and
disorders Of q dangerous sort
Our minds should be trained hAbituailv TO
turn away from whatever subject produces
unhappiness, or irritation, or q morbid fancy.
Expectatios of conssqOsnce, or fear Of IL,
Is potent cause 10 produce IL Or. tn Use
the TECHNICAL word faita, re know that faith
~iu both induce aid remove d,s-aaz There
Is no question bss ssss tho application ct
kings hands did cure scrotnia. bat the csrs
was indeed By the exP-ctAst state Of tee
patients mind / have Known warts re-
moved nv ab<rrSssfa pon~uae-brf this DON
ssuse vas suf5csent 10 ~ aksn faith Ia the pr
eon afflicted The Oldest sse Of electro he.ts
and similar appliances was found BY certain
Distinguished surgeons and physicians 20 -
working remarkable cHeA They sabstRu.ed
wooden tractors, made 20 resemble she F~uu-
ine, and obtained the sasne resulx Tbs
pasiert's farah did the wrk-A xaaFscs,
Il D., In Globe Dsmocrat
The Huisspuc>sioa Of MssedA