The times., 1899-04-23

summer months. and most of them were
undoubtedly caused by fear alone.
A whole volume might be written en- the
subject of the paralyzing and ruinous ef-
feet of fear. / have known many middle
aged women in whose family histories
there was not trace of mental weak
ness, who have fretted themselves into a
state bordering on insanity through the
very fear of becoming insane. Another
dread which often attacks women when
they approach forty years OF age is that Of
abdominal tumors, and l believe that such
morbid condition of the mind has often
been the direct cause of a morbid growth
in the body.
On the other hand, there hav3 been many
cases in which tumors have actually exist
ed, and the women suffering from them
have refused operation and practically ig
nored their existence, with the result that
after few months the neglected growths
have begun TO decrease in size and finally
disappeared altogether am not argu-
ing against operation, by any means. but
am stating these instances in support of
the contention that the body is powerfully
affected by the mind. This subject of
thought affecting morbid growths of the
body has lately received some attention
from the medical scientists of England.
The cases of imaginary heart disease
are innumerable. Many women whose
hearts are perfectly sound become pos
sessed with the fixed ides that they are
victims of heart disease, and the strans-
est part of it is that they exhibit many OF
the minor symptoms of the real affection.
This notion sometimes becomes mono
mania, and woman suffering from no h
ing more serious than indigestion will go
into a sinking spell and summon a physi-
clan, imagining herself at the point of
death. To tell such a woman that her
pulse is full and regular and her attack of
heart failure a figment of the imagina-
ton would be quite useless. for she would
not believe it. Hypochondrfa Is a COM
plant which should receive very much
more attention than it does at the hands
of medical practitioners, and the wisdom
of encouraging its victims in their delu-
sions is a nice question OF ethics and ex-
pediency.
1t is very amusing to an old practitioner
to receive the condolences of young medi-
cal students who fancy they have discOv-
cred in themselves symptoms OF obscure
and terrible diseases which they are
studying. This experience is universal
among medical men, and has given rise
to many practical jokes.
A well-known medical scientist is quoted
as saying that every first years student
eases. one of which is heart disease and
another cancer of the parotid, both dis
eases, of course, being purely imaginary.
If people, especially women, would real
ize the absolute uselessness of worrying
over real or fancied complaints, the general
health and happiness of the human race
would be very much improved. l have
known nursing mothers TO worry so per-
sistently over crying babies that the poor
little mortals were very nearly poisoned
through drawing in the impulses OF fear
and nervousness with every drop of the
mothers milk. If those over-anxious
mothers could only understand that crying
is one of natures ways of expanding the
infants lungs, their children would stand
a much better chance of becoming healthy
men and women.
Nothing SO enervates and demoralizes
the whole nature as fear. In one form or
another it is responsible for nearly all the
evil which curses the world.