Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1913-09-18
NO CURE FOR FEAR
Purely a Mental Condition Sci
dom Overcome.
Malady without Physical Reason, cay
Scientists, That Causes Much suf-
ferine and Is Subject Of Great
Interest Little Investigated.

| Responsible Tor countess absolute Iall-
ures in life, and there Is no cure
for Il.
Once fear takes a grip upon man
or woman 1t is unlikely he or she ever
will be able to shake loose from its
tentacles. II grows in intensity and a
slight mental depression only helps
to increase its acuteness.
There are the fears of disease, the
fear of failure and fear of success.
Men who have begun life in their
youth with all the mental and physical
requisite for success IN the financial
world. have, unaccountably TO their
friends, failed miserably. And the
specific causes of these failures never
have been revealed even to their most
intimate associates. They know the
reason in their own hearts, but man
with morbid fear never let's his Sc
cret escape from his brain cells.
While the many fatal maladies of hui
mainly are being combated by science,
and in many cases with marvellous sue
cess, little attention, says the New
York Press, is being paid to this men,
tai disease that of all agencies is the
greatest hampering influence in life.
No specific remedy has yet been found
to relieve It. There have been in
stances of where 1t has been over
come in a great measure. but never
entirely. Fear, once a part of hui
man beings mentality, may desert
temporarily, but 1t Invariably returns
in the least expected instances.
AS no physical reasons for its exist
ence have as yet been positively
proved, it must for the present be con-
sidered as a purely mental condition
and from the standpoint of personal
observation and experience.
1t is a subject of the utmost impor-
lance, as the occurrence Of fear as
malady in an individual may spell his
misery or happiness, his success or
failure, no matter what his calling
in life may be. e Is o. more than
medical interest, as it may concern
the welfare of the lawyer, banker, ed
itor. man of business-in fact every
body, often even the physician him.
self.
A man may face a lannon's mouth
as calmly as he would sit down to
lunch, with all thought of death far re-
moved from his mind. and yet be at
fiicted in everyday civil life with the
malady Of fear!
A soldier of fortune who has fought
under the British flag in all parts of
the empire struggled for years after
his return to civil life against a mys-
ferrous feeling Of fear. Unable to bear
1t any longer, he went to a physician,
to whom he confessed as follows: II
have fought in II battles, and have
been decorated with the Victoria
Cross; / have never been a coward,
but now / am as fearful as a woman.
dare not even venture to cross a
street If there is a single vehicle in
sight, and l am heartily ashamed of
myself. Help mel"
This is one kind of fear which is |
here considered as a malady, and it |
is unnecessary to add that this SOL |
der Of fortune suffered most lament
ably from his unreasonable afiiction.
The fact that he was relieved In a
very short length of time throws some |
light on the Importance of looking on |
such a condition as a veritable dis
ease.
A we'll known writer always had a |
dread of beginning any new literary |
work for fear that it might not be up |
to his usual standard, and consequent |
ly might not prove acceptable. He |
had noticed, in reviewing his condi- |
ton, when whenever he commenced |
anything in that dreadful frame of
mind the result was invariably fail
urc.
When that fear was not present,
anything he wrote was always favor
ably received. He could never tell |
that state of fear would be |
present or not when he sat down to
his daily task. This condition be-
came more and more frequent, until
finally he could not trust himself to
write a single word A psychologist
relieved him ultimately.
But there is one thing which dis
tinguishes fear as a malady from fear
as commonly known. and that is it's
There is as a rule
no apparent cause to justify such
strange and unexpected results.
OF course. any one confronted on a
dark night by pistol thrust under the
nose would be apt to feel more or
less frightened-that is reasonable
iear-but TO feel just as badly fright
sned in the absence of all visible dan.
ger serves 20 class the condition IN
Ter discussion as distinct malsdy.
There is one thing common TO all
persons afflicted with this condition of
year, and that is, all mental activity
S more or less suspended or paralyzed {
It the time OF attack. The capacity ,
or mental work and even the desire
IRE absent in varying degree.
Rapid thought is impossible, and !
he victim complains that he cannot {