The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-06-01
WORRY IS A PERIL
1t Often Causes Ills Greater by
Far Than Itself.
LIABLE TO LEAD TO DEATH.
In Many Cases 1t Is an important
Agent In the Production of Diabetes,
Gout, Goiter, Chronic Heart Disease
and Other Physical Troubles.

Agent In the Production of Diabetes,
Gout, Goiter, Chronic Heart Disease
and Other Physical Troubles.
With the possible exception Of those
in the period Of happy childhood, every
one is at times victim of worry IN
fact, the average individual thinks Ui
and accepts worry much as he thinks
of and accepts disagreeable weather
conditions-as one of the bitter things
of life which must be taken with the
sweet. In other words, he regards it
as a fact but does not attempt to
analyZe it.
The wisest thinkers of all times have
recognized the condition, and many
we'll known writer's have expressed
their views Of its psychology What
has not been sufficiently recognized,
however, until very recently, is the
Importance of worry, not merely in
itself, as implying the absence Of hap
piness, but as the cause of ills far
greater than itself, the cause predis
posing to secondary manifestations
which would otherwise have been es-
capped altogether.
Having fully comprehended this fact,
the next logical step in scientific pro-
gression is to determine the exact mech
anism by which these disturbances
are brought about. Through the con-
joined efforts Of psychologists and
physiologists we are just beginning to
reach the true physical basis of this
important subject.
The keynote Of worry is beyond doubt
disturbance Of the mind, says Dr.
Erie D. Forrest in the Medical Record
It may be defined as the restless con-
sciousness of all membranes which
we accept under protest.
To elaborate this definition, it is the
minds unrest about anything which
concerns US, whether it relates to our
future, our dear ones, cause we have
espoused, our happiness, our salvation,
our means Of support, our position in
life, our health, our fate or our success
in general. 1t does not consist solely
in our interest in all these things; it is
rather a disquietude arising from a
feeling of helplessness before the Vari-
Gus chances and claims Of life.
The popular opinion seems to be that
the mental condition is one Of depres-
sion, possibly because the physical
manifestations are chiefly oppressive
in nature The fact cannot be too
strongly emphasized, however, that the
primary mental condition is one of
overactivity and, moreover, overactiv-
ity along lines Of fixed ideas.
Without taking up individually the
phases Of worry brought about by the
various specific causes the physical
manifestations Of worry in general
may be said to be depression Of respi-
ration, signing, disturbances in rate
and force of heart beat, vasomotor
changes, disturbances in secretion, pal
lor, cold extremities, relaxation and
decreased motility Of the alimentary
tract, dilatation Of the pupil, loss Of
weight, insomnia and general physical
exhaustion
These disturbances may vary in their
prominence and may appear as groups
Of symptoms characterizing we'll known
diseases. Thus worry is sometimes an
important agent in. the production Of
diabetes, gout, exophthalmic goiter and
chronic heart disease.
Inasmuch as worry is primarily a
disease Of the mind, and since every
portion Of the body is intimately con-
nected with every other part by net
work of nervous tissue of great COM
plexity, we naturally seek for the
causes Of these manifestations, first Of
all, in the nervous system.
In every individual at given time
there is limited amount Of potential
energy stored up in the cells of the
brain. This function seems to rest in
the chromatin granules Of the nerve
cells, and it has been shown repeat
edly that a liberation OF nervous en-
ergy, whether in response to d psychic
or sensory stimulus, results in a physl-
ological degeneration of the chromatin
granules. and consequently Of the cells
themselves. Obviously a prolonged dis
charge of nervous energy diminishes
by so much the amount left in the
brain cells Furthermore, stimuli Of
sufficient number, intensity or dura-
ton may cause. exhaustion and death.