The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1916-12-27
WORRY Is HARMFUL.
Continual Worry is Needless and Tn
dermineS Health.

| Consider the automobile When the
tcar is going to stand still for more
than few minutes the driver stops
the engine. By doing this he saves
| gasoline, oil, and above all, useless
wear and tear on the machinery. II
he lets the engine run idle" he has
wasted a lot of valuable material,
Nshortened the life of his engine and in
the meantime the automobile hasn't
budged an inch.
The birds build nests for the pro
lection Of their young against the
weather; the foxes dig holes for Sc
curity against foes; the squirrels lay
by stores of nuts against the coming
of winter; and dogs bury bones against
the day when bones will be scarce
These are the manifestations of a nor
NAL protective instinct arising from
an experience of many, many genera
tiOnS. So far as is known though,
no bird ever tried to build more nests
than his neighbor; no fox ever fretted
because he only had one hole in which
to hide; no squirrel ever died of an
siety lest he should not lay by enough
nuts for two winters instead of for
one; and no dog ever lost any sleep
over the fact that he didn't have
enough bones laid aside to provide for
his declining years.
This protective instinct is also pres
ent in the human mind and when prop
erly directed is great source of pros
nation. In order for man to store up
and lay by, to gain advancement eth
eT in honor or material things, it is
necessary that he take some fore
thought of the morrow, but Just so
soon as he carries this beyond the
normal point the mental process be
comes an exaggerated and abnormal
one. The normal protective instinc;
IS stimulated by normal fear OF
those events which are reasonably
sure to happen in the future unless
means are adopted against them. The
NAL or exaggerated it over stimulates
this protective instinct and to no good
purpose because it results in worry
This worry continues long after the
necessity for the normal stimulus of
fear has passed, with the result that
there is an impairment in mental
power and a dissipation of the ner-
yous forces. In other words, the
mental engine has been running idle
and at the same time delivering no
propulsive power. In fact, worry, is
an abnormal state
Not all worry is preventable but
for the most part it can be avoided.
Most of our fears are never realized,
and as a rule, if we meet our troubles
day by day as they come without wor-
rying about them before they arrive
or fretting over them after they have
passed, we will find that we have the
strength to rise above them. Worry
undermines the health to a certain
extent. 1t really Weakens the mental
forces by firing them out by doing
nothing. Usually the re11eI from wOr-
ry rests with the victim of this un-
happy habit himself, but sometimes
the real causes are not the ones which
seem explain the condition and we
must go deep into our lives or have
the assistance of those who are skill
ed in unraVeling mental processes.
The best antidOte for worry is a
change Of mental occupation, get
ting away from the scenes which pro-
yoke worry, exercise in the open air,
q good book, a pleasant recreation,
or temporary change Of occupation.
AS a matter of mental health every
sufferer from this unfortunate con
dition owes it to himself to discover
some simple means of getting away
from this habit which is destructive
to health and peace of mind alike.