The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-12-28
WORRY AN ABNORMAL STATE.
Human Beings Prone TO Indulge in II
However.

Consider the automobile, When the
car Is going TO stand still for more than
few minutes the driver stops the en-
CINE. 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 n lot of valu'
able material, shortened the life of his
engine and in the meantime the automo'
bile hasn't budged an inch,
The birds build nests for the protec'
ton of their young against the weatheri
the foxes dig holes for security 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 nantes
tation. of normal protective instinct
arising from an experience OF many,
many generations. 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
anxiety 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 present
i'm the human mind and when properly
directed is great source of prosperity
both TO the individual and the nation. In
order for man 10 store up and lay by, to
gain advancement either in honor or ma
terial things, IL is necessary that he take
some forethought of the morrow. but
inst so soon as he carries this beyond the
normal point the mental process becomes
an exaggerated and abnormal one. The
normal protective instinct is stimulated
bv n normal fear of those events which
are reasonably sure to happen in the fp-
ture unless means are adopted against
them The moment that this fear be
comes abnormal or exaggerated, il over
stimulates this protective instinct and
to no good purpose because ii 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 nervous 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 ii can be avoided. Most
of our fears are never realized and as
rule. if we meet our troubles day by day
as thew come without worrying 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. Worrying undermines the health
to certain extent 1t really weakens
the mental forces by firing them out by
doing nothing. Usually the relief from
worry rests with the victim OF this un-
happy habit himself, but sometimes the
real causes are not the ones which seem
TO explain the condition and we must go
deep into our lives or have the assistance
of those who are skilled in unraveling
mental processes.
The best antidote for worry is change
of mental occupation, a getting away
from the scenes which provoke worry, ex-
ercise in the open air, good book,
pleasant recreation, or temporary
change of occupation. As a matter OF
mental health every sufferer from this
unfortunate condition owes il to himself
to discover some simple means OF getting
away from this habit which is destruc-
tive to health and peace of mind alike.