The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1917-01-05
DON'T LET MIND run IDLE,


car is going to stand still for more
than a few minutes the driver stops
the engine. BY doing this he saves
gasoline, oil, and above all, useless
wear and tear on the machinery. If
he let's the engine run idle" he has
wasted lot of valuable material,
shortened the life of his engine and
in the meantime the car 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 normal protective instinct aris-
ing 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 had
only 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 pres
ent in the human mind and when
properly directed Is great source
of prosperity both to the individual
and the nation. In order for man to
store up and lay by, to gain advance
ment either in honor or material
things, 1t is necessary that he take
some forethought of the morrow, but
just so soon as he carries this beyond
the normal point the mental process
becomes an exaggerated and abnor-
NAL one. The normal protective in
stinct is stimulated by a normal fear
of those events which are reasonably
sure to happen in the future unless
means are adopted against them. The
moment that this fear becomes alb
normal or exaggerated 1t overstimu-
lates this protective instince 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 dissipation Of the nerv'
GUS forces. In other words, the men
tai engine has been running idle
and at the same time delivering nc
propulsive power. In fact, worry IL
an abnormal state.
Not all worry is preventable, bu
for the most part 1t can be avoided.
Most of our fears are never real
lied, and as rule, il we meet. oul
troubles day by day as they come
without worrying about them before
they arrive or fretting over them az
ter they have passed, we will find thai
we have the strength to rise above
them. Worry undermines the health
to a certain extent. It really weakens
the mental forces by firing them out
by doing nothing. Usually the relief
from worry rests with>the victim OF
this unhappy habit himself, but some
times 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 pro-
cesses.
The best antidote for worry is a
change of mental occupation, a get
ting away from the scenes which pro-
woke worry, exercise in the open air,
good book, pleasant recreation, or
temporary change of occupation. AS
matter of mental health every suf-
ferer from this unfortunate condition
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
United States Public Health Service
Bulletin.