The Washington times., 1917-02-22
HIGH TENSION LIVING
MAKING US NERVOUS
Specialist on Neurotic Condi-
tions Says Women Show
Worst Effects.

Jerome Higgle- Bumper would like
to have his wife fuss up a bit" and
look pretty, meet him in New York,
and take in a show every once in a
while. But she cannot do this be.
cause she is so nervous. The chill
dren rant and tear all day and by the
time she sees they have their suppers
and are ready for bed she is a perfect
wreck
Miss Jane Jellybounce. private sec
retary to the head of the Y. Y. Y.
Construction Company, would like to
take a course of special evening lee
lures, but she is so nervous when
night comes she finds the prospect
out of the question.
Entirely Too Nervous.
Mrs. Jenny Jounce, president of the
local Browning Club, OF Greenvale
Center, would like to enter more
actively into club life, but she is so
nervous she cannot undertake any
thing new.
Miss Beatrice Blissful is so nervous
with her war relief work and the
thousand and one things that cram
the life of debutante in a great city
that she is positively too tired to do
anything but talk.
% II BOeS. everybody Is nervous,
men no less than women. But the
women probably show it more than
the men. They run to cross a street,
run to catch a car, run to get out of
the way of automobiles, run to tea,
run the taxis nearly off their wheels
to get them to dinner, the opera. or
wherever they are bound. Hardly
without realizing it we are a nation
OF marathoneTs, running to our own
funerals.
The Cause.
What the cause, what the cure?"
was asked of DR.. Eugene L. Fiske. of
the Life Extension Institute, in New
York
1.-The seat of the neurotic condition
in this country lies deeper than just
an uncontrolled tendency" replied
DR.. Fiske, at his office in the Life
Extension Institute. "There is reason
for the tendency in the sudden eXpan-
sion OF the country. The country has
| increased in size. way out OF proper
tion to the ability of the people to
keep balanced in the face of the con-
sequent pressure. Due to natural in
crease within the country's bound
aries. and immigration, the country
has about doubled its population in
the last. thirty years. This means
terrific jump in industry, in com
merce, in the professions. and can re-
suit in nothing else but a dislocation
somewhere.
Too Much Speed.
1.-The only thing to do is to try to
fit into the scheme of modern, rush
ing life with as much equipoise as
possible. Life as we have 1t now is
like a factory running at high pres
sure. Each man, woman and child
has his or her part in the running
of the machines. Every time some
body runs amuck, gets unduly eX-
cited or is thoughtless it means that
several wires. in the general system
are Immediately crossed. other peop-
pie haye been annoyed or incon-
venienced. or their work seriously i'm
peded Hence the constant nerve
strain. When you consider how few
people try to keep their feet on the
ground and their heads from scraping
the stars when untoward things hap
pen you wonder we are not all OF
us more upset then we are.
at is to this pressure which. as
believe. is due to the sudden eNpan-
sion of the country and its consequent
results. and to the fact we do not
zeal win the pTODleW HipIe Gun
sciously that is turning us. as a ma
tion. into a university of neurotics.
Train the Children.
"One way to deal with the problem
consciously is to begin with the chill
dren. As have intimated, older peo-
pie can learn to adapt themselves to
the condition. As for children, the
combination OF early training plus
discipline would go long way to-
ward saving them from trouble in
later life and also people who have to
come in contact with them
do you think cigarette smoking
and alcohol play any appreciable part
in the neurotic condition of the wOm-
en- of the nation?"
Smoking Not Real Cause.
mo" he replied. while smoking
may be prevalent among women OF
bohemia and society. you would not
ffnd-were you to make a survey OF
the whole courtry-very many women
smokers in proportion to the popula-
tion.
while a woman smoking a ciga-
rette in a restaurant causes no sur
prise or comment in New York. il
would cause surprise in many cities
scattered over the United States. The
society woman may set the pace, but
we must not forget that the social
group is only one subdivision OF the
big group, and that the society wom-
an or the woman of bohemia is not
representative of the whole OF Ameri-
can womanhood.
Condition PathoIogIc.
'If the nervous condition in which
We are laying stress here is due to