The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-01-08
WORRY INJURIES HEALTH.
Treat Yourself With Consid-
Grafton Paid Your Car,
Says Uncle Sam.

Consider the automobile. When the
car 10 going to stand still for more
than few minutes the driver stops
the engine. By doing this he saves
gasoline. OH and above all, useless
wear and tear on the machinery. If
he let's the engine run idle" he has
wasted a lot of valuable material,
shortened the life OF his engine and
In the meantime the automobile hasn't
budged an inch. says a bulletin issued
by the United States health service.
The birds build nests for the protec-
ton Of their young against the wealth.
er: 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 manifestations of n nor
NAL protective instinct arising from
an experience of many. many genera
tons. 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 anx-
iety 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 a great source of
prosperity both to the individual and
the nation. In order for man to store
up and lay by, to gain advancement
either In honor or material things, it
is necessary that he take some fore
thought of the morrow, but just as
soon as he carries this beyond the
normal point the mental process be-
comes an exaggerated and abnormal
one. The normal protective instinct 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 mo-
ment that this fear becomes abnor-
NAL or exaggerated it over stimulates
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 ner-
vous forces. In other words. the men
tai 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
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 ex-
tent. 1t 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 sometimes the real |
eau are not the ones which seem !
to explain the condition and we must |
go deep into our lives or have the as
sistance of those who are skilled in |
unraveling mental processes.
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, a 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.