Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-02-10
HINTS FOR THE UNEASY
BY H. Addington Bruce

by II. Auulll2tOI DIuCC
HRONIC feelings of uneasiness-as man
ID ifested, for example, by a restless,
~ shifting from one activity to another,
difficulty in keeping the mind concentrated
on anything, vague dissatisfaction with every
thing one does-are always indicative OF
| some state of ill-health. This means that ex-
| pert aid should be sought, and preferably the
! aid of physician with psychological insight
For often the ll-health may be more of the
mind than of the body.
| In neither case, however, will it necessarily
| be a serious state of ill-health, and, in fact,
| it usually is not serious. Often uneasiness of
an extreme sort is found to have it's source
| in comparatively trivial ailments, weaknesses
or malfunctionings.
Thus it is common occurrence to find
uneasiness associated with unsupported eye
strain Or the seat of trouble may be, not
in the eyes, but in the ears. Gases. are on
record of people so plagued by uneasiness
that they perpetually travelled from place to
place. nowhere obtaining peace of mind until
some physician detected and removed a plug
of wax causing pressure in their ears
Fallen or weakened arches of the feet may
likewise have uneasiness of mind as their
only early symptoms. Or the uneasiness may
be due simply to the pressure of ill-fitting
shoes. In the same way the wearing OF
collars, corsets, or other articles of cloth
ing that fit so tightly as to cause undue pres
sure sometimes may be productive of marked
uneaSinesS
Focal infection-especially infection locat
ed in the teeth, tOnsils, or sinuses-is another
cause of uneasiness always to be reckoned
with. So is autO-intoXication from fermented
or putrefied intestinal contents the remedy
then being changes in the diet and perhaps
medication to promote digestion and quicken
the action of the excretory organs
There are, it is true, more serious causes.
Uneasiness may be an early and for time
the only symptom of beginning tuberculosis
or kidney disease. This emphasizes the need
for prompt and thorough medical examina-
ton. Though, as stated the chances are
that nothing will be found radically wrong
with any part of the physical mechanism
Not infrequently, for that matter, the most
searching examination will fail to reveal any
bodily trouble sufficient to account for the
| uneasiness experienced. Then it may be set
down as certain that the uneasiness has
distinctly mental cause.
1t may be forerunner of grave mental
trouble, but it is far more likely to be sign
chiefly of faulty mental habits. Foremost
among these is the habit of undue preoccu-
patton with ones personal desires, comforts
and interests.
The selfish soon late are almost certain
to be uneasy. So are those who, not being
selfish in the usual meaning of the word, are
uncommonly self-centered in any way.
One way is to be abnOrmally self-con-
scous, another to be cowardly, another to be
addicted to anxiety and worry. Whatever
the mode of the self-centering, the indispen-
sable need, if the uneasiness is to be lasting
ly cured is the attaining of self-forgetful-
ness through acquiring the habit of thinking
and working more and more for the good of
others rather than for ones own gain.
A lecturer once told a story of an en-
| gagement he had made to deliver dis
| course in one of the towns of the west on
the subject of the Beacon Lights of Civ
| ilization.
II reached the place. he said, "a little
| behind time and went directly to the hall,
! A large audience had assembled. I was
! introduced by the president of the literary
| society under whose auspices I was to ap-
pear, and, laying my manuscript on the desk
before me, l opened it and waited moment
| for the applause to subsde. Imagine my
| horror when I found that l had brought
along the wrong lecture-one on the Won
/ ders of Modern Electrical Science"
"What did you do?" asked one Of the
| group.
81 went right ahead" he replied. 1.-THE
| audience didn't know the difference"