The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-12-24

on schedule, reads lot, of child psy-
chology. and all that.
She always has been pretty healthy
until the last seven years. She got sick
and I consulted doctors who couldn't
find anything wrong. Later she became
better and was up and around. but has
been more or less ailing all the time.
She doesn't want to go anywhere with
me like she used to.
She watches the kids for the least
sign of trouble, and keeps the boy out
of school If he sneezes. She takes her
own temperature and theirs and tries
to take mine every morning.
At first I was scared to death about
her and persuaded her to see various
doctors. All said there was nothing
the matter with herr Yet she claims
she has to diet and has lost weight
from it.
She won't drive our car. She won't
go anywhere alone. She won't get up
before noon. She is afraid of every
thing. for herself and for the children.
Her life is just one big fear.
If I thought she really was sick, I'd
be willing to do anything to make her
we'll, but I don't think she's sick. She's
know. Have you anything to suggest?
FLABBERGASTED.
DEAR NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
- her to a first-rate psychiatriSt
and let him unearth the cause of
her fears. The most destructive
fears are those which originate in
the unconscious and are repressed
sternly by the conscious mind of
the victim. Something sinister evil
IDENTIFY is troubling your wife, which
takes its form in various lesser fears
which she is willing to acknowledge.
She is evidently sick. mentally and
her ailment long since has passed
the place where you can help her
without the aid of a skilled psychia-
triSt.
However, if you want to try few
home experiments, you may get
some suggestions from Bertrand
Russell who has an
Read This interesting chapter
Cboo,+oo, on fear in his new
on Fear of Hannfness $500 Tn
stead Of trying to
calm your wife's fears or to scold
them Iout of existence, try letting
her indulge them to the fullest ex-
tent for a while. Take a day off
and talk her fears over with her I'M
til you are both talked out" I'M
agine the worst that possibly could
happen to either of you and face
it together.
Soak yourselves in a perfect orgy
OF fear. Cross every bridge pos
sible before you get there. Plan
what you would do if she die. if YOU
should die, if the children should
die. Pull every lurking fear you can
find right out in
the open and look D5cc9,co
at it Squarely. ~ IL
When you have x1V' C''0
done a thorough Horrors
job of soaring your
selves to death, then say to each
other, well, what of it?" No mat
ter what happens to us, the world
vii go on as usual. In few years
we will be gone and forgotten. The
struggle will be over. 1t is evident
that all these horrible things can
not happen but even if they
da, what of it?"
Value of such procedure is That
it helps to empty the unconscious
of its accumulation of unacknowl-
edged fears. You can't get away
from fear by running from it, but
only by facing it down. Fears are
things which pursue us like demons
as long as we run, but which often
vanish if we turn and look at them.
A single vigorous reaction can not
last if you give it full sway. It is
bound to wear itself out in time.
This is a procedure which sue
ceeds in banishing fears of the aver
age normal person. Most of us can
laugh with the old man who said:
MY life has been filled with
troubles, many of which never hap
pened." But your wife has slipped
over the line drawn fof the normal
person, and if she does not respond
favorably to this experiment, you
should lose no time in placing her
in the hands of an expert.