The Washington times., 1933-09-09

Secrets OF
Health
BY LOUIS e. BISCH. Md. Ph.D.
Fight Pessimism With Optimism

Fight PeSsimism With Optimism
Copyright. 1888. King Features
Syndicate, Incl
Now Is the time when pessi-
miSm must be routed wherever
it Is to be found. With the en-.
tire country determined to over.
come the stagnation that has
throttled business and pros
perity everybody, old and young,
must do his or her bit in the
big push that is to get us all
over the top.
Most of our depression diff
cultieS are in our minds any
way. Once we regain the hope
full psychological viewpoint we
used to possess-and justifiably
the rest will be easy.
To be sure, calamity howlerS
have always existed and. no
matter what good things may
be in store for us in the fu-
ture, such individuals will con-
tinue to sing their hymn of hate
in factories, offices, on the
street corners, and even in the
home.
Many Of these men and
women have a special and in
dividual grievance against the
World-or at least they think
they have. Others are neu-
rotic and would feel out Of
tune with their environment no
matter what 1t might be. And
some, of course, just enjoy COM
planning; they are built that
way.
Minds that are healthy in.
variably radiate optimism in
stead of peSsimism.
In fact, the nature Of man IS
to be hopeful. Were one able
to eliminate hope from the hu-
man beings emotional makeup
he would cease to be human;
he would merely exist like a
vegetable.
We all have our hard knocks
and diSappointments and every
so often it seems as though we
simply cannot go on any longer.
Yet have you not yourself OBJ
served that at the very moment
you are "'way down in the
dumps" something within you
stirs and bids you fight on?
That is hope; that is opti-
m1Sm. it can be so consistently
depended upon to come to our
aid in times of great stress and
strain that hope may rightly
be classed as an instinct, at
least as an important element
Of the instinct Of self-preserva-
tion.
In the language Of the prize
ring: we may be knocked down
but we rarely take the count.
After all, it isn't reality that
matters so much as the way we
look at reality.
Pirandello, the famous italian
playwright, makes this psyche
logical axiom the central theme
of all his plays and novels. Ac-
cording to this author we are
what we think we are! And he
Is correct.
Happiness and its opposite.
dependency, are merely states
Of mind. Even when the facts
Of life are adverse and devas-
tating, it Is still possible for
everyone to give these facts q
little twist, in order to ap-
praise them from another an
gle so to speak, and in the
end hopefulness nudges its
way into our thoughts and
we again face the morrow with
q smile.
Robert Louis Stevenson once
said: "A happy man or
woman Is a better thing to
find than a five-dollar bill"
That might well become q
slogan these days to paste in
side our hats.
For right now pessimsim
must be fought with optimism.
Otherwise there is danger lest
we sink even deeper into the
Slough Of Despond" from
which 1t will be harder to
extricate ourselves than 1t is
from the difficulties in which
we now find ourselves.
DR.. Bisch's Daily Diet Hint
Persons who habitually drink
orange juice, lemonade, grape
juice and the like are apt to
tire Of the taste. Especially
Is this true of the sick and
convalescent; those, in fact,
who require fresh fruit juices
daily even more than healthy
folks. Dislike because of same
ness may readily be overcome
by mixing one or more differ
ent juices together as for