Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1949-01-07
Mental Hygiene
By Dr. Donald Dukeow Secretary Public Health Education
section Of the American Public Health Association


Much of the recent publicity mental hygiene programs
mental hygiene committees mental hygiene associations ana m
the mentally ILL has people believe that mental
gene primarily concerned with people who are SO oil dsI1oeo
that they institutional and intense treatment o p
clans especially trained in psychiary This is only partly true
Mental Hy giene Defined.
Hygiene is defined in the dictionary "he science of the
preservation of health system OF principles a ls
ed for the promotion health To be that definition is
framed in physical health If we should turn it into de-
fnion health obvious that mental hygiene Wouo
system of principles and rules Tor the preservation anu
exactly what
it 1t is discipline for normal people who by learning certain
rules behavior by learning control their emoons ana n
learning to understand relations to society," are able to pre-
vent emotional outbusts ogicgh compartments ana
toed behavior that make unacceptable to normal society
DR. Haven expressed much this point of view
when he hygiene field of applied human phy
soogy devoted to knowledge OF the effect OF
You are the extensive educational program
upon mental and emotional performances - ,..,o
teach all VIII
principles heahf living from the physical point OF view our
schools health departments and nnumeane voluntary
agencies pounding into the facts of
disease control diet envonmenta sanitation and many otner
important things recently understanding OF per-
sonay emotions and other mental processes been developer
TO the point they freely discussed Now that
have telling how and why they behave like hu
man marked increase the popularity Oh
mental hygiene in the schools colleges and in popular
magazines You will that these popular articles are all
toward helping normal people develop normay IN
Is the curtain pulled give glimpse of what happens
when personalities develop abnormay or have serious emoona
disturbances and frank mental illness
Mental Hygiene Societies
Leading in the educational program people this
hind Of bealh living is group societies devoted
~ various asnes of mental health of state and
local agencies distributing educational literature moving
films radio and in instances actually directing
those who need care family counseng The Mental
Hygiene Red Feather service the agency most rep
resentatiye Of of thing in Toledo,
So far we time exclusively to the forces IN
the community concerned with prevention with pubic educa
tion with understanding OF the common man SO 'a ne y nay
live effectively his community Tor any reason us
normal begins to change to somethng oeInt n
normal he individual guidance and advice and possibly
even will depend the severity of his trouble
USUALLY he doesn't recognize trouble This makes douby
hard TO assistance that he should have That Is why
physicians spending much time learning the relationship
many social concerned with family counsel
tson services of physicians particularly trained under
standing of human behavior and msbehavior
Psychosomatc Reactions
en that approximately onehird of the patients by Doc
nees About third have nothing wrong with their organic
structure whatsoever but have their entire discomfort ana o
trbed kind of personality upset or emo
disturbance that apparently has no physical foundation
The third have ailments that are mixture of the
proportions and neither can be
suitably treated without recognizing the other as
psyhosomatc medicine so important part of Doctors
training -.us. :. ..,ou.
apparent physical troubles that really emotional troubles Let
explain It in simple everyday experience No doubt each
raise You will recall mouth dry hands
your pounded numerically and had to prop
your knees together Nothing with physically
but the body acting stimulus mind have given
showing all of the physical symptoms associated
state call fear Under similar circumstances
hundreds of people day stand before audiences or converse
with that boss with disturbances whatsoever The phy
conditions the but the mental conditions de-
his mental reactions so he stand before audi
before his without fear under all crcum
stances forward far his personal
mental hygiene is concerned
is go a little into the picture. know
apparently well adjusted individual who behaves perfectly
normally all possible circumstances He physically well
complaints developed agonzng
stomach every time there thunder storm with lot
of lightning He knew for IT, but always happened
Finally sought medical help His Doctor could find nothing
But in the of rather long conversation IL was
learned that when this small boy too small to
dersand the meaning Of thunder and lightning his house
hit by lightning of these thunder He had de-
voped subconsciouy fear of thunder lightning that
in later demonstrated itself uncontrolled fear
action which he able far outward
concerned but which demonstrated itself
When this given
sight the psychatrss say able his
troubles and longer stomach thunder
storm.
think you foego these very examples to
of the troublesome things All who seek the Doctors
help have troubles More often than those troubles
sociated deepseated mental which
gotten but which still show themselves symptoms
behavior That the family
helpful TO his patients He knew lot about his patients along
with his pills consolation advice that healed
the emotional disturbances that he didn't
enough 10 That art of medicine still characeeS
the experienced physicians
Advanced Mental Illness. n
The of advanced mental illness through
with fear and tainted with the ancient belief that
urbances the result of
nomna Over the have learned
turbances illness and not visitation of the
OLD asyms have given place to less modern hospitals