Worry - the disease of the age
They must be true dogmas, else they can- not survive the onslaught of " man's unconquerable mind." Yet again, our philosophy must recognize that the soul of man has more than its intellectual component; it has " exultation, agonies, and love.
These, as well as our minds, our emotions as well as our reason, are our friends if we will have them. We shall cure worry neither at the cost of our intellectual chastity, as by cozening ourselves to believe that which we know to be untrue, nor by striving to effect our end with the aid of the dry light of reason alone, casting scorn on the emotional nature.
If we are to live completely and throw worry to the dogs, we must honour and recognize our complex nature in its completeness. The stoicism has failed because they denied the emotions, and the emotional- isms have failed because they were opposed to man's mind and the truth which it worships. The cures that have endured, the optimisms that have survived, are those which have affronted no essential part of human nature, the sufficient vindication for both aspects of which, the intellectual and the emotional for the evolutionist, at any rate, is the fact of their survival, their survival with an increase, their triumph, indeed, after the supreme test imposed upon them for countless ages by the struggle for existence.
These, as well as our minds, our emotions as well as our reason, are our friends if we will have them. We shall cure worry neither at the cost of our intellectual chastity, as by cozening ourselves to believe that which we know to be untrue, nor by striving to effect our end with the aid of the dry light of reason alone, casting scorn on the emotional nature.
If we are to live completely and throw worry to the dogs, we must honour and recognize our complex nature in its completeness. The stoicism has failed because they denied the emotions, and the emotional- isms have failed because they were opposed to man's mind and the truth which it worships. The cures that have endured, the optimisms that have survived, are those which have affronted no essential part of human nature, the sufficient vindication for both aspects of which, the intellectual and the emotional for the evolutionist, at any rate, is the fact of their survival, their survival with an increase, their triumph, indeed, after the supreme test imposed upon them for countless ages by the struggle for existence.
Some contents:
CHAPTER I.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORRY.
Man looks " before and after," and tends to do so more every day The futility of worry; its relations to disease, work and the religious life Its cure must be psychical. 1
CHAPTER II.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF WORRY.
A disease peculiar to man, and most potent in our own times The cause of nervous disease, insanity, alcoholism, suicide, infection, sleeplessness and hysteria The seed of much religion . . . . . . . . 8
.CHAPTER III.
WORRY AND PHYSICAL, DISEASE.
A description of health, bodily and mental The fear of disease and its consequences Worry and susceptibility to disease Worry lowers resistance Worry and insomnia Worry and indigestion Excess of attention Nervousness, organic and functional disease Worry and the general nutrition of the body Nervous debility . . 23
CHAPTER IV.
WORRY IN Illness
The power of the mind in illness Explanation of the vis medicatrix natures The danger of a little knowledge The personality of the physician He transmits a sense of power Suggestion The personality of the nurse Worry as a cause of fatigue. .. 44
CHAPTER V.
BOND AND BODY IN HEALTH AND DISEASE.
" The influence of the mind upon the body " Its neglect by contemporary medicine Quotation from a famous old writer on worry Brief summary of relations Hypnotism and its power Hypochondria, its cure and prevention ........ 58
'CHAPTER VI.
WORRY AND HEALTH OF MIND.
The hygiene of the mind, the philosophy of holidaying What is a holiday? What a holiday is not To holiday is to be free from normal worry Hobbies and their value " Hard work " and health of mind Worry contrasted with brain-work Worry as a cause of insanity. 64
CHAPTER VII.
WORRY AND BOREDOM.
Boredom is a sign of high civilisation It is the half-way
house to fretfulness . . . . . . .81
CHAPTER VIII.
INSANE WORRY
Fixed ideas and obsessions, delusions of fear, delusions
of suspicion " Triple murder and suicide " Melancholia, its causes and treatment Insane worry, its
cardinal symptom . . . . .86
of suspicion " Triple murder and suicide " Melancholia, its causes and treatment Insane worry, its
cardinal symptom . . . . .86
Publication Date: 1909
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