WHY WORRY?
BY: GEORGE LINCOLN
WALTON, M.D.
CONSULTING NEUROLOGIST TO THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
The legs of the stork are long, the legs of the duck are short; you
cannot make the legs of the stork short, neither can you make the legs
of the duck long. Why worry?
-Chwang
Tsze.
TO MY LONG-SUFFERING FAMILY AND CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, WHOSE PATIENCE HAS
BEEN TRIED BY MY EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE WORRY, THIS BOOK IS
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
PREFACE.
No apology is needed for adding another to the treatises on a subject
whose
importance is evidenced by the number already offered the public.
The habit of worry is not to be overcome by unaided resolution. It is
hoped
that the victim of this unfortunate tendency may find, among the homely
illustrations and commonplace suggestions here offered, something to
turn
his mind into more healthy channels. It is not the aim of the writer to
transform the busy man into a philosopher of the indolent and
contemplative
type, but rather to enable him to do his work more effectively by
eliminating undue solicitude. This elimination is consistent even with
the
"strenuous life."
One writer has distinguished between normal and abnormal worry, and
directed his efforts against the latter. Webster's definition of worry
(A
state of undue solicitude) obviates the necessity of deciding what
degree
and kind of worry is abnormal, and directs attention rather to deciding
what degree of solicitude may be fairly adjudged undue.
In the treatment of a subject of this character a certain amount of
repetition is unavoidable. But it is hoped that the reiteration of
fundamental principles and of practical hints will aid in the
application
of the latter. The aim is the gradual establishment of a _frame of
mind_.
The reader who looks for the annihilation of individual worries, or who
hopes to influence another by the direct application of the suggestions,
may prepare, in the first instance for disappointment, in the second,
for
trouble.
The thanks of the writer are due to Miss Amy Morris Homans, Director of
the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics, for requesting him to make to
her
students the address which forms the nucleus of these pages.
GEORGE L. WALTON.
BOSTON, April, 1908.
CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTORY
II. EPICURUS
AS A MENTAL HEALER
III. THE
PSYCHO-THERAPY OF MARCUS AURELIUS
IV. ANALYSIS
OF WORRY
V. WORRY
AND OBSESSION
VI. THE
DOUBTING FOLLY
VII. HYPOCHONDRIA
VIII. NEURASTHENIA
IX. SLEEPLESSNESS
X. OCCUPATION
NEUROSIS
XI. THE
WORRIER AT HOME
XII. THE
WORRIER ON HIS TRAVELS
XIII. THE
WORRIER AT THE TABLE
XIV. THE
FEAR OF BECOMING INSANE
XV. RECAPITULATORY
XVI. MAXIMS
MISAPPLIED
XVII. THE
FAD
XVIII. HOME
TREATMENT
XIX. HOME
TREATMENT CONTINUED
DEFINITIONS.
WORRY.
A state of undue solicitude.
HYPOCHONDRIA.
A morbid mental condition characterized by undue solicitude
regarding the health, and undue attention to matters thereto pertaining.
OBSESSION.
An unduly insistent and compulsive thought, habit of mind, or
tendency to action.
DOUBTING
FOLLY (Folie
du doute.) A state of mind characterized by a
tendency unduly to question, argue and speculate upon ordinary matters.
NEURASTHENIA.
A form of nervous disturbance characterized by exhaustion and
irritability.
PHOBIA.
An insistent and engrossing fear without adequate cause, as judged
by ordinary standards.
OCCUPATION
NEUROSIS. A nervous disorder in which pain, sometimes with
weakness and cramp, results from continued use of a part.
PSYCHO-THERAPY.
Treatment through the mind.
No other technical terms are used.
Next Chapter:
Introductory
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