KEEPING FIT

Hokitika Guardian, 28 October 1933, Page 2

KEEPING FIT

THE “PINCHING SHOE ” it in a lesson of history that fear tends to breed exasperation. Every "terror” ends sooner or later in an explosion. The greater the fear the more, violent the reaction to it. But what is true of nations is not .'rue, as a rule ; of the, individual man. individual men, unlike nations, cannot indulge in violent outbreaks. They must endure their troubles up to the extreme limits of endurance, using such means as may be available to tide them over the worst moments of crisis. The task is .never easy, and demands at all times both courage and vigilance. For, i|n ! truth, exasperation is like water. It. will find an outlet for .itself unless' care is taken to give k an outlet. The child, for example, which de-

velops suddenly the habit of biting i's nails is the victim of some undisclosed exasperation—against a .mu'se or teacher or companion. Since it cannot “take owns” against i;s troubles it relieves its feelings upon it- s own lingers. In. the ,satrie way tbe man who deve:ops a surly temper—taking often both pride .and satisfaction in the stir thus occasioned at home or ill the office—is nursing some secret indignation which ,he c ? n«ot openly avow. Thes«* cases, liOtveVef, ate less devnstnhmg ip, their effects—bad a.s tbeit effects can b.e—than the cases in which exasperation becomes transmuted into illness,, T i( ‘ ... Tin’s ,is a process which is very badly understood,, a ’ matter of surprise in : view iot tits' frequent occurrence. An | analogy may make the mechanism clear. Tf a man possesses’a hat whi- h does not quite fit him he will suffer vevv little from his lmt during the fi”si halfhour. after ho puts if on his head. But at the end of a whole hour be will be suffering .a good deal, and bis discomfort wi'l) increase steadily from . that time until he can no longer endure it. This is ferown cs the lay of the' summation of stimuli. Each twinge of itself is too small to. give much trouble. But each twinge’ excites the nerves a little more uritiil, at l?,st, what was a mere annoyance becoiries an unbearable pain. The same process attends the wearing of a .pinching, shoe.. In another

sphere > tfe, n : r £>ropess.. ..attends almost every human relationship. “Withdraw;-• thv fopf from tliv neighhouf^s ; 'h'oiise,’’/wrote King .Solomon- /‘lpst /he he ;weary' of thee,. anc so. hate thee,”/; ’ . :^V/h. • Exasperation has tbp, same effect on .the nervous system, as' a pincjiinfr shoo or. an.'•ilJi'iittihg/.Kgtor ..an.inconsiderate neighbour/ It makes the,.nerves more irritable. or, in physlplrlgicpl .lanoiua.pe,. “raises -the 'threshold..of pain.” We begin to- feel aches., and distresses of "winch, m happier' times we were hot aware.' ' There is no “hysteria” about , this, process. It is a purely physiological process, Its effect is to indicate the whnk spots in our constitutions. That would not, 'perhaps, matter so much if nerves were than telegraph wire's. Unhappily nerves are the - controllers of function and of nutrition. The weak spot is'not only indicated—it" is stimulated, jogged," disturbed. ' - v And so the exasperation becomes' a real physical disability, which may give much trouble before it is cured. How can this process be kept ; in check? How can ..it he avoided altogether ? . The answer is that men must be .wary of tensions rising up within themselves. They ought, especially in time of crisis, to adopt means of relieving' tension in advance of its formation. Such means are available in books, pays, music, and the arts generally. Whatever artists themselves may say, their patrons come to them, in large part. iust as patients go to doctors—for help, for relief. A .good farce, for example, is a public blessing. Men leave their exasperations behind them in tlie theatre. They get much more than value for their money. Most people have their ideas about the release of tension. Many ..people just now are cutting their expenses on “entertainment” in the belief that pleasure is no longer justified. It is a mistake. This, is the time of all others to be rid of “pinching shoes”—or if they cannot he thrown away to take steps to weaken their deadly . influence.