Help for Nervous Women

1901

How Rest and Relaxation May Be Gained for Tired Bodies

Dr. John Mitchell, in Harper's Bazar: When you are asleep, it is to be hoped that you are still. Few people are when they are awake. If one observes the crowd in the streets, it is curious and most disagreeable to see how small the number is who are not constantly making grimaces and working their faces or jaws in some manner. I have heard it said it was bashfulness that caused this, but it has not been my observation that bashfulness was so widely distributed an American trait; besides, how does twisting the face help to keep one in countenance? No, it is not bashfulness; it is misdirected nervous energy, which ought to be aiding the movements of their legs or getting stored up somewhere in the central nervous reservoirs for future use.

Learn to keep still when you rest; when you move, move with the part of the body needed; do not waste your force by walking with your arms and face, as well as with your legs. If circumstances force an unusual and fatiguing amount of exertion upon you, break it down and then by periods of absolute rest. No matter how brief they are, they will be useful if you make them complete and perfect, as well as bodily exertion. A minute or two minutes of quiet, with closed eyes if possible, with your tension relaxed and the gearing of the machinery thrown off for the moment, will help and refresh you greatly. Here, again, more may be gained if the ability to relax mentally can be secured, in a fashion similar to the withdrawing of muscular tension. Learn to empty your mind when not using it.