a canon near
the house and, on returning in the afternoon, walked two and a half
miles down town to do some shopping. I did not make an analysis in
her case because she recovered so quickly,--going home well within two
weeks. But she declared that she had found the cause while reading in
one of the books on psychology. I had my suspicions that the
long-drawn-out engagement had something to do with the trouble, but I
did not confirm my opinion. A long engagement, by continually
stimulating desire without satisfying it, only too often leads to
nervous illness.

=Afraid of Heat.= Professor X., of a large Eastern college, had been
incapacitated for four years with a severe fatigue neurosis and an
intense fear of heat. Constantly watching the weather reports, he was
in the habit of fleeing to the Maine coast whenever the
weather-prophet predicted warm weather. After a short reeducation, he
discovered that his fatigue was symbolic of an inner feeling of
inadequacy, and that it bore no relation to his body. Discarding his
weariness and throwing all his energies into the Liberty Loan
Campaign, he found himself speaking almost continuously throughout one
of the hottest days in the history of California, with the thermometer
standing at 107 degrees. After that he had no doubt as to his cure.

=In Bed from Fear.= Miss C. was carried into my house rolled in a
blanket. She had been confined to her bed except for fifteen minutes a
day, during which time she was able to lie in a hammock! It seems
that her illness was the result of fear, an over-reaction to early
teaching about self-abuse. Her mother had frightened her terribly by
giving her the false idea that this practice often leads to insanity.
Having indulged in self-abuse, she believed herself going insane, and
very naturally succumbed to the effects of such a fear. After a few
days of re-education, she was as strong as any average person. Having
no clothing but for a sick-room, she borrowed hat, skirt, and shoes,
and walked to church, a three-mile walk.

=Empty Hands.= Miss Y., a fine woman of middle age, suffering from
extreme fatigue could neither sleep nor eat. She could only weep. She
had spent her life taking care of an invalid girl who had recently
died. Now her hands were empty. Like many a mother whose family has
grown up, she had no outlet for her mothering instinct, and her sense
of impotency expressed itself in the only way it knew how,--through
her body. As the