CAUSES OF NERVOUS IMPAIRMENT 201 



much personal sacrifice that they should be sure the cause 

 is worthy of the expenditure. A sense of humor is a, sav- 

 ing grace for those in whom the impulse to regulate the 

 lives of others is a powerful one. 



Let us summarize the conditions we have named as 

 helping to maintain the nervous system in a normal 

 state and so to keep the individual happy and efficient. 

 We have recognized that a sound inheritance goes far to 

 secure this end. Any neurotic tendency of the stock is a 

 handicap and makes it the more imperative that other 

 unfavorable influences shall be avoided. Physical defects 

 are to be corrected wherever possible, even though it may 

 seem easy to put up with them. Environmental factors, 

 such as fresh air, well-regulated illumination, and quiet for 

 the hours of sleep, must receive attention. A moderate 

 but not a harassing variety of. occupation and thought is 

 to be recommended. And no responsibility which it is 

 not clearly a duty to bear no gratuitous anxiety is to 

 be assumed. 



Sometimes people exhaust themselves in what is judged 

 to be purely unselfish and sacrificing devotion. To such 

 it may be necessary to say that future as well as present 

 usefulness must be considered. The sum total of service 

 that can be rendered to the family or other associates is 

 likely to be greater when there is some deliberate sparing 

 of one's self, some reservation of time for rest and recrea- 

 tion, than when the offering of labor and sympathy is 

 absolutely unsparing. Of course, there are exceptional 

 crises when any thought of self would be base, but, as a 

 rule, the greatest contribution can be made by those who 

 practise a wise conservation of their resources. 



Reference must be made once more to the inestimable 

 value of the Seventh Day for the preservation of the ner- 

 vous system. The deepest degradation to which the 

 Sabbath can be subjected is to fill it with odd jobs left 

 over from the week's routine. The compulsions of 

 Sunday should be from within, not from without. So far 

 as possible the day should bring complete release from 



