5 9 o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTE LY 



THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EELAXATION 



By Professor G. T. W. PATRICK 



THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA 



THE gospel of relaxation has been eloquently preached to us by Pro- 

 fessor James, Annie Payson Call and others. We have been told 

 that we live under too much stress and tension, that we are too intense 

 and carry too much expression in our faces, that we must relax, let go, 

 unburden ourselves of many useless contractions. 



There seems to be a good deal of truth in this. Some of us manage 

 to escape neurasthenia, but few of us are free from fatigue, chronic or 

 acute. We hear with amazement now and again some one say " I was 

 never tired in my life." Surely under normal conditions we ought not 

 to be so tired as we are, nor tired so often. 



Under these circumstances a new interest has suddenly awakened 

 in relaxation. The psychology of it is yet unwritten; the physiology 

 of it is obscure ; yet the need of it has become apparent. This need has 

 lately been greatly emphasized by an outbreak of recreation crazes of 

 which the dancing craze and the moving-picture craze are the most con- 

 spicuous. They have become so general and are so compelling that they 

 even remind us of the epidemics of the middle ages. The almost obses- 

 sional character of these crazes may not be wholly explicable on psycho- 

 logical grounds, but it suggests the need of psychological inquiry into 

 the nature of relaxation in itself and into the peculiar conditions of 

 our times which issue, on the one hand, in the outburst of recreation 

 •crazes, and, on the other, in a rather wide-spread disposition to fatigue 

 or even nervous disorders. 



Meanwhile practical common sense, not waiting upon theory, has 

 turned to discover means for relieving the excessive tension incident to 

 our present habits of living. Some, as we have said, preach the gospel 

 of relaxation, content to tell us that we are too intense. Others have 

 established schools with practical and helpful rules and methods for re- 

 laxation and have brought comfort and relief to many. Again, a new 

 and unique interest has suddenly arisen in play. Men and animals 

 have always played — but now we have first become conscious of play and 

 curious about it. We insist on play. If children do not play, we 

 teach them to play. 



Finally a score of movements, perhaps many score, have sprung into 

 notice, whose purpose is to encourage or provide some form of relaxa- 

 tion. We recall the recreation movement; the physical-culture move- 

 ment; the playground movement; the Boy Scouts; the Camp Fire girls; 

 the ever increasing interest in athletics, not only in our colleges, but 

 also in our high schools and grammar schools; the radical change in 



