PROBLEM 5. Ho'iv to Achicvc Better Health for All 



369 



Fig. 322 New York Hospital, New York City. Here people are treated for mental 

 and physical illnesses in co?>ifortable, pleasant surroundings, (the society of the new 



YORK hospital) 



some respect or received a rebuff. In 

 general, day-dreaming is undesirable only 

 when it interferes with the activities nec- 

 essary to successful living. 



Often young people are sensitive about 

 variations in physical structure, being 

 too short or too tall, too stout or too 

 thin. They fail to realize that they are 

 quite normal even though they are not 

 "average." The normal has so wide a 

 range that you may assume that you are 

 normal. 



It is important to remember that men- 

 tal illness is like physical illness, in that 

 only a qualified specialist can diagnose 

 or treat it. For this reason you must 

 never hesitate to consult a psychiatrist 

 for diagnosis and advice. But, in general, 

 you need not worry about your mental 



health; most people are mentally healthy. 

 Education and health. Public education 

 both in and out of school has helped im- 

 prove the health of many thousands of 

 people. People have been taught the dan- 

 gers of syphilis and gonorrhea; they have 

 learned to use only pasteurized or spe- 

 cially certified milk and how to exclude 

 bacteria. Education has been of particu- 

 lar help in lowering the death rate of 

 infants. Mothers now generally seek 

 medical advice before the baby is born 

 and obtain advice on infant care. In 

 Cincinnati, for example, the death rate of 

 infants per 1000 births at the beginning 

 of this century varied from 155-200. 

 Since 1940 the figure is 25-50 per 1000 

 births. The United States compares fa- 

 vorably with other countries in saving 



