216 MAN --AN ADAPTIVE MECHANISM 



In truth some of our most interesting evidence re- 

 garding the workings of the kinetic system is found in 

 the great clinic of life itself in contemplating the 

 long list of human ills brought about, admittedly, by 

 " wrong ways of living/ 7 and in the tendency of many 

 harassed and overburdened individuals to seek relief 

 from activation in any form of treat ment, habit or 

 amusement, which may prevent the activating integration, 

 just as in a surgical operation local anesthesia pre- 

 vents the integration to self -defensive struggle and thus 

 saves the brain-cells from self -destructive activity. 

 In observing the benefits derived by certain sufferers 

 from " faith cures/' " mental healing " and other cults, 

 we find most valuable suggestions for the formulation 

 of methods by which the kinetic system may be con- 

 trolled under certain conditions. 



The Adequate Stimulus of Emotion 



Chief among the agencies which activate the ki- 

 netic system are muscular exertion and emotion. Ex- 

 cessive activation from one or both of these sources 

 is by far the most frequent cause of chronic shock. 

 In the picture of the effects of prolonged fear on 

 the rabbit organism, we have, in epitome, a picture 

 of that constant unequal struggle between the organism 

 and the ever changing environment, which is the funda- 

 mental explanation of the fact that the whole fabric 

 of human relations the chafe and grind of poverty, 

 disappointment, grief, thwarted ambition, unhappy 

 love affairs, loneliness, distrust, envy, competition, 

 heavy business responsibilities, anxiety, uncertainty 

 and worry, as well as their opposites, joy, hope, faith, 



