Great stress must be placed upon the emotional states in their office of producing enervation. No other school, save the purely psychological, emphasizes the bearing of the emotional stresses upon the physical condition that the Hygienic does.

The whole body is under the dominating influence of the cerebro-spinal nervous system, and its functions are easily disturbed by mental and emotional states. The influence on circulation and digestion of sudden news, the unexpected meeting with a friend, or enemy, has certainly been experienced by every adult at some time or other in his or her life. There is often a feeling of absolute physical weakness, a complete distaste for food, even in the midst of a previously enjoyed meal and there may even be nausea and vomiting.

The least intelligent person can discern the connection between the shock of bad news and the headache that follows. The discerning can also trace nausea, sour stomach, a "bilious attack," etc., to the same cause. Shock temporarily upsets the normal balance of physiological function, causes a sudden cessation or diversion of the flow of nerve energy and over-balances the chemistry of the body.

Today much stress is laid upon psychological factors and there are entire systems of care based upon mental influences, but, lacking a knowledge of enervation and toxemia, they lack a clear understanding of the prostrating influence of powerful emotions. Everyone knows that atrocity stories in war produce fear and panic, but it seems difficult to pierce their understanding with the fact that atrocity stories by doctors and health boards also produce fear and panic.

The destructive effects upon the body of certain emotional states are as interesting as they are evident. The effect is often like an electric shock, altering the feelings, impairing physiological functions, and affecting the individual's sanity as certainly as alcohol or opium. Pathology and death may be produced mentally and epidemics are often produced in this way.

Enervating influences beyond the compensatory capacity of the body, produce enervation. Mental and emotional influences may be so great and may so profoundly affect the body suddenly as to produce sudden collapse, or they may be less marked, but chronic, and produce a gradual sapping of the body's energies. It is hardly possible to comprehend the magnitude of our physical responses to mental stimuli, or our mental and emotional responses to physical stimuli. The sum of adverse reactions multiplied by the days of our existence spells the degree of enervation.

Every physical and mental impulse or stimulus registers in the body according to law. Constructive and strengthening stimuli are those that do not conflict with the well-ordered processes of life. The emotional reaction to the stimulus generated by a good or virtuous thought or deed is constructive. It produces a wholesome expansion, warmth and a feeling of well-being. The influence on physiological function is one of wholesome stimulation, of a more abundant flow of potent secretions, and of better transmission of nerve energy.

Wholesome reactions are occasioned by emotions of tolerance, kindliness, goodwill, generosity, unselfish service, gentleness, modesty, moderation, truth, and love. Laughter, a jovial disposition, happy thoughts, an all-inclusive love, are aids to digestion, aids to assimilation and nutrition, aids to elimination. These are all positive, health-building influences.

Fear, apprehension, worry, hatred, malice, envy, jealousy, selfishness, pride, intrigue, dishonesty, theft, covetousness, usury, cruelty, gossip (libel), etc., produce reactions of a contrary character. All inharmony and discord interfere with physiological processes. Instead of wholesome expansion, there is produced a contraction of the moral and physical fibre. Nerve impulses are short-circuited, side-tracked. Metabolism and function in general are interfered with and disorganized.

Extreme emotions act as a shook to the nervous system, inhibit all the bodily functions to a great degree, even completely suspending some of these temporarily. Over-worked emotions are often directly responsible for impaired health and they aggravate all existing pathology by unfavorably affecting digestion, assimilation, nutrition, glandular secretions, and all excretory functions which eliminate waste from the body. Hard physical work consumes less energy than continued excitement, impatience, useless chattering, fear of approaching our "superiors," or worry.

Fear, worry, joy, grief, apprehension, hurry, irritability, anger, resentment, hate, jealousy, envy, discontent, self-pity, etc., are not only all enervating influences, but produce definite psychological toxins which, in the form of cellular waste, must be eliminated in addition to all the toxins from other sources. Chronic "fatigue intoxication" and "depression shock" are potent causes of trouble.

Habitual emotional reactions tend to become deep-set, fixed and automatic in the nervous organization, just as do the complicated actions of swimming, skating, dancing, etc. Once established, emotional habit-reactions (neuroses) may persist, as habits, long after the original causes have ceased to exist.

Every organic "disease" has a pre-organic stage. This is to say the organic change is preceded by functional impairments. Emotional over-irritation is one of the commonest forms of over-irritation and functional impairment. When the over-irritation persists, as is so frequently the case, thus prolonging the functional disturbance, organic change results.

Destructive emotions are not always in evidence. On the contrary, many people, including many patients, intentionally conceal them and they must be dragged to the surface by the skillful probings of the attending Hygienist.

Exception is often taken to including joy, happiness, enthusiasm, etc., as enervating influences. But a little reflection will reveal that the stimulation of joy and enthusiasm causes rapid expenditure of nerve energy. It is well known that sudden joy has sometimes killed suddenly. This does not detract from the constructive value of joy in its effects upon the whole organism when it is gradually appropriated or absorbed.

Nothing is so depressing and nerve-annihilating as fear. So rapidly does it dissipate nerve-energy it has often been the cause of sudden death in weak individuals. It benumbs and paralyzes the body and rapidly enervates. It also has a directly inhibiting influence upon secretion and excretion, causing toxemia. The weakest organ gives down in time to fear, dread and apprehension.

In biogony, fear paralyzes the body's power of self-cure. Few things are more ruinous to the sick person than fear of death. "Fear kills as many in the every-day diseases," writes Tilden, "as any other influence."

The stomach ceases to function under fear. Dr. Cannon, noted investigator of the physiology and pathology of digestion, was once watching the movements of the intestines of a cat by means of the X-ray . One day during the course of his observations a dog barked near the laboratory, frightening the cat. The cat's intestines immediately became rigid and immobile, forcing him to discontinue his experiment for several hours. Fear had caused the rhythmic muscular motions of the cat's intestines to cease altogether. Many experiments have shown that these same influences interfere with and impair the functions of the glands that secrete the digestive juices. Note the dryness of the mouth because of suspended salivary secretion, in fear.