Show WIlY WOMEN HATE THE BLUES A Doctor Tells How to Avoid and How to Cure melancholia Why do so many women have melancholia mel-ancholia repeated the doctor who has a large practice among the depressed de-pressed and nervous feminine population pop-ulation Because they dont take care to avoid it Because they absolutely abso-lutely disregard the rules of mental and physical wellbeing Because they would rather eat what they like and suffer indigestion and the blues afterwards after-wards than to eat what is good for them but doesnt tickle their palates Because theyd rather sit around on down cushions than take a tramp six miles through the open air Because they read too much sentimental stuff Because they havent enough to occupy oc-cupy their minds and their hands Then the doctor paused to take a breath and began again somewhat less aggressively It is never the women who have cause to feel blue she said who indulge in-dulge in blues The women who have shiftless husbands hardhearted landlords land-lords sick babies and all the usual accompaniments ac-companiments of poverty never grow so depressed that they have to be treated treat-ed for it They are too busy Its the woman with an adoring family social position and a comfortable income in-come who doesnt find life worth living i liv-ing It isnt the servant girl who gets up at 6 to kindle the fire and who slaves all day who indulges in melancholy melan-choly but the daughter of the family who arises at 8 dawdles over her breakfast reads a little practices a little shops a little craves excitement with ali her heart and is melancholy because she doesnt have it There is no habit which grows upon one so rapidly went on the doctor It becomes a disease in a very short time My own plan whenever I feel an attack coming on is to put on my walking boots and tramp vigorously as far as I can It is simply impossible impossi-ble to exercise and feel blue at the same time Of course a general care of the health Is necessary and work is the chief factor in effecting a cure Every woman who has a tendency to melancholia should have an occupation occupa-tion which if it doesnt entirely absorb ab-sorb her will at least keep her busy And she should give her mind up to practical rather than theoretical affairs af-fairs She should study how to put an extra shelf in a closet or how to stop a squeaking door or how to make an overshoe that wont come off at the heel rather than the teachings of the theosophical school or the philosophy phi-losophy of Herbert Spencer Ordinarily Ordinar-ily good health plenty of exercise plenty of work and an interest in the affairs of this world rather than the next are the great preventives and cures of melancholia New York World |