ABSTRACT
Anxiety affects the bodily functions in a similar way. The sources of the anxiety are not always apparent to the patient. The preoccupation by the anxiety, which might lead to a discovery of its causes if scientifically directed, is usually a mere worrying repetition of the fact that one is anxious and not an investigation of circumstances at all. Self-preservation is fundamentally the strongest of motives, and fear of death or of the disability which will prevent livelihood is not confined to immediate emergencies but may be a prolonged sentiment expressing itself in what we call anxiety. Conversation before mother would frequently concern the appropriateness of different foods and their digestibility; and the atmosphere of the home was one of solicitude about the child’s health. A man was referred to the author because of anxiety regarding an acceleration of the heart with accompanying unpleasant sensations whenever he walked a few blocks.
