artly because of
the duration of the habit of repression, but the history, and certain
symbolic symptoms, indicate the Freudian mechanisms at work. All I can
do is to feed him up, bully him along, and keep him from starving to
death. Just now he is doing very well at home, although he has moved
to California so as not to be too far away from "the miracle-worker."

If Mr. T.'s case had been typical, I should long ago have lost my
faith in psychotherapy. Keeping people from starving is worth while,
but is less satisfactory than curing them of what ails them. The
nervous patient who has a relapse is no credit to his doctor. It is
only when the origin of his trouble is not removed that the bond of
transference tends to become permanent. The neurotic who is well only
while under the influence of his physician is still a neurotic.
However, as most people's complexes are neither so deeply buried nor
so obstinate as this, a simple explanation or a single demonstration
is usually enough to loose the fettering hold of old misconceptions.

COMMON AILMENTS

="Gas on the Stomach."= We all know people who suffer from "gas."
Indeed, very few of us escape an occasional desire to belch after a
hearty meal. But the person with nervous indigestion rolls out the
"gas" with such force that the noise can sometimes be heard all over
the house. He may keep this up for hours at a time, under the
conviction that he is freeing himself from the products of fermenting
food. He may exhibit a well-bloated stomach as proof of the disastrous
effect of certain articles of diet. The gas and the bloating are
supposed to be the sign and the seal of indigestion, a positive
evidence that undigested food is fermenting in the stomach.

But what is fermentation? It is, necessarily, a question of the growth
of bacteria and is a process which we may easily watch in our own
kitchens. Bread rises when the yeast-cells have multiplied and acted
on the starch of the flour, producing enough gas to raise the whole
mass. Potatoes ferment because bacteria have multiplied within them.
Canned fruit blows up because enough bacteria have developed inside to
produce sufficient gas to blow open the can. Every housewife knows
that it takes time for each of these processes. Bread has to stand
several hours before it will rise; potatoes do not ferment under
twelve hours, and canned fruit is not considered safe from the
fermenting process under three days. Evidently there is