More Illnesses in Student Body, Statistics of Dr. Bock Indicate

The number of students treated by the Hygiene Department has risen perceptibly and alarmingly since 1935, Dr. Arlie V. Bock '15, Henry K. Oliver Professor of Hygiene, announced yesterday.

The greatest increase is in the number of patients in the Psychiatry Clinic where the attendance has tripled. This does not mean, however, that three times as many men are crazy now as were in 1935, Dr. Bock said, but simply that students who are worried or depressed by life are more liable to go to the psychiatrist than previously.

Most of the diseases come not from poor health but from the nervous strain of modern living, he remarked.

Many students nowadays come from unsettled homes where the future is problematic and the constant worrying about the next day gets on their nerves.

The invention of machinery, which it may have eased the strain on the body, has placed much more on the mind of modern man who has to struggle to keep up with his radio, his newspaper, and his airplane.

The problem arises from an over-specialized and high-pressure civilization, and its solution would be more political and economical than medical, it is the problem which a great many men are trying to solve, without much success.

As far as individuals are concerned, Dr. Bock advised students to exercise more in order to take the strain off their nerves and mind.

This idea has been adopted in several European countries, especially Germany and Italy, where athletics for the individual are stressed with excellent results.