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avocations, sublimations; whittling and mud
 

      Consequently, the more sources of real satisfaction that one can find, the more mentally healthy he can be. If a person regularly has some satisfying outlets — Sublimations — they undoubtedly help keep him in a healthier state of mind. For that reason avocations are eminently worthwhile. Whittling wooden ducks, making ship models or doll houses, painting the kitchen, working in the garden, arranging the stamp collection, clipping the hedge, knocking the golf ball, writing a book, puttering at something constructive — these along with a thousand like actions are all compromises — Sublimations — that convert our primitive energy into socially approved activity.

ex William C. Menninger, M.D. and Munro Leaf, You and Psychiatry (1948) : 76
(one of several copies) borrowable at archive.org : link
google books (snippet) : link
LoC : permalink

—

William Claire Menninger (1899-1966), psychiatrist (which doesn’t hint at his range and energy)
wikipedia : link

Munro Leaf (1905-1976), writer and illustrator, best known for his children’s books
wikipedia : link

from their introduction —
      This book is, in a way, a war baby. The authors met for the first time in the Army. One was working in the area of public relations and the other in the professional field of psychiatry. They found their jobs overlapped... The terrific loss of manpower in the Army and Navy from psychiatric casualties started them to thinking there must be some additional approach to helping the people of our nation understand the basic factors of mental health...
p v.
 

preceded by this passage on mud —

      Within his first three years, he, like all of us who had a chance, found real sport in playing with mud, as mud pies or making and throwing balls of it, or even in just playing in it. (Note here the nigh universal tendency to pick up wet snow, make a ball of it and throw it — usually at some one! But it isn’t “dirty.”) Understandably, most mothers do not approve of mud playing as a pastime, and so diverted us to the dehydrated product in the sand pile. Even there we sometimes slipped back to the hydrated stage by wetting it down a bit so it would stick together. To make an even more solid product we added shells or pebbles, or stones or brick. Maybe we began to collect some of them and maybe they became special treasures. We started building roads, houses, tunnels, bridges. From there it was a short step to the manipulation of toy automobiles and airplanes that made play life so much more real; and then to erector sets, electric trains, toy soldier battles, and elaborate constructive activity.
      Sublimation is a learning process in which without really recognizing all the reasons, we gave up old interests for related new ones... we totally repressed the original aim...
p 75
 

17 December 2024