Mind and Body; or, Mental States and Physical ConditionsAtkinson, William Walker
Science
Mind and Body; or, Mental States and Physical Conditions
Atkinson, William Walker
Mental suggestion
Sir George Paget, M. D., says: "In many cases I have seen reasons for
believing that cancer has had its origin in prolonged anxiety." Dr.
Murchison says: "I have been surprised to find how often patients with
primary cancer of the liver have traced the cause of this illness to
protracted grief and anxiety. These cases have been far too numerous to
be accounted for as merely coincidents." Sir B. W. Richardson, M. D.,
says: "Eruptions of the skin frequently follow excessive mental strain.
In all these, as well as in cancer, epilepsy and mania, the cause is
frequently partly or wholly mental. It is remarkable how little the
question of the origin of physical disease from mental influences
has been studied." Prof. Elmer Gates says: "My experiments show that
irascible, malevolent and depressing emotions generate in the system
injurious compounds, some of which are extremely poisonous. Also that
agreeable, happy emotions generate chemical compounds of nutritious
value which stimulate the cells to manufacture energy."
Dr. Patton, in the address before the Wabasha County Medical Society,
above mentioned, gives the following interesting case of the effect
of faith and expectant attention, or Suggestion: He said: "While
surgeon of a Cincinnati hospital one of the messenger boys was often
disobedient of orders. The sister superior once asked me how to
punish him. I suggested putting him to bed and making him sick with
medicine. My advice was acted upon with alacrity. A tea-spoonful of
_colored water_ was given him every fifteen minutes. With assumed
gravity, I ordered the nurse, in the boy's presence, to keep giving the
medicine until he became sick and vomited. Within an hour he vomited
profusely.... A funny incident illustrative of the faith and confidence
sometimes reposed in the medical man and his power in curing disease,
happened in my first year of practice. An Irish laborer, much given to
profanity, came to my office, with a cold on his chest. I prescribed
a soothing mixture and a liniment of camphor, ammonia and soap. A few
days later, meeting him on the street, I asked him if the medicine
had cured him all right. He replied with enthusiasm, 'Oh! yes, yes,
it acted most beautifully and cured me pretty d---- d quick, but it was
awful hot stuff, for it burned in my throat like hell-fire itself.' I
knew at once, but did not tell him, that he had been swallowing the
liniment of camphor, hartshorn and soap, and rubbing the cough mixture
on the outside. His faith was even stronger than the liniment, and
cured him in spite of the blunder.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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