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
Dr. Leith, in his Edinburgh lectures in 1896, said: "I am inclined
to doubt whether the benefits of Nauheim (a treatment for the heart)
is not after all to be explained largely, if not entirely, by the
influence of the mental factor." Tuke says that: "John Hunter says he
was subject to spasm of his 'vital parts' when anxious about an event;
as, for instance, whether his bees would swarm or not, whether the
large cat he was anxious to kill would get away before he could get the
gun. After death it was found that he had some heart disease.... Lord
Eglinton told John Hunter how, when two soldiers were condemned to be
shot, it was arranged the one who threw the number with the dice should
be reprieved; the one who proved successful generally fainted, while
the one to be shot remained calm." Dr. Schofield says: "During the rush
of Consumptives to Berlin for inoculation by Dr. Koch's tuberculin,
a special set of symptoms were observed to follow the injection and
were taken as being diagnostic of the existence of tuberculosis; among
others, a rise of temperature after so many hours. These phenomena were
eagerly looked for by the patients, and occurred accurately in several
who were injected with pure water. The formation of blisters full of
serum from the application of plain stamp and other paper to various
parts of the bodies of patients in the hypnotic state, is well attested
and undoubtedly true."
Dr. Krafft-Ebing has produced a rise from 37 degrees centigrade to 38.5
degrees centigrade in patients by fixing their minds by suggestion.
In the same way Binet lowered the temperature 10 degrees centigrade.
The latter authority says: "How can it be, when one merely says to
the patient: 'Your hand will become cold,' and the vaso-motor system
answers by constricting the artery? _C'est ce que depasse notre
imagination._" Schofield commenting on the above, says: "Indeed there
is no way of accounting for such a phenomena but by freely admitting
the presence of unconscious psychic forces in the body, capable of so
influencing the structures of the body as to produce physical changes."
Tuke says: "A lady saw a child in immediate danger of having its ankle
crushed by an iron gate. She was greatly agitated, but could not
move, owing to intense pain coming on in her corresponding ankle. She
walked home with difficulty, took off her stocking and found a circle
around the ankle of a light red color, with a large red spot on the
outer side. By the morning her whole foot was inflamed, and she had to
remain in bed for some days. A young woman witnessing the lancing of an
abscess in the axilla immediately felt pain in that region, followed
by inflammation. Dr. Marmise of Bordeaux tells us of a lady's maid,
who when the surgeon put his lancet into her mistress's arm to bleed
her, felt the prick in her own arm, and shortly after there appeared a
bruise at the spot."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account