Psychotherapy: Including the History of the Use of Mental Influence, Directly and Indirectly, in Healing and the Principles for the Application of Energies Derived from the Mind to the Treatment of DiseaseWalsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Science
Psychotherapy: Including the History of the Use of Mental Influence, Directly and Indirectly, in Healing and the Principles for the Application of Energies Derived from the Mind to the Treatment of Disease
Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Mental healing
Neuroses in Organic Disease.--Fifth, psychotherapy, by suggestion, may
alleviate or even completely eradicate neurotic symptoms that develop
in connection with organic diseases. Such neurotic symptoms may prove
even more bothersome to the patient than the symptoms due to his
underlying affection, and may, by interfering with nutrition, hamper
recovery. The appetite of a patient who is worrying about a chronic
disease will be disturbed, and, as a consequence of insufficient food,
constipation and a whole train of attendant evils may ensue. Headache,
sleeplessness, worry at slight irritation and exaggerated complaints
from slight pain may all be due to this worry and not to the
underlying disease. All these, the result of over-solicitude, are
attributed by the patient to his chronic ailment. They can be relieved
by simple measures after he is saved from his own worry. Until the
patient is made to rouse himself and look hopefully at the situation,
eating more, getting out more, and relaxing his mind from its constant
attention to himself, he cannot get better.
Application of Principles.--It should be pointed out to the patient
that there is a constant tendency to exaggerate the significance of
disease. This is true in acute as well as in chronic disease, but in
acute diseases the necessity for removing unfavorable influences
directly is not so urgent, since usually the presence of the
physician, with his simple declaration of the meaning of symptoms, is
sufficient to neutralize the effect of previous exaggerations.
Secondly, the action of unfavorable suggestions due to imperfect
knowledge (everything unknown is magnified, as Cicero said), or to
previous medical opinions which the case does not justify, must be
stopped. The natural dread which comes to all men in the presence of
symptoms of disease must be as far as possible removed.
Thirdly, the favorable elements in the case should be emphasized. This
needs to be thoroughly done in order to secure the patient's
co-operation, even though the serious possibilities of his ailment may
be pointed out to his friends. These friends, however, must be persons
who can be absolutely depended on not to reveal by word, or, what is
much more important, by their looks or actions, the possible worse
prognosis of the case.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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