Hypnotism Daily Blog

Thoughts as well as emotions do influence bodily metabolism. The state of mind can, indeed, * "cause or cure organic troubles." Who has not seen, in fact, persons who virtually "blossom out" after having won success or happiness ? And who has not seen them, as it were, wither away under the pressure of failure? Who does not recall the bodily radiance of a couple in love? And who can forget the sight of a mother actually perishing from grief after the loss of her only child? Every physician or nurse knows that, in combating a serious disease, consideration and tact are essential. Life hanging on a thin thread may turn one way or another, depending upon the patient's mental attitude. And this is open to suggestion. It may be criminal to tell him the plain but cruel truth. A white lie, consolation, and encouragement should be given him, not to soothe his suffering, but to give strength and support to his mind and also to his body. Medicine has at its disposal the weapons of laboratory, surgery, pharmacology, and psychology. None of these should be neglected.There is a power of mind over body that cannot be denied. It used to be conceived as a mystical influence of the disembodied soul upon mortal flesh. Science offers us a more reliable explanation. We have already repeatedly intimated that there exists a bodily mechanism responsible for this connection. We observed that, under the pressure of a powerful and appropriate suggestion, almost any part of the organism may begin to act in a fashion which under no circumstance can be reproduced at will. It does not matter whether the change takes place under hypnosis or in an ordinary waking state. In either case suggestion is operative. In fact, many of the phenomena commonly observed under hypnosis have also been seen apart from it, in the normal state of high suggestibility, or in the abnormal state of hysteria.