In one conception of illness, evil spirits correspond to ideas or thoughts 

 rather than to devils. Thus many people believe that the body may be dis- 

 ordered by "evil thoughts", eidier those of the victim himself or those of 

 some wicked enemy. This kind of belief is hard to deal with, since we can- 

 not experiment with it. It would be very hard to prove, for example, that 

 my toothache was not caused by somebody's throwing toothache-thoughts 

 at me while I was asleep — and equally hard to prove that it was. Neverthe- 

 less the health of the body and the health of the mind are closely connected. 



How Does the Mind Affect Health? 



Physical Basis of Mental Disturbances Most of us cannot keep our 

 minds on our work when we have any kind of pain, whether it is a slight 

 bruise or a jumping toothache. When the liver is out of order, it is almost 

 impossible to maintain a cheerful mood; we have the blues, or we are 

 grouchy or irritable. Under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, men 

 have committed acts of folly and of violence. When one is exhausted from 

 hunger or fatigue, not only does the mind work poorly, but there may be 

 even uncontrolled images or wild thinking. The chemical condition of the 

 blood affects not only the rate of breathing and the digestive processes, but 

 also the brain and mental processes. People have become insane and ir- 

 responsible from the poisoning of the blood by physical disease or by altera- 

 tions in the relative quantities of the hormones. We must recognize that 

 the mind is influenced by the physical conditions of the body. 



Effects of Ideas on Organic Processes But the opposite may be just as 

 true. One who is very much excited by good news or bad news is likely to 

 suffer from indigestion. A person who worries is likely to become run- 

 down physically. A cheerful frame of mind keeps up the action of the 

 blood. A hopeful disposition helps a sick person become well more rapidly. 

 In some mental disturbances or insanities die bowels fail to carry on their 

 work, or the breathing becomes impaired. The physical condition of the 

 body can influence one's dreams; but dreams or the reading of stories may 

 affect the condition of the body so as to make one shake with laughter or 

 shiver with cold. Instead of saying that all disorders are due to physical 

 causes or that all are due to mental causes, we may find it more helpful to 

 think of the body as a living organism, a unity, or whole, in which every 

 happening may influence every part. 



Mental Health and Mental Healing If we think of the organism as a 

 unity, we shall find it easier to understand "health" as very largely a style, 

 or mode, of life, and the state of mind as an important phase of that style, 

 or "habit". This does not mean, of course, that all illness can be prevented 

 by proper training, or that health can be assured by merely getting certain 



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