Words are powerful. That’s why I’m wondering why doctors are at liberty, when a serious illness is diagnosed, to plant a seed in the mind of a patient as to how long s/he has to live. The mind is powerful, too, and when words of doom and gloom are uttered, they’re not easily forgotten, and can jeopardize the outcome if a patient places a lot of belief in them. The doom and gloom words stick and put a patient in a zone of sorts where thoughts of a healing are diminished.
Years ago, doctors told patients very little; I’m beginning to think that, in this case, very little is possibly better than too much. A sick person tends to become vulnerable when under a doctor’s care, all those appointments, all those tests, meetings with the doctor to discuss a course of action, perhaps a second or even a third opinion, a decision to be made about who would be the best doctor, researching treatments, decision as to the best treatment, concern of family and friends, disagreement among family when making these decisions, medication that dulls the senses leaving a patient unable to see matters clearly. For one to understand how to go about healing, and to tap into one’s own knowing, encouragement of the highest quality is needed.
It’s not the fault of the doctor that many things have gotten so out of hand; it’s the way of the world. A doctor of today is taught to practice differently from a doctor in, let’s say, the 1950’s. I don’t know when things began to change, but it seems it would benefit both sides if a middle ground were reached. It makes sense to use words that speak of possibilities, words that capture a patient’s body, mind and spirit, rather than words that give an overall sinking sensation of despair.
The mind is powerful and, words of encouragement are like a healing balm-a divine kind of medicine. Many books have been written about the mind and its power to heal the body. And people have healed from serious illnesses; If one person has that ability, it would seem that we all have it. We do have choices, but in a time of illness we are inclined to put all our trust in a doctor and forget that there’s another part of us that is there to help. Fear can get in the way when we listen to discouraging words.
From “the SECRET of INSTANTANEOUS HEALING” by Harry Douglas Smith:
In spite of emphasis on the word “new,” the healing power of the Mind has been known and used for centuries. Mind is the great physician. This truth is not new. The following quotations demonstrate its timelessness and universality:
400 B.C.: We do not cure the body with the body; we cure the body with the Mind; and if the mind is confused and upset, it cannot cure anything properly. -Plato, The Republic
300 B.C.: . . .as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. -Proverbs
Often it takes only a small emotion to furnish the primary cause for the onslaught of a cold or an attack of the flu. All the ordinarily blamed causes – cold feet, drafts, wet weather, etc. – are only secondary causes,”. . .else,” as John Caius said in 1552, “if one were sick, all should be sick.”