Basic Mindhealing -- Overview
Basic Mindhealing -- Introduction
Basic Mindhealing -- Principles
Intermediate Mindhealing -- Common Illnesses
Intermediate Mindhealing -- Amnesia
Intermediate Mindhealing -- Children
Intermediate Mindhealing -- Uncommon Illnesses
Advanced Mindhealing -- Behavioral Illnesses
Advanced Mindhealing -- Psychological Illnesses
Advanced Mindhealing -- Eating Disorders
Advanced Mindhealing -- Herbal Remedies

Basic Mindhealing -- Overview

Mindhealing is the study of how the emotions and experiences of an individual affects their personality, view of life, behavior, and desire to live, and how to help them when these experiences cause harm. Nearly anything in life can add to unhappiness, and a Mindhealer must determining what is and isn't relevant.

In the treatment of physical injuries, Mindhealing can be a determining factor between a patient living or dying. It is accepted that a patient who desires to die can will themselves to do so, or to never improve. All of the time and care spent on a patient mean nothing if the patient is determined to undermine their treatment.

Apprentices (Sr. and Jr.) can only practice basic mind-healing under the close supervision of a Master, they may not assist or ask questions in the presence of a patient without explicit approval of a Master. Journeymen may treat basic and intermediate mind-healing on their own, but cannot supervise an Apprentice. Severe cases of mind-healing (i.e. 'Advanced Mindhealing') should be treated by Masters only.

Treatment techniques for serious matters will be taught only upon being accepted as a Mind Healer specialist. However, here is a learning aid to assist all healers and interested parties in how to identify cases that require mind healing so that you may call the appropriately trained Healers.

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Basic Mindhealing -- Introduction

Almost every Healer uses the basic precepts of Mindhealing in their everyday treatments. Treating a patient with dignity, letting them know about their progress, and reassuring smiles and comments, are all trained into Healers.

The comments given to a patient will set a worried mind to ease (giving them reassurance and hope), and build trust between the patient and the Healer. While the mental workings of the body are separate from the physical workings in discussion, there can not be one without the other. With no physical body there is no mind to healer, ergo without a mind there is no reason to heal the body.

Being honest with patients and telling them what is known (in terms they can understand), will aid in the patients ability to trust their Healer. Full mental healing can never be accomplished until a Healer has earned the patient's trust, and can then treat their psychological damage. Be aware that a Healer has to not only deal with a patient but also a patient's family and friends in much the same manner. They can be very important in the recovery process of any injury and also act as support for a patient when a healer can not be there.

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Basic Mindhealing -- Principles

The greatest difficulty in Mindhealing lies in the fact that solutions to illnesses are not cut and dried. Solutions are dependent on the person, the experiences, the Healer, and a host of other variables. Mindhealing involves a structured pattern to resolution, a plan to heal. Following are the basic principles of Mindhealing:

• Build trust. Without trust, a patient will not allow the Healer close enough to ascertain the full scope of the mental disturbance.

• Get to know them, including their past and present. The current shape of a patients mental state can be a result of things that they have done or had occur to them. Speak to not just the patient but family and friends if needs be, but at all times protect the patient's dignity and trust.

• Carefully weigh whether the patient's problem is Behavioral, Psychological, or Physical. Those differences are explained in a following section.

• Don't heal what isn't hurt. The results of a misdiagnosis in Mindhealing can cause serious harm with very little visible damage.

• Step carefully and slowly. Mindhealing often involves careful examination of old emotional trauma and current emotions deeply woven into the person. Even with severe illnesses of the mind, time can usually be taken.

• Commit the patient to the process and enlist their help in solving the problem. Nothing is stronger than the human will, and with that on the Healer's side, there is a greater chance for recovery.

• Continue to check up on the patient, making sure that they remain well and that no unexpected side-effects have occurred.

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Intermediate Mindhealing -- Common Illnesses

The following situations occur often in daily life. While the people suffering from the affliction of these illnesses do not always seek mind-healing in specific, a Healer should be aware of the illnesses and watch for them in everyday treatment, including physicals.

• Anxiety:
  Anxiety is a feeling of tension associated with a sense of threat of danger when the source is not known. It is normal to have some mild anxiety present in daily life. Anxiety warns and enables people to get ready for the 'fight or flight' response. However, heightened anxiety is emotionally painful and can disrupt a person's daily functioning.

• Depression:
  Depression may manifest itself in many ways, such as lethargy, pessimism, and self-destruction. It is often state in which the patient begins to feel that nothing is worth doing, and that they are worthless. Other symptoms include mood changes, anger, insomnia and fatigue. The patient may exhibit natural coping mechanisms like denial or repression of the events that caused the depression. A deep unhappiness, such as dysphoria, can be noted when a person finds no pleasure in things that they would normal derive pleasure from. Another expression of depression is actually a lack there-of. It is possible for a patient to express a lack of emotional responses, nearly similar to catatonia in its extreme apathy. When this occurs, it is called a 'flat affect.'

• Grief:
  Grief is an instinctive reaction to unstoppable stress or loss, quite often narrowed down to the loss of a loved one. Symptoms vary, but follow certain patterns. The natural process includes stages of shock and disbelief, then a developing awareness of the loss over time, which may manifest itself as sighing, crying, or anger. The emotions of guilt and remorse often develop as well.

• Panic:
  Panic is a rush of overwhelming anxiety that comes on very quickly. People use the word "terror" to describe the severity of the anxiety connected with panic. About half the people who experience severe anxiety or panic also have depression. For people with panic attacks and depression, treatment of the depression will generally cause the panic to diminish or stop.

• Stress:
  Stress and the response to it can make people jittery, anxious, panicked, unable to concentrate, or (on the other end of the spectrum) exhausted or pressured. Possibly they may feel overwhelmed by happy events as well as painful ones, and be more prone to emotional outbursts. Stress can be a prevalent cause in depression, anxiety and panic attacks.

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Intermediate Mindhealing -- Amnesia

Amnesia is a profound memory loss which is usually caused either by physical injury to the brain, ingestion of a toxic substance which affects the brain, or a traumatic, emotional event. People with amnesia have difficulty learning new information, and/or they have difficulty recalling previously learned information. They may be disoriented and confused. Their memory deficit can cause problems for them in society. Sometimes the memory loss is severe enough to necessitate a supervised living situation.

The prognosis depends upon the extent of the brain trauma. Counseling can be helpful if amnesia is caused by an emotional trauma. Constant supervision is usually not necessary to treat amnesia unless the patients is at risk for harming themselves. The course of the amnesia is variable depending upon the cause of the memory problem. By removing the toxic substance (i.e. alcohol) the person's memory will recover within candlemarks. However it may take sevendays, months, or turns for recovery to occur, if ever.

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Intermediate Mindhealing -- Children

While children adapt well to change, a child can lose their ability to cope when their environment is altered abruptly and (to them) with little or no cause. When this requires counseling, a primary goal is to aid the child to successfully cope with their environment. Trust is very important, since it is unlikely for a young child to understand the necessity of the healing.

It is important to rely on behavior instead of verbalization, as children often lack the skills to communicate their inner feeling. Talking with the adults closest to the child allows evaluation of their role in the child's problems, their own emotional disturbance, and an idea of the family relationship.

Since a child is less able to absorb stress than an adult and has very little control over their environment, Healers must assume greater responsibility for their welfare by giving them direct help.

Sometimes fostering the child out temporarily, or permanently, is the only recourse. With permission of the CraftMaster and the recommendation of a Senior Mindhealer, a Healer may act specifically in the interests of the child by arranging the fostering. This is /only/ in the serious cases wherein removal is in the very best interest of the child.

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Intermediate Mindhealing -- Uncommon Illnesses

• Phobia:
  A phobia is a fear which is caused by a specific object or situation. The fear can be caused by the actual presence of or by the anticipation if the presence of that object or situation. Anxiety, triggered by the fear, can approach the intensity of panic, or it can be a by product of the phobia. To avoid this, people will try to avoid any situation they know would trigger the phobia. Some people have mild phobias which can be easily treated and which last only a short time. Others have severe anxieties, and they suffer from their phobias for many turns. Chronic phobias can cause major disruptions in their life.

• Suicide:
  Suicide is not a distinct disorder. Rather, it is a symptom of serious mental disorders such as depression. Therapy begins by establishing a supportive environment which is positive and reinforcing for the patient. However, if a person strongly wishes to end their life, it is the responsibility of a Healer to aid them in that. See the scroll 'Death' for more information.

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Advanced Mindhealing -- Behavioral Illnesses

Behavioral illnesses are usually classified as anti-social, rather than as an illness. The majority of these behaviors can be aided with simple help, similar to stress relief. Often, behavioral illnesses will manifest in outbursts of anger or spite, a rebellion towards authority, or merely being overly self-centered. Other times, the patient will demonstrate their emotions via actions like uncontrollable lying, urges to steal, and more. Sometimes the more common behavioral illnesses are linked to the physical addictions of Fellis and Alcohol.

Common Afflictions/Manifestations:

• Addiction:
  Both the physical and behavioral parts of the illness must be treated together. Addiction can be determined by the /need/ the patient has to partake of it, and is usually associated as a means to escape from problems. Symptoms will be denial of addiction while they /crave/ it, return to the addiction when things get difficult, and the willingness to do /anything/ for the substance when deprived of it.

• Compulsion:
  Compulsions are behaviors. These specific behaviors are in direct response to the person's troublesome, obsessive thinking. Therefore, people engage in the compulsive behaviors in order to reduce their obsessive thoughts. Some compulsions are as simple as repeating mental activities (counting) or repeatedly checking that a shutter is closed. However, in certain cases, a patient will compulsively steal or lie. This is often a result of the victims' unwillingness to cope with the world around them and its shortcomings. Thus, they try to create a more acceptable reality.

• Obsession:
  People with obsessions are bothered by thoughts or images that continue to repeat themselves and are almost impossible to ignore. These thoughts, which are annoying, distracting, and inappropriate, tend to cause the person to have moderate to severe anxiety and other emotional discomfort. Common obsessive thoughts include themes of violence, fear of germs and/or infection, and doubts about one's character and/or behavior.

Advanced Mindhealing -- Psychological Illnesses

Psychological illnesses stem from experiences a person has suffered, and the subsequent emotional reaction. It will often seem as if the patient is unable to control these emotions. The majority of psychological illnesses are the result of the mind trying to handle a very traumatic situation, while shutting it out at the same time. This dichotomy leads to illnesses, which can be compounded by other experiences. The most common solution is to help un-bury that experiences level by level, taking each mental 'problem' in stride.

Common Afflictions/Manifestations:

• Depression, Severe:
  This can be both the result of a physical and a psychological problem. As a psychological problem, it is usually the result of severe mental trauma. Caused by a physical illness or trauma, the patient tends to feel the incident was their fault, and that the rest of their life is the punishment. Often it can be paired with addictions that the patient uses as a crutch to separate themselves from the world.

• Personalities, Multiple:
  A patient suffering from Multiple Personalities is usually a victim of a personality shattering trauma. In order to survive, the patient has separated themselves so fully from the incident that their personality has fragmented. The patient will usually end up with two or more personalities. The personalities can have different names, knowledge, and reactions. They will rarely converse or know of the others' existence. Treatment requires the patient facing the trauma, and overcoming it.

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Advanced Mindhealing -- Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are abnormal eating behaviors, which include anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is defined as the refusal to reach or to keep a weight that is considered to be the minimum required for a person's height and age. Bulimia is an eating pattern of repeated occurrences of binge eating followed by attempts to keep from gaining weight. Over-eating is a greater than ideal body weight, combined with a resistance to lose that weight.

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Advanced Mindhealing -- Herbal Remedies

Even for the most experienced Mindhealer, there is enough of a lack of progress in a patient's condition to seriously consider herbal medication. Using herbs to treat mental illnesses is a last resort, for they treat the symptoms of an illness, not the cause.

See the Medications Guide for information on herbs applicable for specific medical complications and conditions.

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