Editing Paracelsus (section)

===Psychosomatism===
[[File:Swiss-Commemorative-Coin-1993-CHF-20-obverse.png|thumb|180px|Swiss [[Coins of the Swiss franc|20 franc]] coin commemorating the 500th anniversary Paracelsus' birth]]
In his work ''Von den Krankeiten'' Paracelsus writes: "Thus, the cause of the disease [[chorea]] lasciva [<nowiki/>[[Sydenham's chorea]], or St. Vitus' Dance] is a mere opinion and idea, assumed by imagination, affecting those who believe in such a thing. This opinion and idea are the origin of the disease both in children and adults. In children the case is also imagination, based not on thinking but on perceiving, because they have heard or seen something. The reason is this: their sight and hearing are so strong that unconsciously they have fantasies about what they have seen or heard."<ref>{{Citation |title=The History of Psychotherapy: From Healing Magic to Encounter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VGgQi3NJY8C&q=their+sight+and+hearing+are+so+strong+that+unconsciously+they+have+fantasies+about+what+they+have+seen+or+heard&pg=PA200 |page=200 |isbn=9780876682807 |last1=Ehrenwald |first1=Jan |year=1976 |publisher=Jason Aronson |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103151920/https://books.google.com/books?id=7VGgQi3NJY8C&q=their+sight+and+hearing+are+so+strong+that+unconsciously+they+have+fantasies+about+what+they+have+seen+or+heard&pg=PA200#v=snippet&q=their%20sight%20and%20hearing%20are%20so%20strong%20that%20unconsciously%20they%20have%20fantasies%20about%20what%20they%20have%20seen%20or%20heard&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Paracelsus called for the humane treatment of the mentally ill as he saw them not to be possessed by evil spirits, but merely 'brothers' ensnared in a treatable malady."<ref name=":2" /> Paracelsus is one of the first physicians to suggest that mental well-being and a moral conscience had a direct effect on physical health. He proposed that the state of a person's psyche could cure and cause disease. Theoretically, a person could maintain good health through sheer will.<ref name=":6" /> He also stated that whether or not a person could succeed in their craft depended on their character. For example, if a physician had shrewd and immoral intentions then they would eventually fail in their career because evil could not lead to success.<ref name=":7" /> When it came to mental illness, Paracelsus stressed the importance of sleep and sedation as he believed sedation (with [[History of general anesthesia|sulphur preparations]]) could catalyse healing and cure mental illness.<ref name=":8" />