Recently, a friend of the writer's, having called a Christian Science practitioner to treat her for a nervous condition, remarked how quickly she had received relief. She added that she always did get help when these attacks occurred. One dictionary definition of "relief" is "that which removes or lessens evil, pain, etc." The friend's use of the word "relief" as meaning partial or temporary aid alerted the writer to the necessity of realizing what actually takes place when Christian Science treatment is applied to discordant human conditions so that the fullest benefit can be received.
Christian Science treatment, or the treatment of disease by scientific prayer, is unique. It is not a system of healing in competition with materia medica or other forms of treatment of human ills, nor can it be rightly compared with any other methods.
When a Christian Science treatment is asked for and given, something very special, very wonderful, takes place. The method of Christian Science is wholly mental. Our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, states in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 400), "When we remove disease by addressing the disturbed mind, giving no heed to the body, we prove that 'thought alone creates the suffering.'"
