About five years ago I took a solo road trip through Scotland during which I visited a remote part of the Scottish Highlands. At a scenic spot, I stopped the car to take some photos of the sea and walked up a little hill. On the way back, I suddenly fell and landed very hard flat on my back.

I was able to drive to my next stop, but when I got there, I found it hard to walk. Although it was quite painful, I decided to try to walk to the lookout and to give myself Christian Science treatment on the way.

The Christian Science textbook explains that the first step in Christian Science treatment, or scientific mental healing, is to address the patient’s fear. “Always begin your treatment by allaying the fear of patients. Silently reassure them as to their exemption from disease and danger. Watch the result of this simple rule of Christian Science, and you will find that it alleviates the symptoms of every disease. If you succeed in wholly removing the fear, your patient is healed” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 411–412).