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Which alternative healing methods did Mary Baker Eddy explore before founding Christian Science?
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Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy.
Before founding Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy experimented with several alternative healing methods in her search for health and understanding of the nature of disease. These included:12
- Homeopathy: Eddy explored this medical system during the 1850s as she began to lose faith in traditional medicine based on materialistic premises. Her experiments with homeopathy helped strengthen her belief in the mental nature of disease.21
- Hydrotherapy: Also known as the "water cure," this was another method she investigated during her search for healing.1
- Therapeutic techniques of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby: From 1862 to 1865, Eddy sought treatment from Quimby, a pioneer in suggestive therapeutics. While she was personally loyal to him, she eventually recognized that his methods were based on hypnosis or mental suggestion, which she distinguished from the biblical Christianity that became the foundation of her own religious movement.123