The Romans understood something we've nearly forgotten in our age of medical protocols: that the mind's consent is not merely helpful but foundational to recovery. Seneca isn't suggesting wishful thinking replaces medicine—rather, that a patient who actively *wants* to heal has already crossed a threshold that medicine alone cannot reach. A person recovering from surgery or heartbreak who decides the effort is worth it simply heals faster than one who complies passively with treatment. That's not sentiment; it's the difference between someone rebuilding after loss and someone merely enduring it.