Yes Lynn,
This does happen, and the patient themselves are not always aware of this.
Suffering from a long-lasting illness, naturally creates a deep impression on the unconscious mind.
It builds up its own momentum, its own power; one can compare it to a fast moving train.
To stop it dead in its tracks would be very destructive, so the impression of illness needs to be gradually removed before the healing takes place.
The unconscious mind working on its primal, instinctive level, works totally without intellectual reasoning.
It's been used to existing for so long with discomfort, the discomfort is what it associates with its own personal security; take that security away and it will invent a way to block the healing. xx