Saturday, June 20, 2009

More Mind/Body nagging for attention

I was going to put this down the article as evidence, but let’s start with it because it really illustrates the most poignant aspect of the human condition/suffering/samsara:

I am a TMS Dr. Sarno veteran. I understand all the concepts. I first started reading his teachings in the early 90’s. After applying the principals, the pain would disappear in about 3-4 months BUT I would always have a recurrence every 4-5 years. At one point my back pain went away and I had TMJ for 3 years. Not until I realized TMJ could be TMS did it disappear. QUESTION: Why do I keep having recurrences? I am having one right now and haven’t been able to get rid of it for 6 months. I even ordered Dr. Sarno’s video lecture. Can you tell me why I have recurrences and why does it take 4-5 years to occur? I am concerned that this time it is hanging on even longer. Can you help me?

Here is what Dr. Sarno says about that:

Sarno's "Symptom-Imperative" is most important. If a physical symptom caused by the brain is relieved, the brain simply creates another (substitute) symptom to "protect" us and keep us unaware of the REPFs. Repressed Emotional and Psychological Factors.

Now, if you’re still with me and want to learn more, here is a link that introduces Dr. Sarno’s ideas and Dr. Schechter’s therapy and links further etc.  At first just scroll down a bit to see the scope.  I’m going to copy the key points in case you don’t want to link right now:

Some Profound Implications of Sarno's Mindbody Paradigm!

  • Many common ailments, regarded by the "medical establishment" as having a physical origin, in reality stem from "repressed emotional and psychological factors" (REPFs)
  • The human brain has a mechanism to "protect" us from REPFs by keeping us unaware of them -- they're too severe for us to experience.
  • The brain causes physical symptoms to distract us so we don't get consciously exposed to the REPFs.
  • The brain can cause physical symptoms by reducing blood flow to parts of the body, and by other means.
  • Some of these symptoms can be relieved through drugs, surgery, and other treatments.
  • Sarno's "Symptom-Imperative" is most important. If a physical symptom caused by the brain is relieved, the brain simply creates another (substitute) symptom to "protect" us and keep us unaware of the REPFs.
  • The solution for an individual with brain-caused symptoms is to understand the Sarno Paradigm, to become aware of the REPFs and to deal with them consciously.

"As psychiatrist and theorist Wilhelm Reich explained it, the personality is created around moments of pain so uncomfortable that they are blocked off. A person's character or persona is thus a chronicle of where he or she has been alienated from his or her self. Ways of coping with psychic pains, which are themselves assiduously avoided, create our individuality -- that's the real reason why the ways of coping are so (boldly) defended. We hang on to our cocooned pain because the thought of looking directly at it seems unimaginably worse than what we suffer living around these cocoons." -- Jennifer Michael Hecht (Doubt: A History)

In case it’s not obvious, this is the same argument as in Answer Cancer, n’est pas?

I’m curious as to whether Windhorse, Tonglen or Forgiveness can go right to core of this, or do we need more specific paths to address these “wounds”?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

,,,i dont get it....soorry

Marilyn Harper said...

Well, on the other hand the article might illustrate the big flaw in the argument - if he has been following the technique and always has recurrences, maybe the technique isn't the right one. Sarno has the perfect out, though - if the technique isn't working you obviously have more repressed emotional trauma you have to work out. Just the fact that some new or radical technique (well really treatment of psychosomatic illness is hardly new) claims to be "against the medical establishment" doesn't automatically mean it's good.

The Reich quotes "...the personality is created around moments of pain.." and "...ways of coping with psychic pain....create our individuality..." seem myopic if not downright depressing. Surely humans are more complex than that.

How to address the "wounds"? I think touch and go with windhorse would be good. If I were a therapist my approach would be oognitive-behavioural rather than psychoanalytic - yes, acknowledge the trauma, but I think it's more useful to work with who/where the person is now and what their strengths and options are in the present rather than lengthy rehashings of who did what to whom in the past.

Unknown said...

...Thanks Marilyn!...mmmuah