| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jim D. |
Posted - 11/22/2011 : 06:55:22
I was watching a recent episode of HBO's "Bored to Death," an off-beat comedy (to put it mildly) featuring Ted Danson, when I sat up straight in my chair in surprise. The Danson character (Ray) has a friend (George) sleeping on his sofa who has excruciating back pain. Ray gives George a recommended book to read before bedtime, none other than, as George reads from the cover, "Healing Back Pain: The Mindbody Connection by Dr. John E. Sarno." Ray assures his friend: "I hear that it works wonders."
The next morning George is cured: "I am healed, praise Sarno.... My back pain is completely gone. Your book healed my back." Then the show takes a more humorous tone as George reveals that before going to sleep, he read only the book's back cover and then accidentally slept on top of the book. But he does understand the TMS basics: "Sarno said I invented my back spasms so I didn't feel anything else. Now that I know my back spasms were caused by repressed emotions, I think I can really draw again [he is an artist]." There are several other subplots in the show, but later the TMS theme reappears as George finally summons the strength to ask his girlfriend to marry him. He explains: "And basically I have been repressing emotions. That's why I have back spasms."
I think it's safe to assume that one of the writers of "Bored to Death" must be a fan of Sarno's or at least knowledgeable about TMS. If you accept the fact that the show is a comedy and not a medical program, then I think it is good publicity for TMS. My overall impression is that the mind-body connection is gradually becoming a more widespread explanation for back pain.
My brother-in-law has bad back pain that I would bet a million bucks is TMS (among other issues, he just retired and moved under some duress from a place he loved to a distant state), so I deliberately told him about the episode. Yes, I realize the TMS explanation is usually everyone's last resort and most people immediately reject it as not applicable to them, so I rarely mention Sarno's work directly. But my theory is that it never hurts to plant the seed to wait until the "last resort" becomes a person's only resort.
If you get HBO, the show is worth a look. It's episode #23.
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| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dave |
Posted - 11/22/2011 : 09:20:47
Kudos to the writers for making such a direct and positive reference to Dr. Sarno, even illustrating the concept with a typical real world example.
I have never seen the show but I will have to try to catch this episode. |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 11/22/2011 : 07:56:32
Thanks for the heads-up on that, I'll make a point of finding the episode. Like any new idea in our culture, it will languish in obscurity until the popular media discovers and popularizes it. If enough patients mention it to their doctors, it may catch on with them as an acceptable alternative to invasive treatments. With the future of rationing medicine, TMS "knowledge penicillin" may be just what is needed to help with the impending crush in doctor's waiting rooms. Maybe there should be a group like the Gideon's, distributing Dr. Sarno's books in waiting rooms. As soon as someone can figure out how to make a buck off of TMS it will flourish like Starbucks.
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DR. SARNO'S 12 DAILY REMINDERS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0dKBFwGR0g
TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
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"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti
"Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." Author Unknown
"Happy People Are Happy Putters." Frank Nobilo, Golf Analyst
"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." Mark Twain and Balto
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TMS PRACTITIONERS:
Here's the TMS practitioners list from the TMS Help Forum:
http://www.tmshelp.com/links.htm
Here's a list of TMS practitioners from the TMS Wiki:
http://tmswiki.org/page/Find+a+TMS+Doctor+or+Therapist
Here's a map of TMS practitioners from the old Tarpit Yoga site, (click on the map by state for listings).:
http://www.tarpityoga.com/2007_08_01_archive.html |
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