Sources of Rage
This TMS Help Forum is designed to help those persons afflicted with TMS pain and other equivalent manifestations (which includes me), based on Dr. John Sarno’s TMS Theory as spelled out in his four books, MOBP, HBP, TMP and TDM, and as explained in his HBP/TMP video. This TMS Help Forum is also designed to allow those persons already “cured” (which includes me somewhat) wanting to share their experiences with those needing help with their afflictions (which also includes me somewhat). I hope this posting will prompt some constructive discussion on the subject of, Sources of Rage.
After reading and rereading the first three books, I summarized the three Sources of Rage as being the most important subject in understanding the psychological mindbody process at work:
1. Anger Generated in Infancy and Childhood;
2. Personality Traits, namely “feeling of inadequacy” and “feeling of dependency”, which invariably produce Perfectionism (that’s me!) and Goodism (that’s my wife!); and
3. Life’s Pressures (43 Stressful Events).
A most recent posting by jgluski (06/29/2006) asked the question,
What age did you first experience TMS?
I am curious how old you all were when you had your first episode...
I especially liked TT’s extraordinarily rational response, In the womb.
With reference to Item 1 above and to TT’s response (which I agree with), has Dr. Sarno ever made any comments regarding that very, very early stage in life?
Of those three Sources of Rage, Dr. Sarno considered the feeling of inadequacyand the feeling of dependency as making the greatest contribution to unconscious rage. It took quite awhile for me to recognize this clinical observation as being the most important and predominant factor, but based on my own personal introspection, I have since finally accepted this as an accurate analysis and conclusion. Do you all agree?
Now, after reading his latest book TDM, pp. 97-106, Dr. Sarno summarizes the four Sets of Emotions as Sources of Rage:
1. Emotions Generated in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence;
2. Self-Imposed Pressures: The Perfect and the Good;
3. The Child-Primitive; and
4. The Pressures of Life.
Note in Item 1 above that Adolescence has now been added to those various early stages in life as one of the Sources of Rage. Perhaps in his next book, Dr. Sarno will add, In the Womb (per TT), if he can only find a way, somehow, to effectively demonstrate the unconscious emotion generated.
Note in Items 2 and 3 above combined, that the use of the phrase, unconscious feelings of inferiority, gives rise to the idea of the superiority complex, which is synonymous with causing self-imposed pressures on a person to be perfect and good. My comment here is that I would have preferred for Dr. Sarno to have continued the use of the phrases, feeling of inadequacy and feeling of dependency, rather than the phrase, unconscious feelings of inferiority, which suggests some lower quality or value of the person. The phrase “feelings of inferiority” seems to be too harsh a phrase to define “feeling of inadequacy” or “feeling of dependency”, which a person can more readily identify with. Do you all agree?
Interestingly though, the perfect-good drive again was either the predominant factor, or a very significant factor, in 94 percent of the cases studied, which is consistent with his earlier findings.
The perfect-good tendency was found to be the primary contributor to TMS rage, and that child abuse and life’s pressures were less important to TMS rage. Do you all agree?
Later on in TDM, pp. 117-119, A Psychosomatic Triad, Dr. Sarno discusses three powerful unconscious realities, which combined, work together to produce a psychosomatic episode:
1. Deep Feelings of Inferiority;
2. Narcissism; and
3. Strong Dependency Needs.
In summary, with all the various formats given to describe Sources of Rage, I prefer the original version of the three Sources of Rage (amended) as being the most important subject in understanding the psychological mindbody process at work:
1. Anger Generated in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence;
2. Personality Traits, namely “feeling of inadequacy” and “feeling of dependency”, which invariably produce Perfectionism and Goodism; and
3. Life’s Pressures (43 Stressful Events).
JosephB 
08/07/2006 |
Sources of Rage
Posted - 08/07/2006 : 00:34:36
