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Baseball65
USA
734 Posts |
 Posted - 03/08/2007 : 18:55:22
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Long time no speak...living the 100% TMS free life and haven't checked back too often. I was researching something for my son and I ran across this little gem. I wonder if she's ever even heard of Sarno.????
anyways..thought you guys and gals might enjoy this one.
-Marc
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Elaine Showalter's Hystories: Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Culture, points out that anyone is susceptible to hysteria. When anxiety mounts on a cultural scale, collective narratives--which she calls "hystories"--begin to emerge and build. Whole masses of people develop common physical symptoms that she believes are emotional in origin. The form these symptoms take depends on what kinds of behavior are acceptable within a given culture--and then promoted by journalists, therapists, physicians, drug companies, or whoever else might benefit from them.
Showalter places chronic fatigue and gulf war syndromes in the same category as alien abduction fantasies, multiple personality disorder and satanic ritual abuse. They are culturally fashionable narratives that blame an external source. Not that she means this in a disparaging way. Recent work in psychoneurology indicates that mind and body are inextricably linked. Emotional states such as trauma or depression can be physically encoded into our cells. That is, the symptoms are real. They just aren't attributable to aliens, abusers, chemicals, or viruses.
The problem, as Showalter explains it, is that we fail to respect psychogenic illnesses. Rather than viewing the mind as being just as forceful and relevant in our illnesses as these other factors, we dismiss or diminish its status: Hysterics are overly feminine, weak, flighty, or just plain nuts.
When that happens, we seek physical reasons that "firmly place the cause and cure outside the self." As a consequence, we avoid the real problem and become vulnerable to its spread--made more potent via talk shows, self-help books, medical or psychological gurus, ill-informed movies, journalists who uncritically embrace unsupported rumors, and technology like the Internet that spreads them faster and wider.
It's striking that each of these seemingly diverse narratives, according to Showalter, exhibit similar plot lines. "It starts with a group of people who share common ailments," she says. "Then there are doctors who identify the first cluster of sufferers. They give it a name and a rationale, and publicize the symptoms. They then become a center for pilgrimages, especially if they open a clinic. They may say that they aren't being allowed to research it properly, which makes them victims of a conspiracy. Others come to study with them, and as the patients accumulate, they form into self-help groups, and self-help groups since AIDS have become political groups. For some people, the illness becomes their life, their identity. They have journals. They have political lobbies. They may become very powerful."
As people join these groups, they gain further exposure to the accepted beliefs. "Statistically, the longer they stay in the groups," says Showalter, "the less likely it is that they will be cured." They also grow more sensitized to those who contradict them--people who then become The Enemy. "There's always an enemy or a conspiracy against them."
While Showalter limits her studies to these maladies, others have seen potentially larger applications. Jon Katz, for example, writes in "Wired," that Showalter's analysis of these psychosomatic illnesses is just as relevant to media's coverage of the Internet. Whenever something negative occurs in cyberspace, such as an online romance ending in murder or a child getting access to pornography, the media describe these rare events as "epidemic disorders in need of urgent recognition, redress, and attention." Irresponsible information becomes contagious, promoting paranoia and the sense of pervasive victimization.
How can these "epidemics" gain such force? Showalter won't go so far as to say that we have a cultural subconscious that stores repressive material just waiting to be triggered. Nor does she think fads like Beanie Babies are on the same level as psychogenic epidemics: one is short-lived, while the other builds into a virtual movement. Yet there do seem to be similarities in the way that some things create an overwhelming desire to belong to a group that exhibits certain behaviors, has access to "secret knowledge," or owns something deemed precious, while others simply fail--try as they might--to get the desired effect. Showalter points out that something like hypoglycemia, which was once a fashionable diagnosis, never got organized, so it did not develop into a social epidemic the way things like multiple personality disorder has.
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Littlebird
USA
391 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2007 : 19:25:54
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Hi Marc,
Thanks for sharing this. It's intersting. I appreciated this paragraph:
"The problem, as Showalter explains it, is that we fail to respect psychogenic illnesses. Rather than viewing the mind as being just as forceful and relevant in our illnesses as these other factors, we dismiss or diminish its status: Hysterics are overly feminine, weak, flighty, or just plain nuts."
Having come from a family with mental health issues that trace back from one generation to the next, I've seen how society has long equated any mental or emotional issue with "poor character," "laziness," or, as the paragraph states, being weak or flighty, or having other personal deficiencies, so it's no wonder that people learned to look for an outside physical cause rather than admitting that the mind could be the source of any physical symptoms. It's only natural to defend our character and if that's going to be questioned when our psychological state causes us to develop physical symptoms, then we need to have somewhere else to lay the blame for those symptoms.
Thanks for passing the article along.
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Baseball65
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2007 : 20:51:42
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Hi littlebird.
No problem.
I actually found this womans work in the oddest of places; I was trying to explain to my son what happened in the McMartin Preschool case back in the 80's.
I was telling him how 'bearing false witness' is one of the gravest of sins, and I could think of no better example than that particular case. If you go research it at crimelibrary.com or even on wikipedia, you will see how one woman's false accusation( she was an alcoholic paranoid schizophrenic) triggered a nationwide panic.
I won't belabor the details of that case, but I was fascinated to find that someone else had confirmed in detailed research what Sarno aludes to in the end of Healing back Pain.....that people tend to choose symptoms that are in vogue and socially acceptable.
I was in a drug rehabilitation hospital in 1984. We had a lot of group therapies. I was the ONLY person in the hospital out of about 30 patients who was NOT molested. Apparently the therapists hadn't cracked my 'repressed memories'.....
My sister 'came down' with being molested in the 80's....she went to a shrink and the therapist coaxed a 'repressed memory' out of her, and this now accounted for all of her adult shortcomings (like being a flaming BITCH)
My Buddy came down with the mother of all TMS attacks the other day. He has never read Sarno, but has always believed in the mindbody connection. He usually calls me whenever he has an episode and we review what's been going on in his life. They invaribaly are short lived(this time it was his neck)
Anyways...he came to me and told me that when other people who noticed he was a bit immobile inquired as to why, he told them his neck was spasming.
He was instantly BOMBED with information regarding a 'virus' that is going around and causing stiff necks (LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL)
I can see the headlines now.
"Medical Breakthrough identifies Viral Neck Spasming Syndrome....this condition,also referred to as VNSS has been going on for years now and Pharmacaea has developed a breakthrough treatment combining jalapeno enema's, antibiotics,combined with Eastern Meditation that can treat , but alas, not cure VNSS....VNSS is a lifelong condition and though we may treat it, we cannot eradicate it.
Check your phone book for the VNSS support group in your area. The VNSS politcal activist group known as the 'Stiffies' is lobbying congress for millions of dollars worth of federal grants to study VNSS and perhaps one day find a cure. They are also petitioning Insurance companies to recognize VNSS as a distinct entity and give it the same status as Chronic Fatigue syndrome, Fibromyalgia,Multiple personality disorder and other proven debilitating conditions"
I made that all up of course, but it's pretty scary what us people can come up with when we get going.
By the way....
to all the new people
You can recover 100% no restrictions NO HOLDS barred....
Read Sarno...do the three R's (Refute,return to activity,recondition the brain)
It's an ongoing battle, but you can win......I haven't had any pain in as long as I can remember. I'm planning my skateboard odyssey weekend trip to Kona with all my other 40 and 50 year old Bro's as I write this. I can still throw a Nasty curveball, and I was teaching my team how to properly slide into thirdbase the other day.
I was once diagnosed with CHRONIC pain syndrome,stenosis,congenital birth defect and shortened legs (among others)....I was only saved from the Hellfires and the abyss by Sarno.
Sorry I don't hang out on the forum as much as I should.....I always respond to personal e-mails. I find if I work with one or two people at a time I can be more effective than addressing a crowd.
If you're new and you need help or are scared don't hesitate to drop me a line.
-Marc |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 10:24:44
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Hi Baseball,
Nice to hear from you! Often wondered how things were going and glad to see you're doing well. Thanks for sharing the article, it's right-on! If it wasn't influenced by the Good Doctor, it evidences parallel thinking going on out there.
Dr. Sarno's newest THE DIVIDED MIND is well worth reading. Hearing about TMS theory from his associates, who contributed chpaters to the book, makes the theory easier to understand.
He also puts a new spin on the purpose of TMS, that it is not a punishment as Freud, postulated, but a PROTECTOR.
Have fun and check-in from time to time.
Cheers,
tt |
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alexis
USA
596 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 10:42:42
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I see this article as a good opportunity for our own self-reflexion, too. TMS theory has some built in safeguards against this type of "self-help group syndrome", but it doesn't mean we are immune to all aspects.
I went through the whole article a second time, viewing this site as a "self-help group", and I did think we generally compared positively against the syndrome described. But I also thought I saw some of these observations reflected in smaller degrees here. I am personally taking this in part as a warning to watch myself and my time and participation here very carefully. |
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Baseball65
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 18:29:03
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quote:
Originally posted by alexis
But I also thought I saw some of these observations reflected in smaller degrees here. I am personally taking this in part as a warning to watch myself and my time and participation here very carefully.
Interesting observation. We certainly have our own 'narrative' that she describes, but we aren't organized and there is no agenda or money to be had,benefits to be gained.
In fact, How many thousands of dollars has Sarno saved us??? For what...12 bucks? He has also kept us from being part of the healthboards.com crew....the people who put their 'surgery list' as their signature to qualify themselvs by (pretty creepy)..if you go there and post about Sarno, your post will be deleted in less than an hour.
Also...this forum is about as organized a group as you'll find, and I have to watch it or I find myself falling victim to the Nocebo effect. We are sort of safe from getting too organized into a distinguishable entity for two reasons.
One...most people who beat TMS leave the group and Two.. part of the recovery is NOT talking about the problem.
None the less, I've never seen any group not fall into some of those headings.... One that I thougt of right off the top of my head is AA. They have a 3% recovery rate based on a 2-5 year study,and yet the Courts and every one else in the world sees it as the ultima thule effective group regarding substance abuse. Google Dr. Stanton Peele and you'll be amazed.
-piggy |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2007 : 19:12:10
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To give further weight to what Elaine Showalter says, readers may also refer to Dr. Hoffman's contribution in TDM chapter 9, especially pages 307-318 under the sub-section "The Role Of Triggers In The Psychosomatic Process."
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Sarno-ize it!
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Edited by - shawnsmith on 03/09/2007 19:12:31 |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2007 : 06:39:46
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quote:
Originally posted by alexis
I see this article as a good opportunity for our own self-reflexion, too. TMS theory has some built in safeguards against this type of "self-help group syndrome", but it doesn't mean we are immune to all aspects.
I went through the whole article a second time, viewing this site as a "self-help group", and I did think we generally compared positively against the syndrome described. But I also thought I saw some of these observations reflected in smaller degrees here. I am personally taking this in part as a warning to watch myself and my time and participation here very carefully.
As a follow-up to what Alexis has said, it is important to reflect on this paragraph from the article posted by baseball, as it applies to this message board:
"As people join these groups, they gain further exposure to the accepted beliefs. "Statistically, the longer they stay in the groups," says Showalter, "the less likely it is that they will be cured." They also grow more sensitized to those who contradict them--people who then become The Enemy. "There's always an enemy or a conspiracy against them.""
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Sarno-ize it!
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Edited by - shawnsmith on 03/10/2007 11:17:29 |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2007 : 06:54:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Baseball65
When that happens, we seek physical reasons that "firmly place the cause and cure outside the self." As a consequence, we avoid the real problem and become vulnerable to its spread--made more potent via talk shows, self-help books, medical or psychological gurus, ill-informed movies, journalists who uncritically embrace unsupported rumors, and technology like the Internet that spreads them faster and wider.
I find it interesting to think about how we develop our own personal theories about the source of our pain and other physical symptoms, even before they are invesigated any further or possess any scientific validity.
Using myself as an example, I noticed that I had some tongue pain list night with redness around the outer edges. I did not look anything up on the net and at first thought it must be just the old TMS boogey man. I then looked the symptom up in Dr. Sarno's books but there was nothing said about it, but he did say that symptoms could manifest anywhere in the body, thus it was not possible to list every single symptom. Then the thought came to me that I had just eaten a peanut butter sandwhich and that maybe I am developing a peanut intolerance. There is a lot of information on peanut allergies publisized all over the place. Although I don't pay much attention to these ads, apparently the message somwhow got through anyways and the association with tongue pain and peanut consumption, without any apparent outside prompting, came to my mind.
This, I feel, especially in the light of Elaine Showalter's work, is where we develop these personal narratives of the sources pain (which are not so personal afterall when we realize their real source) and other physical symptoms and once they come established in our minds they take a life on of their own.
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Sarno-ize it!
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Edited by - shawnsmith on 03/10/2007 07:00:06 |
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Victoria008
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2007 : 07:41:50
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"Taking on a life of it's own" I have many ancedotes about this. There have been many times that I have heard of a symptom to later start manifesting it! Talk about Hysteria! The difference between our group and those others is that we find the cure within ourselves, instead of looking outside. I believe the latter is easier for most people. They would be the ones who would dismiss TMS.
Victoria |
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Baseball65
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2007 : 08:34:31
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Peanut intolerance.....
THAT is exactly what she's talking about! I get a symptom, I vaguely string together a series of events that might have caused it ,I google a few things and BLAM...I am now Peanut intolerant.
You know..I was laughing my f-ing head off...there are whole schools of children of the rich and paranoid in southern california who now believe the new 'Peanut' Narrative.
They send home literature asking parents to not use a KNIFE that has touched peanut Butter on another childs sandwich (those CRAZY negligent parents who actually let their kids EAT peanut Butter)
There is now a whole generation of kids who are afraid of PEANUTS.....George Washington Carver is turning over in his grave.
There has had to be footnotes added to virtually every product to determine how CLOSE to peanuts it has been.
My wife recently went through a terrible trauma at work. She had a literal Mutiny on her staff and had to fire 2 managers,which triggered the resignation of 3 other employees.
This drama had gone on for months and around 4 weks ago she started obsessing about a cracked and painful tongue. She wondered if it could belong to a long series of 'allergies' she ran down. New brand of toothbrush?
I pointed out that she ordinarily breaks out in HIVES when she is under stress (she has never done the WORK with the Sarno thing...only understands it intellectually) and that her hives aren't here, so wouldn't it be likely that the Hives ,which she never paid much attention to, turned themselves into a lacerated tongue?
She played with her tonge whenever she had a free moment. She comtemplated going to the doctor about it , but is so harried never had enough time.
She fired the Mutinous Managers this week....her tongue is all better.
She doesn't eat peanuts, but maybe I should tell her about that...it'll give her more food for thought (couldn't resist the pun)
...see..in Sarno's world one of the three R's is REFUTE..so we would have a bitch of a time starting a political action group (like the peanut police) since part of our doctrine is to IGNORE alleged causes.
I know you're not playing into it Shawn, but I had to take a moment to put it in perspective. It is the result of some out of work Chiropractic types in California that started this whole 'food allergy' rave in the first place.
"Man arrested entering school with concealed peanut butter sandwich...film at 11"
we have lost our freaking minds.
Gabriel...blow your horn
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Edited by - Baseball65 on 03/10/2007 08:36:25 |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2007 : 08:37:01
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quote:
Originally posted by shawnsmith
quote:
Originally posted by Baseball65
When that happens, we seek physical reasons that "firmly place the cause and cure outside the self." As a consequence, we avoid the real problem and become vulnerable to its spread--made more potent via talk shows, self-help books, medical or psychological gurus, ill-informed movies, journalists who uncritically embrace unsupported rumors, and technology like the Internet that spreads them faster and wider.
. There is a lot of information on peanut allergies publisized all over the place. Although I don't pay much attention to these ads, apparently the message somwhow got through anyways and the association with tongue pain and peanut consumption, without any apparent outside prompting, came to my mind.
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Sarno-ize it!
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Right on Shawn and BB,
Anyone with a TV and basic cable gets bombarded constantly by snake-oil salesmen and their shills, TV editorial program writers. PR people for special interests, feed the media press-releases touting the latest "clinical study", proving that their snake-oil is effective for the latest TMS-lemming epedemic.
Lazy journalists hand-in these PR releases, almost whole-cloth to their editors. With slight revisions, and the addition of a by-line, these PR releases morph into today's "truth". They conclude their busy day of fact-finding on a bar stool at the corner journalist's pub.
Most TV journalism is the modern-day version of P.T. Barnum's carnival side-show. |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
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Hystories...
