| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Albert
USA
210 Posts |
 Posted - 12/31/2004 : 16:01:28
|
The impression I get from John Sarno's book is that his patients tend get significantly better after several weeks or several months.
On this forum though, for example Dave's posts, it seems like the process is much longer, ongoing, and often never completely successful.
Can anybody help me understand the discrepancy? |
|
|
tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2004 : 17:28:49
|
quote:
Originally posted by Albert
The impression I get from John Sarno's book is that his patients tend get significantly better after several weeks or several months.
On this forum though, for example Dave's posts, it seems like the process is much longer, ongoing, and often never completely successful.
Can anybody help me understand the discrepancy?
Off the top of my head, I can think of several reasons his patients may heal quickly. They have the benefit of the great healing power of the white-coat impramature. I know when I go the doctor's office and ace the exams and am deemed healthy, I walk out feeling on top of the world. When I'm told I have something wrong like arthritis or elevated blood pressure, I walk out feeling lousey.
Sarno's patients attend the lectures and get to see other people who have the same condition thus benefit from peer group influences. The ones who don't heal rapidly are referred to psychotherapists.
Sarno also selects and qualifies the patients he will see so as not to waste the time and money of people who, after 25 years of experience, he knows he cannot help.
People posting on this board are not screened and perhaps many would not make it through Sarno's selection process and wash out.
As for the process, "often never being completely successful," I think this outlook is inconsistent with TMS philosophy. I accept that at 56 I will never feel as limber as I was at 19. I will always have some aches and pains but when I warm-up I can perform at a high level. I don't try to compete with players much younger than me on the courts. I compete in age group tournaments within a five year age span. That way we've all had the effects of gravity on us for the same length of time.
I feel it's a misconception that we are entiltled to be "pain-free". That is a media generated myth. TMS is about emotional healing, acceptance of occasional pain flareups as being harmless, and that we are gifted with strong bodies that do most of the healing on their own. The progress of healing is at the speed of belief.
What is success? Before Sarno, I had great pain trying to sleep, sit, walk, and had the belief that with every step I took, I was doing further damage. Now I have no pain sleeping, can drive a thousand miles in a stretch, and need about ten minutes to warm-up my "arthritic" hip so I can play tennis for 4-6 hours a day. I consider that success. The only thing I did was read Sarno's books and change my attitude about pain and what it means.
Hope that helps and happy New Year. |
 |
|
|
Suzanne
USA
66 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2005 : 00:50:24
|
quote:
Originally posted by Albert
The impression I get from John Sarno's book is that his patients tend get significantly better after several weeks or several months.
I'm a patient of Dr. Sarno and seeing a TMS psychologist that Dr. Sarno recommended for me. From what I've been told, patients do tend to get "significantly better", but the ratio of patients who actually do in a short time is not as high as people assume. Many take longer than it's assumed. This comes from one of the doctors mentioned in the Mindbody Prescription, in Acknowledgements. He said each person's situation is unique and the timeframe will vary person to person. There will be book cures and there will be people who need therapy, and there will be those in therapy who will take 6 months, or 2-3 years.
My doctor speaks with Dr. Sarno every Wednesday, so I'm sure this information is correct.
He also informed me that some patients get significantly better over time, while others just suddenly become pain-free, or as close to pain-free as possible (as close to normal as they would ever want or dream of after suffering for so long).
I've been given examples of patients who were in therapy for 2+ years, constant pain with no changes throughout, and then suddenly came to a realization about something tremendous in their lives, a buried emotional feeling (a desire, a hatred, etc.) while in session, and then returned the following week pain-free and never needing another "TMS therapy" session again. (but needing therapy to deal with their new realization of what they've come to terms with)
Then of patients who had gradual subsiding of pain during therapy until they were finally OK, but never really had to find out what the reasons were, or why; they just needed to express and discuss emotions and life.
Anything is possible I guess.
I hope this made some sense. Posting late on New years night (morning?) while exhausted isn't the smartest thing for me to do  |
|
|
|
Ginag
51 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2005 : 01:42:27
|
| Maybe favorable results are predicated on resolving the problem that is effecting us to begin with. Since the problems are solved in different amounts of times, and in some instances, not resolved at all, the success of eliminating the TMS symptoms varies also. If we were able to eliminate what is bothering us, perhaps we could also eliminate the physical manifestations that are created by same. |
|
|
|
Baseball65
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2005 : 08:04:27
|
Hi Albert.
This is a very good question.I think the answer is somewhere along the line of ....
The people who post on this board have made this not only a way to beat back pain,but a wonderfully liberating method of self discovery,the residual benefit being we also beat a lot of other conditions that other people take for granted.
I got significantly better after 3-4 weeks(I didn't count) though It had more ruses left for me along the way.I would be in pain about a week a year...that's being 95+ % healed,after being in pain every second of every day.
However,after participating on this forum,it has become clear to me that a lot of the "non-physical" phenomenon I experience are also mind-body symptoms,so I come here to share(OH no...I SAID it) and to learn by reading other peoples experiences.
It's like a dose of preventive medicine.
welcome.
Baseball65 |
|
|
|
Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2005 : 09:22:34
|
quote:
Originally posted by Albert
The impression I get from John Sarno's book is that his patients tend get significantly better after several weeks or several months.
On this forum though, for example Dave's posts, it seems like the process is much longer, ongoing, and often never completely successful.
Can anybody help me understand the discrepancy?
It is important for him to present a very positive depiction of TMS in his books. He is trying to convince the world (or at least those who would benefit from the theory) that he is right. He is a scientist with a lot of pride in his work. It is only natural that his books would slant towards the optimistic side of things.
When he says "the majority" I laugh to myself and say he must mean "50.01%". Or, maybe most of the people who have found this board fall into the minority. Whatever it is, it's important to realize that TMS is very different in everyone. The recipe for unconscious rage is highly dependent on the individual. As such, so must be the recovery time.
I have always found those specific mentions of recovery time to be frustrating. In a way it can lead to more rage: "why is it that the majority of people get better in weeks but it's been 2 months and I'm still not better?" It can also lead to lack fo faith in the diagnosis.
As for "never completely successful" I don't agree. I think we can be completely successful at ridding ourselves of TMS. In my opinion that does not mean that you will never again have a psychogenic symptom. It means that the fear is gone and your thought process towards the symptoms has drastically changed, to the point where you just accept them as a part of you and they just pass through. |
|
|
|
Albert
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2005 : 09:45:50
|
Thank you for the responses everybody.
|
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Puzzled
