The Mind-Body Syndrome
by Kelly Martinsen “Everybody is under pressure from themselves or from life
circumstances, and everybody has some degree of rage in their unconscious.”—Dr. John Sarno, author of Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection.
I
n 1991, Dr. John Sarno—the luminary behind the discovery of tension myo- sitis syndrome and how best to treat it—wrote his revolutionary, best-selling book, Healing Back Pain: The Mind- Body Connection. This was the first time the general public was introduced to and informed about this condition in which a person’s subconscious mind has a physiologic impact on various pain pathways. In his book, Sarno, a former profes- sor of clinical rehabilitation medicine at New York University School of Medi- cine and former attending physician at The Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University Medi- cal Centers, details accounts of various patients that came to him seeking relief from back pain, often after having ex- hausted both Eastern and Western treat- ment options. His diagnosis for many of them was tension myositis syndrome, also referred to as tension myoneural syndrome, and most recently by Sarno as mind-body syndrome, or MBS. The “tension” refers to the emotional tension that exists and is the catalyst for the pain
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and tightness in the muscles. The “myositis” or “myoneu- ral” refers to muscles and nerves that are involved. The “syndrome” refers to the fact that symptoms from MBS/ TMS can be varied and variable. Since 1991, the
medical pioneer has writ- ten two more books on the subject; and while at 93 years of age he is now retired, other clinicians have continued on his path, writing books, creating programs and hosting websites—in- cluding
MindBodyMedicine.com and
UnLearnYourPain.com—in support of those with MBS/TMS. But why? Why would our uncon- scious mind cause pain in our body? Sarno and his colleagues (and now an entire MBS/TMS community) believe that the unconscious does this so as to create a focus on the body and to move the conscious mind away from unconscious feelings that may be too difficult for a person to face. The MBS/
www.NaturalAwakeningsLI.com
TMS community refers to these feelings as “unconscious rage”—often thought to be a result of childhood trauma or about the unfairness of life; there is even what Sarno refers to as “a good guy rage,” concerning one’s own pressure to be good all the time—to be perfect. When it comes to MBS/TMS, the most important part of this syndrome to realize is that this all happens uncon- sciously. This creation of pain is com- pletely on a subconscious level. The patient is not consciously aware of or in control of the pain. The reason that the subconscious mind is facilitating a pain response, according to Sarno, is be- cause the subconscious mind believes physical pain is less painful than allow- ing the conscious mind to think certain thoughts and feel certain emotions, or even to consciously admit to having these thoughts and emotions. In filmmaker Michael Galinsky’s
yet-to-be released documentary, All the Rage, folks like Larry David, John Stossel, Howard Stern, Jonathan Ames and Sen. Tom Harkin all found relief utilizing Sarno’s methods after exhaust- ing other modalities. “Let’s be clear, this is not ‘all in your head’—not in any way, shape or form; this pain is real!” says Eileen Newman, who is also featured in the documentary. “No, it isn’t in your head; al- though, it is created by what is in your head.” Yet, rage can be mis-
construed. Newman herself agrees: “Rage? I thought I have nothing to be ‘rageful’ about. I have a great life, had a wonder- ful childhood, have beautiful kids, have a job I am thankful
for and time to volunteer, have two par- ents who are still alive into their ‘80s— why would I be rageful?” Yet, when Newman began Sarno’s program and started journaling her feelings daily, she was shocked to see the resentment she had. She began to recognize both her conscious resentment and her buried rage. The resentment was the “con- scious” feeling—but that was really just the tip of the iceberg. When she tapped her subconscious, she admitted she resented her own personal choice to be perfect. She also resented her children
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