Have you ever blushed? Have you ever experienced “butterflies” in your stomach? Have you ever felt your heart racing out of excitement or fear?
These common
occurrences are undeniably physical phenomena. Yet their underlying causes are
not physical but emotional. Might there be other physical phenomena, even
illnesses, whose true, underlying causes also reside in the world of our
emotions?
Many of us would,
understandably, reject such a possibility. Our mindset is a Western one. What
is observable by the senses and empirically verifiable is legitimate. What
isn’t isn’t. Moreover, the mind and the body are two separate entities. Emotions
may be responsible for emotional illnesses. My back pain, however, is
caused by a structural abnormality, my irritable bowel by inflammation, my
chronic fatigue by….well, nobody really knows but certainly not by my inner
world of feelings.
And besides, I’m
totally “normal.” I may be a little hard on myself and have some perfectionist
tendencies. Maybe my self-esteem isn’t the greatest. But what does that have to
do with the pain in my ankle, my TMJ, my carpal tunnel syndrome, or my CFS?
Everything,
according to the late Dr. John Sarno. By now, many in our community recognize
this name but may be skeptical about his approach or are not quite sure what it
is all about.
* * *
In a nutshell, the
Sarno method maintains that we must distinguish between the immediate,
mechanical cause of the pain or syndrome and the true, underlying cause. The
physiological cause of blushing is increased blood flow in the face’s skin
capillaries. But what is responsible for this increased blood flow? An emotion:
shame or embarrassment.
The same is true
of back pain, jaw pain, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, and
other ailments. There is certainly a physiological, structural, or biochemical
explanation for all these things. But they are activated and maintained by the
mind, utilizing the autonomic nervous system, for emotional reasons.
Our unconscious mind
is a fascinating and powerful place. (Incidentally, Rav Yisrael Salanter, zt”l, had already discussed the
existence and importance of the unconscious mind before Freud first made it
known to the general public.) Therein resides all sorts of feelings that part
of us would prefer not to acknowledge. For the most part, these are very
“normal,” common feelings: feelings of inferiority, insecurity, guilt, anxiety,
stress, and anger.
Nevertheless,
there is a part of our mind, trying to be helpful, that wants to keep us
unaware of these feelings. So, it activates a physical response that serves as
a distraction and prevents us from becoming aware of that which it believes
must remain hidden. We are so busy with our pain or our fatigue we won’t pay
attention to all the other “stuff.” Quite a diversion – until we blow its
cover.
We do that through
knowledge and awareness. When we become aware, on the deep, subconscious level,
that our pain, or fatigue, or carpal tunnel syndrome is simply a distraction
created by our own mind to protect us from unpleasant feelings, it no longer
serves its purpose. And then, no longer useful, it just goes away.
* * *
If this sounds
like fantasy or science fiction to you, I can empathize. Even though I am
convinced of the truth of this hypothesis, I am amazed anew every time somebody
reports that they’re pain-free and feeling great after having followed this
method. It truly is hard to believe. Yet thousands of people, if not tens of
thousands, have successfully applied the Sarno method and cured themselves of
their symptoms.
Unfortunately, the
idea behind this method is sometimes misunderstood. The advocates of the Sarno
approach are not claiming that it’s “all in your head.” The sufferer is not
crazy or mentally ill or making it up. The symptoms are very real. But so is
the mind-body connection, the source of both the problem and its solution.
Modern science has
given us many gifts but still has its limitations. One of these is its great
difficulty in acknowledging and explaining the mind-body connection, which is the
underlying assumption of the Sarno approach. This is something empiricism can
neither explain nor prove. Yet lack of evidence is not evidence of lack, and
decades of clinical experience have borne out Dr. Sarno’s hypothesis.
* * *
Dr. Sarno wrote
four books during his lifetime describing his approach. Knowledge of the idea
and its assimilation into the unconscious mind is critical. For that reason,
those interested in pursuing the “Sarno method” should start by reading one of
his books. The most useful for this purpose is his second, Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection.
To get started, please
read the book carefully and thoroughly. Do not skip any parts, even if you are
suffering from something other than back pain. Don’t worry, the book is
designed for the layman and is written in simple and clear language (there is
also an audio version of the book, but I believe actually reading it is more
effective). It is not very long. As you read, pay particular attention to the
patient examples. Do you see yourself in any of the descriptions?
Reading the book
accomplishes two things. First, it gives you more information than a short
article can. Second, it begins and then continues the process of integrating
this information into the subconscious, where it can effect change. In fact,
Dr. Sarno writes that many people have cured themselves simply by reading his
books.
After you have
read the book once, you will want to review it, setting aside time each day to
read several pages. As in mussar
work, repetition is key to bringing about change on the unconscious level. At
the same time, you can begin the practical work as described in the book.
Think about the
various stresses and stressors Dr. Sarno describes. Then make a list of those,
and any others you can think of, that apply to you. You are going to be
reviewing this list, along with the positive messages described in the book,
daily. Doing this shifts your mind’s focus from the physical to the true
underlying cause and thereby “blows the cover” of the unnecessary diversion.
I must conclude
with one cautionary note. Although Dr. Sarno discounts the standard medical
explanations for these disorders (such as herniated disk or pinched nerve), it
is still important to first visit a doctor to rule out something rare and
potentially life-threatening, such as a tumor or an actual infection like Lyme
disease. Having done that, you can then turn to the Sarno approach.
May you have much
success in your journey to renewed health.
The author, Ari
Bialik, has been helping people apply Dr. Sarno’s approach ever since he
successfully used it for his own chronic fatigue syndrome more than 20 years
ago. He has since trained as an individual and marital therapist and earned an
MA in psychology and a post-master’s certificate in general family therapy in
addition to certification in NLP and reality therapy. He now applies the skills
and tools he has gained to his Sarno method coaching and mentoring work. Ari
Bialik can be reached at arimnb@gmail.com.
