Thread by @TheStoryOfPain

Yesterday we shared this thread that made the point that Dr sarno was working in a trauma informed manner 40 years before the concept was articulated. Since his work was not understood by colleagues it was dismissed as “woo”, or not grounded in science.

https://twitter.com/rumur/status/1407901467944624130

In our film “All The Rage” we also made the connection between the rapid rise in the wealth gap and the rise in chronic pain. Some viewers were angry with this because they felt it made the film political. However, the film also makes it clear that…

poverty, and the stress of not having the resources to take care of one’s family has both social and emotional impacts. @DrBurkeHarris recognized this connection when she opened a clinic in an impoverished area of Oakland. She realized she was mostly seeing symptoms of stress.

This awareness made it possible for her to address the cause, stress related to the difficulties of poverty. While she can’t solve the social situation, awareness of the cause can help diminish the fear that comes from the combo of symptoms and a sense of helplessness.

This same awareness drove Dr Sarno’s work. He did not fix people’s backs. Instead he gave them the awareness that they could shift their perspective and recognize that their pain was the symptom of trauma rather than a physical abnormality.

Sometimes that awareness alone made it possible for patients to dial down their fear snd anxiety enough to see what patterns of thought or behavior were causing the pain. Sometimes they needed the help of a psychologist.

Dr Sarno had little support from colleagues but his work helped thousands, if not millions, because he looked at the evidence and saw patterns that he made sense of. This awareness ran counter to prevailing wisdom, but Dr Sarno understood that the repression of emotions..

could have profound impacts on health, and that this repression was related to trauma from childhood. Trauma is relative. We often think of trauma as major and dramatic life events. However, Sarno understood that not having our emotional needs met in early childhood

can be traumatic. We learn coping mechanisms when our needs are not met. Those mechanisms can keep us safe, but they can also keep us stuck. @DrGaborMate had this same insight & connects the resulting disconnection from our feelings to auto immune disease. vimeo.com/566331385

When we first started our film we shot a few very informal interviews so that we could get a better understanding of Dr Sarno’s work. At one point he quoted Shakespeare, “To thine own self be true.” I can’t find that quote now but will share other clips vimeo.com/280430207

vimeo.com/280422992 this one is of great importance to me. My father almost died from an ulcer more than once. When he healed from that he got terrible back pain. That’s when someone gave him Dr Sarno’s book. He got much better but struggled. It’s the dis-ease of being human

This photo of Dr Sarno getting a standing ovation after the premiere of All The Rage was taken by the artist Nicolas Provost in November 2016. It was gratifying to see him get recognition for his work