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Thanks for this. I have atypical trigeminal neuralgia and one of the sticking points for me is that Sarno was wrong in what he wrote about the trigeminal nerve. Some of the quote is provided by Balto in the post following yours but what is missing from this is where Sarno goes on to say that the nerve is purely sensory. It's not. It also has a motor componant that is used in chewing and such, which is the branch mostly affected by atypical TN. This may not sound like a big deal but when you're wondering whether something is tms or not, it really doesn't help your confidence and does jack for total acceptance.

A few months ago I realised I was getting nowhere with my tms healing. At the time I believed it was due to bruxism. I was out of my mind with unrelenting pain. Long story short, I was finally diagnosed with TN and obtained some much-needed pain relief.

I was hopelessly confused. TN is usually caused by a vein or artery compressing the trigeminal nerve. Over time this erodes the myelin sheath leaving parts of the nerve unprotected, like an uninsulated wire it is exposed. This explains the crucifying nature of the pain. There is a seperate condition called atypical odontalgia which actually sounds like the problem Dr. Sarno suffered with. It is commonly believed to be psychogenic. There are a host of pain conditions that can affect the face and many are recognised by the medical profession as having psychological causes.

Now I have never put much stock in allopathic medicine. I've always followed a complementary path which honours the emotions and respects the body. TMS happily cuddles with many alternative theories and therapies but the protocol of rejecting all but the psychological can be a shot in the foot, especially when dealing with more involved conditions.

Thanks to Forest (who must be weary of hearing this), I'm at peace with an integrative approach. It's right for me. During the years I followed a hardcore Sarno approach I did myself few favours. A more expansive healing path is slowly helping me.

It's very easy to get stuck in a tms doublebind. All illnesses and bodily conditions have an emotional aspect and embracing this is essential to healing but there are many ills that do have 'structural' elements that also require nurturing back to wellness, and by this I don't mean surgery or Big Pharma. Sometimes we need reminding that healing is not a stark choice between conventional western medicine and Sarno. There are many nuances.

It worries me when people insist something is tms when the poor soul seeking help is presenting a case more complex. Let's listen more carefully, respond more mindfully and let the healing circle grow.