Extensions of Sarnos Theory

Hello, my name is Scott. I used to visit these forums a number of years ago. When I was 17 years old I was stricken with intense anxiety and pelvic pain following a circumcision surgery.

I tried the Stanford Protocol for around a year, followed by applying Sarnos Theory on mind body disorders. I went into a sort of remission after, but my symptoms never really totally disappeared, and they haven't to this day.

What I'd like to discuss is what I've learned since. Sarnos theory is basically that some repressive mechanism of the brain is beginning to fail and the pain is an attempt to divert attention from whatever material is breaching into conscious awareness. At first this understanding was enough, but after a few years of continued failures in other areas of my life I decided to dig a little deeper. My plan was to access the pain, so that whatever was hidden from me would no longer remain so. Hence, no need for a distraction. So, is this possible?

Apparently the answer is yes. But with a few caveats. First, we're dealing with the brain, and the brain is a mess. I began researching further into theories that described repressed pain and how one could go about relieving what might be causing anguish "down below." My initial encounter was with a very obscure study published by the late Eleanor Van Winkle, concerning a therapy that she described as "redirecting."

The core of Winkle's theory was that repressed anger at the parent was the cause of neurological damage, and that when the anger was properly redirected later in life, the damage could be healed. I understood Sarno's theory very well by the time I read this and the two seemed to compliment each other. If Sarnos theory that repressed rage was the cause of these disorders, then Winkle's ideas on accessing that rage might prove curative. I didn't have much to lose, so i started to apply Winkle's measures.

Holy. Shit.

The work started slowly, but within around a year or so a massive neurological event took place that I can't even describe properly. My pain went into almost full remission and my body nearly completely healed. My mind began functioning in ways I had never seen, before like someone had finally turned the power on. This was a honeymoon period, however, and what followed grew stranger still. My pain eventually returned, but in different forms, like my mind was cycling through my life's events, both emotional and otherwise. So much has happened since I've applied Winkle's measures that I'm not sure what to speak on.

Initially I guaged success both by the amount of pain I was experiencing and because my ailment concerned the genitourinary system, by the volume and frequency of my bladder. I have since reformed this way of thinking. I've come to understand that the bladder and the genitals themselves are very sensitive and versatile organs. Frequency, volume and what i would call "style" are varied across populations. What I thought was normal .. simply wasn't. In fact, "normal" isnt anything at all with regard to this organ.

I've found that the purpose of the genitourinary system is more than just discharging physical waste. The bladder, the ejaculatory systems and the anus are connected to and function as elimination and relief for the brain. This is sort of hard to describe because my experience and what I've noticed about my own particular set of organs comes from the "cockpit" that I have, which is me.

So. Where does this leave us with regard to what we all want--a cure?

I want to say this about notions of a cure. We may not in our lifetime no matter what amount of work we do be able to find a way to cure these disorders the way we want to cure them. What I've found instead is that working alongside the pain has been more beneficial in the long term. Learning to tolerate various symptoms while the brain is speaking in this manner can be more helpful than resisting them. And the one thing I've never been able to be rid of? Bladder urgency.

Now my guess on this topic is that the pain that causes this annoying symptom is way down there and related to something that's, unfortunately, a controversial topic. Seeing as this forum is filled with men and women who have no problem with neo Freudian theory, I hope this isn't too much of a stretch. The urgency is caused by the pain of not being born, ie: "mommy, I need out now," and the answer from mommy was "no."

Birth pain is a whole other topic. Those memories, if you believe they can exist, exist in an area of the brain that is effectively sealed by the age of six months, and guarded by a firewall designed specifically to keep them exactly where they are--hidden from view. Their valence is massive, and should be approached with great care, if you care to approach them at all. For more information on this, please read the work of the late Arthur Janov. His camp has been studying and effectively accessing these memories for decades.

To give an update on my symptoms, during the day my bladder discharges normally, but lately I have been experiencing a lot wake up trips to the bathroom at night while I sleep with low bladder volume.

Before this big event and the remission, my genitourinary system nearly shut down completely and I was sure I was done for. I thought I was going to have to start using catheters, because I could no longer even control the release of my bladder some days. I've been patient with what's going with these night time issues in light of that.

I also want to add this sort of post script that what I experience is the pain ... Going inward and manifesting as physical pain, rather than behavioral symptoms. I've met my "converse" over the years where the pain is manifested outwardly, both in myself and in others, and I've found that generally speaking, I'm simply to lazy to be an urgent mess in life, hence my pain just aches in my body. Others literally live their pains, through their work or relationships or hobbies. I did until I was 17 and the whole thing crashed and had to start looking for answers.

But he who seeks shall find.

--
Scott

 

Thanks for sharing Scott. This cannot have been easy share with others. I think this is a very good possible extension of Sarno's work. No matter how we each deal with, exploring repressed anger and learning to live and thrive alongside the off/on pain seems to be where the only "solution" is.

 

Yes. I don't often get involved in testimony as I prefer my privacy in life with regard to these matters but my hope is that, like myself, someone might find what I've written here and find a kernel of truth in it. This road is not an easy one and more often than not I've found myself in isolation because my pursuit of the truth was of no interest to my cohort.

Oh, in familiar fashions here was the list of disorders I had that have been cured via these theories:

Heroin addiction - and when I say cured I don't mean that I go to meetings twice a week, I mean that Ellie's work alleivated the addiction completely. I was addicted to heroin for five years. This is the one folks seem to care the least about. I'm not kidding, however. The damn cure actually worked.

Migraines.

Tmj / jaw pain.

Psoriasis (this one is humorous, I had a friend take note of how quickly the rash disappeared when I applied Sarnos method)

Sciatica.

Carpal tunnel syndrome.

Various fibro / back pain symptoms.

--
Scott