, I posted one, too.
There is quite some activity in the comments, with many people with CFS attacking the article and many TMS practitioners defending it.
For example, here is a post by TMS Psychologist Gary Goldberg, PhD, with a compelling story of his wife's TMS:
My experiences with TMS
Submitted by Gary Goldberg, Ph.D on June 5, 2016 - 10:22am
I don't write books or articles, I don't do studies, I just treat patients in my health psychology practice.
My experience with John Sarno and his theory of TMS started about 35 years ago when my wife began to experience debilitating sciatic type pain. We were referred to a highly thought of orthopedic specialist at a top NYC hospital. He looked at her X-rays and told her it was probably a temporary condition. He advised Tylenol daily, rest, and told her she would probably be better in 2 weeks. When two weeks passed and she still wasn't better, he told her that she did have a bulging disk, prescribed Elavil and said two more weeks should do it. When 2 weeks passed and she continued to suffer, he now told her that she had degenerative disk disease and left her believing that her problem would only get worse. Of course this news devastated her causing her to feel that she was destined to have a life of pain and physical restriction.
Luckily I read an article in New York Magazine about John Sarno, a physiatrist at the Rusk Institute, who had seemingly cured the article's author of chronic, unremitting, back pain after the author had made many unsuccessful attempts at seeking conventional medical treatment.
My wife and I visited Dr. Sarno. He looked over her X-rays and medical reports and agreed to take her on as a pt. He explained TMS and asserted that her pain was not "all in her head" but the result of chemical and physiological changes in her body that were initiated by chronic emotions and thoughts.
His treatment consisted of two 3 hour presentations. One where he explained the physiological changes that were caused by chronic emotions and thoughts. In the second he talked about the behavioral patterns that led to TMS. He also pointed out the traditional advice that was given to pts by conventional practitioners and how these only contributed to, prolonged, and exacerbated the chronic symptoms experienced. He predicted that those who accepted his approach and followed his instructions would get better. Two weeks later, my wife was better, back to her normal activities, and forever grateful to Dr. Sarno. It's not that she never had back pain again. But from that point on, whenever she experienced back pain, she told herself, "it's a 'Sarno thing,' it will go away." And it always has.
I started off saying that I don't do research, however I do continuously read it. I direct people to the large body of psychoneuroimmunological research that verifies and explains the physiological changes in the body caused by psychological states. I also direct you to the books "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers," by Robert Sapolsky and "The Molecules of Emotion," by Candice Pert. These are 2 excellent books that also explain the mind/body connection.
For quite a few years I've seen pt's in my office for unremitting pain, various autoimmune conditions, insomnia, and a host of other physical conditions exacerbated by chronic stress, depression, anxiety, and anger.
I've used and taught pts.various treatment strategies to lower the levels of their negative emotions with much success. For many their symptoms remitted and they were able to return to their normal lifestyle. I've found that these strategies work if the pts work them.
So do I agree, with the assertions made by Dr. Schubiner, you bet I do. I do because I've seen them work both in my personal life and in my office.
There are a number of other great testimonies. At some point I'll try and post more of them here, but in the meantime, I'd definitely encourage people to check it out themselves and share their story.
PsychologyToday.com is a huge website with a wide reach. With all of the controversy, it's a great place to give your testimony.
