tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post2642143047140400681..comments2024-03-28T00:11:33.489-04:00Comments on bensozia: Back Pain and the Mind-Body ProblemJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-15491054852238729252022-11-23T18:23:49.445-05:002022-11-23T18:23:49.445-05:00@G-I had heard of phantom limb pain and mirror the...@G-I had heard of phantom limb pain and mirror therapy, but not read much about it. So I did. I had no idea phantom limb pain was so common; up to 80% of amputees suffer from it to some degree, and many find it debilitating. And how cool that the simple trick of watching what seems to be your missing limb move in a mirror for 25 minutes a day can stop the pain for many patients.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-48890089225115645452022-11-23T08:47:40.897-05:002022-11-23T08:47:40.897-05:00It occurs to me that a doctor saying, "Everyo...It occurs to me that a doctor saying, "Everyone around you is in luck. I can help you stop complaining" is just the sort of thing Larry David would have put in Curb Your Enthusiasm.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456987412710878404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-7071478218019909332022-11-22T23:20:15.158-05:002022-11-22T23:20:15.158-05:00John, if you're not familiar with it already, ...John, if you're not familiar with it already, I think you might enjoy reading up a bit on "Mirror Therapy" for people who have phantom limb pains - it clearly demonstrates a powerful innate connection between the 'physical' sensation of pain and the mind.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-29834981520331271552022-11-22T16:30:48.437-05:002022-11-22T16:30:48.437-05:00@David- I once did some research on miracle collec...@David- I once did some research on miracle collections, and there are hundreds of medieval miracle stories that go like, "I prayed to St. Dunstan, and stayed sick, so I prayed to St. Kevin, and stayed sick, and finally I prayed to St. Wulfstan and got better, so I known he cured me and I am here to make a donation to his shrine."<br /><br />That's what I had in mind. Obviously it is a widespread human weakness.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-85116851770705755042022-11-22T10:25:00.672-05:002022-11-22T10:25:00.672-05:00The last time I heard somebody boosting Dr. John S...The last time I heard somebody boosting Dr. John Sarno was Howard Stern in 1994. It's still a running joke among fans. Anytime somebody has cancer or something, a "Sarno says it's all in your head!" comment will be made.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-60620458428356715432022-11-22T10:20:39.518-05:002022-11-22T10:20:39.518-05:00@John
On the insult front, I think it depends on ...@John<br /><br />On the insult front, I think it depends on how one phrases it. Your statements here contain no insult: your idea seems to be "this may help with this kind of distress," which is what medicine is supposed to be. But, referencing the previous discussion you link to: yes, I would continue to insist that there was animus behind DeBoer's response to Douthat (his line that in his experience, long Lyme was characteristic of a certain kind of upper middle class person; how is that not hostile, especially coming from the leftist DeBoer, whether "true" or not?).<br /><br />Saying physical symptoms have a psychological cause is in itself in no way insulting. But there are plenty of ways to put a hostile accent on that simple statement. Suggesting that the complainant is just that kind of annoying person is a classic example. I doubt Sarno said to a patient, "Everyone around you is in luck. I can help you stop complaining."<br /><br />On a different front, I wonder if "if you get better, the last thing you tried is what cured you"--essentially post hoc, ergo propter hoc--is particularly medieval. If some source like the Salernitan Questions or whatever says "the physician must learn to think this way," then yes, we're on our way to an argument that it is. But provisionally, it strikes me that the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (I've got an authority!) is closer to the mark when it says that this sort of thinking is "a common fallacy of the human mind." Moderns engage in it all the time, and my physician father (another authority! whee!) described to me how he and his comrades had to be trained out of it.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456987412710878404noreply@blogger.com