Articles on Primal Therapy, psychogenesis, causes of psychological traumas, brain development, psychotherapies, neuropsychology, neuropsychotherapy. Discussions about causes of anxiety, depression, psychosis, consequences of the birth trauma and life before birth.
Monday, August 9, 2010
On Pain Killers
Some time ago I had back surgery. I wanted pain killers afterward for a lot of pain. Sorry, they said, the medical committee had come in and shut down heavy pain killers because of the possibility of abuse. So we all suffered. We suffered because men from the state capitol, who obviously managed to cover their pain, decided we didn’t need it. Today in the N.Y. Times is a story about the same thing. Washington State has pretty much decided the same thing. The abuse they say is too widespread, and it may be, but what about those who need it and are not abusing it? How can they tell the difference? Did they know how much pain killers I need? No they don’t. Only I do and I do. They doctor from that state who shall remain nameless, decided that we have to cut down on drugs. There is a picture of him in the paper; he is very very fat. So he manages to cut down on pain by stuffing his face with food, while he doesn’t like us to take pills to do the same thing. Shame.
Is it possible that more and more of us are in pain? Is it possible we need it? Do people who are not in pain compulsively take pain killers? I doubt it. Why on earth would they? Why do people stuff food down? Do they need it? They seem to. If we stopped them they would be in plenty of pain; then they would need pills; then they would know what pain was about. Alas, they can eat and never find out.
Art, you could sue the hospital for failing to warn you of the unavailable pain killers and the unexpected pain you experienced.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to Pain Killers:
ReplyDeleteThere are a certain type of pain killers that I was given after a Hernia operation. It had an Opiate base to it and it really weirded me out...it scared me as to how I felt on it. I quit taking it after only a couple of pills. All Dr. prescribed...but I noticed that regular Tylenol caplets did a good job of easing "after surgery pains"...plus I was able to "Feel" alot of the pain later on and got clear of the discomfort in doing so. ( I'm a former Primal Therapy Patient )
In my view, for a Dr. to issue a certain type of a pain killer in these circumstances is being Humane, on his or hers part...Ok?
The incident of addiction to many of today's painkillers can really be scary....but only a few pills says "I'm still human".... in these types of situations.....then stop taking them when no longer needed.
I think it was Dr. Janov who many years ago pointed out how The United States' population is one very heavily drug dependant people.... in a publication he had written.
Art, I'm sorry to know your back has pain. As you are probably aware mine has been out of wack for four years now and were it not for pain medication I shutter to think of the alternitives. Question: If one..now that you have personal experience with the back pain deliema...what are your thoughts on ones ability to Primal or do Primal Therapy with various pain medications flowing through ones blood=stream and there effect on the CNS and ones ability to experience historical pain? Devoted to the End, Barry.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I was seing a tv debate in the french channel TV5 about a book written by a Philosopher
ReplyDeletewho criticise freud and the psycological science in general. The philosopher was very smart and his reasoning debastating and similar to Arthur Janov formulation.In the end everybody agree with the philosopher. Then the tv presenter ask the philosopher what is the alternative to psycological therapy and he could no find any sound answer.So it seems to me that society is realising that today psycology science is not working. Only needs to go a bit far to find the primal therapy.
Barry: unless it is very debilitating our therapy can be done, but carefully. art janov
ReplyDeleteArthur, you are wrong. Hospitals restrict the use of heavy painkillers not because of the "possibility of abuse", although it is a factor, but mainly because they are dangerous in any dose. Read the literature. They are not safe drugs, simple as that. The advice to "sue the hospital" is plainly ridiculous, like so much of the comment on this blog. Your followers do not seem to able to spell, construct sentences properly, or argue rationally. What this says about your therapy I leave for others to judge.
ReplyDeleteHi Dr Janov, Great post. The world is not ready to deal with the reality of your work. What a tragedy. You like other great innovators throughout history, have felt the pain of being ignored, when bringing a message which people do not want to hear. However, your work has not been in vain. The tens of thousands of us whose lives are now tolerable are eternally grateful. Most warmly, Trish Hodges Australia
ReplyDeleteDuncan They are not illiterate. they are from many countries of the world. It is amazing how many try to speak and write English. More power to them. There are safe drugs. I took them for my pain with no bad secondary effects. People need to kill pain to go on. Where is your mercy? art janov
ReplyDeleteHi Trish. Life Before Birth comes out Feb 1. art janov.
ReplyDeleteHi Duncan. If you want high quality comments I suggest you read the patients' stories published at www.primaltherapy.com
ReplyDeleteThose people know what they are talking about.
I've also read other happy stories scattered about on the net. Not too hard to find if you search for a while. Most of the patient-written stories I have read were about the so-called Primal Therapy in Australia, and most of those stories were warning people to avoid it. The Australian patients often assume that Janov's Primal Therapy is the same thing. An understandable mistake.
As for objective arguments, I've yet to read a single argument against real Primal Therapy which does not rely on conjecture as the basis of the argument. Believe me, I've read a lot of arguments against Primal Therapy.
The best I've read is the argument that primal therapy provides no scientific evidence. I have never read anything in those arguments about the case of two double-blind studies going unpublished without explanation. Nor have I read about the reasons why the primal center does not do any more of these incredibly expensive studies.
The arguments against primal therapy are far more numerous than the counter-arguments. This means nothing. Objectivity means everything.
It is quite possible that Arthur Janov is one of the biggest con artists in history. His bold claims, such as, permanent changes in vital signs after one year of therapy, could be totally fabricated, or those claims could be the result of improper science. It is possible....but we need to be objective.
The Primal Center needs more money. It's case studies have NOT been disproved.
Doctor Janov,
ReplyDeletethe same people who restrict painkiller use for suffering patients don't really mind about legal painkillers (tobacco, alcohol...) even if they are not safe drugs (lungs, liver cancer...).
Some people should learn the difference between "I don't agree with you/I don't share your point of view" and "you are wrong"...well thanks Doctor Janov to put up with all of our ludicrous comments... :-)
Faithfully yours.
I would like to add that it says a lot about what kind of Human being you are.
ReplyDeleteHi Art,
ReplyDeletethought you might be interested in this:
James A.K. Erskine, et al. I Suppress, Therefore I Smoke Effects of Thought Suppression on Smoking Behavior. Psychological Science July 26, 2010, DOI: 10.1177/0956797610378687
reviewed here: http://www.elements4health.com/blocking-thoughts-of-cigarettes-not-productive-for-smoking-cessation.html and elsewhere.
This looks like, potentially, the beginning of a general experimental support for your critique of cognitive therapy.
I'm retired in Sydney. Down Under but not out.
The ignorant critique by Duncanhackett of Art Janov's so called followers really upset me.Most people here write well, and even if they did not, so what? I'd rather talk with an illiterate who would share his or her feelings with me, than some professor or professionnal who would mask their emotions under a mountain of philosophical or technical jargon, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteAnd Art Janov's responsible and convincing take on drugs makes total sense to me, as everything else he writes. After over 35 years of looking into these questions, no one comes close to Janov, Reich, and Lowen, in my opinion.
Marco
So Arthur Janov is either the biggest con artist in history, or he is the great unsung hero of mankind. Take your pick, which will it be?
ReplyDeleteWait a minute, real life isn't made up of extreme polar dilemmas like that. It's made up of lots of constellations of possibilities that include the elements mentioned above as well as countless others not mentioned, all mixed in an unquantifiable way.
But for some reason, this is not the forum to shed light on that particular aspect of existence. Here we have no intricacy, no subtlety, no movement or unfolding into new possibilities. Just stark right and wrong. Bold, insolent genius versus massive and hopeless injustice and ignorance. How so, people?
Walden
A few years ago, I finally let all bloody hell break loose and screamed and cried, and beat the bed, etc...from all my repressed pain surfacing, and a funny thing happened. My life long chronic debilitating depression went away for the first time in my life. This is proof to me that Primal Therapy works. You cannot talk or read your way out of what you felt your way into!
ReplyDelete