As of Monday, October 8th, 2012 at least 8 people in the United States have died, and another 105 were struck with meningitis, after receiving an epidural steroid injection intended to treat chronic back pain. The tragic aspect is not simply that these people have died, but instead that the data that exists concerning steroid injections shows that they don't...
Last week I heard on BBC radio that the National Health Service in England is instructing doctors to prescribe self-help books. The radio presenter seemed a little aghast at this idea and pressed a doctor by asking something along the lines of, “So you’re saying that you think that people will respond well to a doctor basically telling them that...
As I travel with our film, "Battle for Brooklyn", I also discuss our current ongoing project "Story of Pain". At a recent screening in San Jose I mentioned the film and the fact that it focuses on Dr. John E. Sarno. David Lang, a silent film enthusiast from Santa Rosa, CA approached me after the film to let me know...
I think a lot about point of view, and about how deeply our point of view affects us. For the most part our present thoughts sit upon a network of assumed truths, and those pre-conscious ideas serve as the foundation for all that we are consciously aware of. We thrive on stability and certainty and therefore often quickly (an unconsciously)...
There are really two ways to tell issue based stories, the general and the personal/specific, and often these two forms are combined. The general, broad overview, deals with larger numbers, which means that the statistics about these situations hold profound realities. The personal example though give us a way to connect on an emotional level with people affected by the...
Howard's Appearance On Larry King Live. 8/13/99. Howard was a guest on CNN's Larry King Live TV show last night at 9pm. He was doing a favor for his favorite doctor, Dr. John Sarno. Howard has praised Sarno in the past for helping cure his chronic back pain. Sarno was the main guest on Larry King Live along with Howard, Defense...
At Storyofpain.com we are going to start posting a lot of stories and information about pain in relation to our work in progress documentary about chronic pain and the work of Dr. John E. Sarno. To kick off the site I'd like to start with a short meditation on the idea of giving thanks. As the Christmas season swings into high...
Pain. We all have our relationships with, and definitions of, pain. There are certain kinds of pain that I don't mind, that I even like a little. The soreness in my muscles from a long run the day before is a reminder of something accomplished. A little bit of emotional pain can lead to cathartic art. However, right now I'm dealing...
So, I have done the EFT thing a few times now and while i don't know that it's having any major effect I have to say I think I'm a bit more relaxed. In fact, my wife was a bit frustrated last night after dinner as she thought that I was kind of tuning out- but in retrospect realized that...
I mentioned my craniosacral massage to my friend Gus the other night and he told me that he had been regularly going to acupuncture. It got him interested in the mechanics of it all so he started researching on the internet and stumbled across EFT or emotion free therapy. I'm not going to go into the details - but it involves...
Today I rode my bike uptown to cash in a gift certificate for a massage. I figured that a good deep massage on my hip would help loosen it up once and for all. I was a little late so I biked furiously through the crazy traffic. It was in the low 70's and beautiful out. When I arrived on...
Even before I went in to see Dr. Sarno, I knew that I wanted to make a film about his work. My partners* and I had just finished our first documentary, "Horns and Halos" and we were starting our next one when the pain started. We are all drawn to stories about individuals who stand up to problems that the...