The Mind-Body Connection

On eating disorders, self-injury, the psychosomatic component of physical illness, somatization, and the importance of touch
Sharon K. Farber, Ph.D.

The Wounded Healer Psychotherapist

There is a myth, which contains some truth, that psychotherapists are emotionally disturbed people, which is what attracts them to the work they do.

Why Getting a New Handbag Makes Me Crazy

I finally broke down and bought a new handbag. Each time I look for something in it, it is like learning to walk all over again.

Expressive Writing for Physical and Mental Health

Joyce Carol Oates said "I have forced myself to begin writing when I've been utterly exhausted, . . .and somehow the activity of writing changes everything."

Was This the Real Condition Behind Robin Williams's Suicide?

What drove Williams to suicide was not major depression but a rare brain disease called Lewy Body Dementia that can resemble Parkinsons and is often misdiagnosed as Parkinsons.

Is Weight Loss Surgery the Magic Cure for Obesity?

Weight Loss Surgery will radically change your life but not necessarily in the positive way you expect. Those promoting the surgery make it seem like a miracle cure,. It is true that Weight Loss Surgery will radically change your life bu not necessarily in the positive way you expect. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.There are no quick fixes.

A Love Letter to Mothers of Sons

Although mother-daughter relationships are often fraught with conflict, mothers and their adult daughters seem to have an easier time with each other than mothers and their adult sons..Read about the real nature of a man's relationship with his mother, the first love of his life, and how and why it changes so drastically.

Brutal Weather, Depressed Mood, What We Can Do About It

Our cruel winter in the Northeast took a greater toll on us than has been recognized. I know it took a toll on me and it took its toll on my patients. I could feel the effects of day after day without sunlight --cold weather, snow, rain and cloudiness --on my mood. Like my patients, I felt slightly depressed; had less energy than usual, and wanted to sleep more.

Give Sorrow Words

Grief is the emotional response to the loss of a loved one, one of the most painful and confusing times in one’s life.
All the Rage: A Film About Dr Sarno, Emotions, and Health

All the Rage: A Film About Dr Sarno, Emotions, and Health

What do Howard Stern, Larry David, John Stossel, Senator Tom Harkin, and pro-golfer Ben Crane have in common? They all suffered from debilitating pain until they met Dr. John Sarno. All the Rage is a feature film about Sarno and others who are pioneering mind body approaches to treating chronic illness.

Self-Mutilation, Eating Disorders, and Suicide

Using attachment theory to explain how addictive connections to pain and suffering develop, I discuss various kinds and functions of self-harm behavior. From eating disorders to self- mutilation and body modifications such as tattooing, I explore the language of self-harm, and the translation of that language and its psychological functions.

The Question of Forgiveness—and It Is a Question

A healthy alternative to forgiveness that allows one to heal and maintain good health is acceptance, a life-affirming response to injury when the person who has hurt you is unavailable or unrepentant. It is a way of letting go of festering anger without necessarily forgiving the offender. It is based on a decision to take control of your pain, make sense of your injury,

The Tragic Side of Comedy, Where the Pain Lives

Severe depression seems to be an occupational hazard for comedians, whose major energy goes into honing their sense of comedy to ward off the darkness that is always there, lurking inside.

Cults and the Mind-Body Connection

Soul murder, the term coined by Leonard Shengold to describe the intentional attempt to stamp out or compromise the separate identity of another person.That is what destructive cults do. I have met so many intelligent people who have been victims of cults. Having high intelligence is no protection from becoming victimized by a cult.,
Why Diets Can Be Dangerous

Why Diets Can Be Dangerous

There are times when a diet turns into something else and becomes an eating disorder. No one intends this to happen, but it can when someone becomes so exhilarated at seeing a weight loss and feeling so in control of their weight that they make their diet even stricter and more weight loss follows. And then the diet becomes out of control, like a runaway train.

Pediatric Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) & Tics

Most people may not have heard of PANDAS or PANS. I will tell you about PANDAS, because that is the illness about which I am most familiar with clinically. Some researchers say it does not exist. Others are certain that it does, but is rare. Some claim it is even more prevalent than autism but goes undiagnosed and untreated in most children who have it.

“In Hookups, Inequality Still Reigns”

As the Rolling Stones said, I can't get no satisfaction I can't get no satisfaction 'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try

The Mind-Body Connection

The lack of loving touch in our lives can result in physical pain and suffering.

Why We All Need to Touch and Be Touched

The mind, brain, and body are all connected. When we cannot know or express what we are feeling, when we cannot express it in words, the body can express it for us in the form of chronic pain, illness for which no medical cause can be found, eating disorders, self-mutilation, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other disorders.

Chronic Pain Syndrome and Other Psychosomatic Illness

What is the nature of psychosomatic illness? Long before Descartes said that the mind and body were separate, there existed in Western medicine a philosophical dichotomy between mind and body. This disconnect has directed how Western medicine evolved.