I was so touched by this email that I received from my friend and colleague, Dr. Mark Ibsen, M.D.. I wanted to re-post this here in my blog, because I thought you would enjoy reading it.
**This is a guest blog post written by Dr Mark Ibsen MD***(He’s referring to this article: https://www.npr.org/2017/11/25/565729334/gaslighting-how-a-flicker-of-self-doubt-warps-our-response-to-sexual-harassment)
********
When I read this,
I could see how pain patients are often gaslighted
Out of their story, their reality
By the domination structure.
Not always male ( think Jayne Ballentyne)
But
Very similar to the harms associated with
Sexual harassment/abuse that is so currently in our national focus.
Whether male or female
Pain makes us doubt our own reality.
This is what makes it such a terrorist.
IMHO
Can we piggy back into the abuse conversation?
Can we make the case that those with arachnoiditis, for example
Were harmed by needle jockeys
Then
Dealt with dismissively ( no one will believe you)
Then
Cowed into submission by being threatened with loss of their medication?
Or
Cancer patients who survive,
Yet can’t get pain relief for their neuropathy,
And get the message:they should be grateful to be alive…
Or
Wounded warriors who return from Iraq or Afghanistan with
Severe injuries and ptsd
Who must reinvent their entire persona?
Maybe there’s something useful in being with this issue in a new way…
Or any kind of harassment.
I’ve been gaslighting myself for years in response to the attack on my practice by
The Montana BOME,
Along with the ptsd from hearings where my
Personality was attacked
My integrity impugned
And
My mental health repeatedly called into question.
Of course the financial disaster of
Loss of my business
Medical costs
Legal wrangling
Has been great,
But the greatest impact has been on my confidence
Faith
Optimism
And
Open hearted empathy.
Yet,
Overcoming these self doubts,
While a daily regimen
Has taught me to be more authentic
Has shown me that being Raw upgrades my intuition and healing skill set,
Making a wider range of emotional states available to me, as well as the opportunity to transform these states.
So- yes Pain IS an F/N terrorist.
And
While I have yet to develop gratitude for
Mike Fanning and the Board
Sarah Damm
Dea agents Addis and Tuss
Pharmacists who refuse to follow the CSA and refuse to fill my Rx
And
Others who ripped me off when I was reeling,
I also
Have learned the validity of Winston Churchill’s statement from WWI:
” nothing so enlivens the soul as to be shot at without result”
It took me 4 days of the Thanksgiving holiday to get to this place. Thanks to friends
Community
Therapy
And
Alanon
And Candy
Be well
Mark Ibsen MD
Helena Mt.
Great Article. Until recently I did not know there was a term for the strange behavior of a Nuevo manager at work. Thank God I did not work for him. He sought to claw his way into everyone’s personal life first. I was to old to fall for that one. And then in department meetings he started to make strange statements. Shunting what I had just stated. I knew he was out of his element coming from a different segment of the company. These people are unapproachable.
Just last week I ran across an article “How to Gaslight people to get your way”
Unfortunately, this “gaslighting” is designed to run people off that have something valuable to say. It can be a form of “idea theft” (this happens everyday in the drug patent or chemical synthesis patent area).
In my opinion, gaslighting can destroy the momentum and drive of a business, or small group.
A smart manager will stop this type of behavior.
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