The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain

Okay, you've got to understand: I'm no fan of "woo" or new-agey alternative medicine, and this book is not that. I'm a diehard empiricist. Even so, what I'm going to tell you might sound weird. Everyone, EVERYONE, who has had long-term back pain needs to read this book and try it out. I had a back injury in 1993. It hurt off and on ever since. It disrupted my life and cost me a lot -- in stress, in worry, in wasted time, not to mention in money (for doctors, pain meds, massage therapists, etc.). This pain was a significant part of my life -- will I make it through okay on a long plane trip? Will it be okay to mop the floor? If I lie on my back to read a book for half an hour in bed, will I be miserable all day tomorrow? It affected my decisions every day. A friend mentioned this book to me, and said she totally got rid of excruciating back pain. She is not a fan of "woo" either, so I took her seriously -- and well, I'd tried everything else already. What would it hurt to buy a $10 book? As it turns out, I'm one of those people -- a not insignificant minority, it seems -- who read the book and their back pain goes away (my friend said it took her a few months of dedicated work, and that's pretty common too--but 80-some percent of people seem to get significant, lasting relief). I read the book about three weeks ago, and have been pain-free ever since. You might be saying "big deal" ...but I haven't had a three-week pain-free stretch in 20 years. Also, even on days when my back didn't actively hurt, certain places -- such as my shoulders -- were always stiff and sore if you touched them. That's gone too. I keep pressing on my shoulders to show myself, "Wow this doesn't hurt a bit." This thing that plagued me for 20 years is gone. Here's what I think is good in the book: 1. Everyone knows that "stress" can affect you negatively. For example, people who suffer from chronic back pain or headaches often feel worse under stress. What I never considered, however, is that your own nervous system _creates_ physical responses. For example, when some people are embarrassed, they blush. Their blush is real -- it's not "in their head" -- and they're not blushing deliberately or in order to gain anything. Chronic back pain -- real pain, which is not "in your head" and not something you're exaggerating or fabricating -- can arise from your nervous system in the same way as a blush, whether or not there's anything "wrong" with your back. Just as a blush can arise in some people when they're embarrassed, back pain can arise in some people when they're "stressed" -- and everyone is stressed every day. If you're not stressed, you're dead, right? Not everyone blushes, and not everyone has back pain, but people's nervous systems can create physical responses from emotions. 2. Sarno points out that injuries do heal. People break a bone, it heals, and they're fine. People sprain an ankle, it heals and they're fine. Once my back injury healed (20 years or so ago), there was no reason for it to hurt anymore, other than my own nervous system using a familiar "route" to cause pain. Then the question is, Why? 3. The author points out that many people with chronic back pain are the "nice guys" of the world. People with chronic pain are often very conscientious, do-gooder, perfectionistic, or self-sacrificing types. If it's associated with a certain type of personality, that's a red flag right there that something other than an "injury" is going on. A lot of people with chronic back pain also have a history of having been abused as children. What do these two types of people have in common? They tend to deny or minimize or not notice their own feelings. They are the types to say, "Sure I'll help you move a piano at two a.m. on Christmas in a blizzard." They don't even notice that maybe a small part of themselves would rather not move the piano. 4. The author speculates that all this do-gooding and self-denial and ignoring-of-one's-own-feelings and needs (whether it's your personality type, or whether you were raised in an abusive home, or both) also creates a constant pool of underlying "rage" (his word, which he uses a lot) from the part of ourselves that doesn't want to move pianos. Here's where it gets speculative. Somehow your body transforms this unacknowledged feeling into pain (just as "somehow" the body transforms someone's embarrassment into a blush). 5. The author also speculates that the pain serves as a distractor. Of COURSE you aren't wild about moving the piano! Your back is killing you! That's a socially acceptable reason to admit to yourself that you don't want to move the piano. Of course, you'll probably move it anyway. (By the way, the author rejects the notion of "secondary gain" -- i.e., the idea that people with chronic pain use it to get certain benefits like attention or sympathy. He believes the pain serves both as a distraction from emotional pain, and an outlet for / substitute for emotional pain you're not feeling.) 6. Something I found interesting is that people in certain times and places seem to have certain mindbody disorders that are approved by their society as being "real" things with physical causes. In Victorian times there was a lot of mysterious paralysis, but it went out of fashion once people knew more about the body and that it didn't "really" work that way. In the 1990s there was a lot of carpal tunnel, even though computers were probably easier to use (easier on the wrists) than, say, old manual typewriters where you had to bang the keys. There's a whole lot of back pain today, which often lasts years beyond an injury, and which is remarkably unresponsive to treatments and surgeries, but the medical community supports the idea that an injury you sustained 20 years ago can be hurting you today, so everyone believes that chronic back pain has a physical cause, just as everyone once believed in the paralysis in Victorian times. Almost everyone (like me) can point to an "injury" that triggered their back pain, but unlike ever other injury we've ever had, it doesn't get better. It's pretty odd, once you think about it, but everyone -- from doctors to physical therapists to chiropractors to massage therapists to other people with back pain -- reinforce the idea that it's related to a physical injury and there's very little you can do about it. This belief is extremely powerful and helps perpetuate the pain. 7. What I like most of all: I read the book, I thought about all this stuff, I decided his description fit me perfectly (my personality, the type of pain, the length of time, etc. etc.), and once I knew there was likely nothing actually "wrong" with my back, it's like the game was up. My brain gave up trying to use that as a strategy. The back pain went away, including the permanent tightness in my neck and shoulders, including the shooting excruciating nerve pain down my leg for which I was being medicated. It. Went. Away. I'm off the medication. I'm doing whatever I want. I'm lying on my back for hours every night reading my books. I'm bending however I want. Etc. No problem. I can never do this book justice. There's a lot more, about MRIs, about people with and without bulging discs, arthritis etc., about people who are told they have to do this or that with physical therapy, "or else" (which is pretty much reinforcing the notion that there's something terribly wrong, although plenty of people have bulging discs and arthritic changes and never have a day of back pain). You just have to read it, to see whether it fits you too. If you've had back pain for years, it probably does. Here's what I'm not wild about. 1. The book seems very psychoanalytic to me -- to me, needlessly so. It talks a lot about "rage" and you might not be a person who really perceives that you're feeling "rage" (I'm not). But on the other hand, the book "works" so I'm not sure that anyone necessarily needs to accept a psycholanalytic explanation. I'm a nice-guy self-denier who probably, if I'm really honest with myself, truly loves to help people but doesn't enjoy moving pianos at 2 a.m. For me, all I had to do is, every time my back started to twinge, ask myself to think hard about what I'm feeling, what's bothering me. I say it to myself -- I don't even have to go around refusing to move people's pianos. I just have to say to myself something like "I really don't like getting up at 2 a.m. to move pianos. I would rather stay in bed. I wish there was some other time -- not on Christmas, not during a blizzard -- when we could move the damn piano." I just acknowledge to myself that a part of me feels that way. I also ask my brain to stop my back from hurting, and it does. Then I go about my business. But there's no need for a psychoanalytic explanation, in my opinion, any more than there's a need for a psychoanalytic explanation for a blush or a phantom limb pain. We don't have to understand it for it to work. Gravity always "worked" whether or not we understood it. Apparently checking in with your own emotions, acknowledging them, and asking your brain to stop sending pain messages also works. I don't quite understand it, but -- like gravity -- it's very powerful. So -- like every other idea you encounter in life: Take what works for you, and leave the rest. I've read a bunch of other good books on this topic now too, by this author and others. My favorite so far is Unlearn Your Pain by Howard Schubiner. Only the first five chapters is available on Kindle, though, and I've ordered a hard copy of the rest of the book, so I can't review the whole thing yet. I wish every doctor who sees patients with back pain would read this book. I wish everyone with persistent back pain would read this book and give the ideas a try. I wish tons of research were being done on this phenomenon. I wish I had come across this book 20 years ago.

I’ve known for a very long time that my diagnosis of back pain would not fit into the mold of the standard model of the traditional diagnosis. Therefore, I never had an MRI or a Cat Scan or visited a specialist for my back pain. My primary doctor examined me while at my yearly physical and assured me that there is no need to see a specialist. I knew this but, his observations assured me of what I already knew. I knew any specialist would not be able to diagnose my pain and even if they did, it wouldn’t matter because … A.) – I would never have surgery even if they found something! and … B.) – The traditional recommendation of physical therapy grated on me. (This is the doctor’s favorite method of treating pain when they do not know what do to with you.) I work in a physical therapy practice and the work I do with patients on a day to day basis has shown me that it’s a mental/thinking process and I just could not buy into the idea that there was something terribly wrong with my back. (Please understand that although I work in the field, it does not necessarily mean that I believe in it.) There’s a story that goes with that but this is not the thread to hash that out. My entire existence in the last 6 years has enveloped some kind of healing modality. I have had some trauma (another story) and gradually, my back pain has escalated to the point that it consumes me. With that I must add that, today it’s back pain. 6 years ago, it was upper rib pain with a splash of clavicle pain. Along the way, I had an issue with my upper thigh … deep, reaching some tendon or muscle that hindered my ability to take a forward step. When I started working in the field of physical therapy, I began having issues with my feet to the point where it hurt to walk. Guess what I do all day as a physical therapy Tech? I walk and run all day long! I’ve soon realized that my pain jumps around. It never stays in the same place but up until the reading of this book, I have not been able to grasp why. Why would my pain travel from one place to another which rendered me suspicious of any kind of diagnosis?! Even if you told me, I would not buy into it. You could have told me it was MS or Fibromyalgia or some other disorder and it would not have mattered because deep down, I knew that something was going on in my body and somehow, I knew that I was okay. I could not explain it and even if I did, I was met with those who would cock their head sideways, like some confused puppy trying to understand what you just said; I knew there was another answer to all of my symptoms and questions. Even though I knew, it took this book to validate that for me. If this book gave me anything at all, it was the assurance that I am okay. It assured me that I am well, I am healthy and that I am normal … Hallelujah!!! I’ve always wondered how I could be in good health but I could not explain my pain. I eat well. I am active. I practice mindfulness and meditation. I can grasp living in the Now and I embrace each moment as some magical manifestation of this magnificent life. I’ve studied with the guru’s like Eckhart Tolle, Byron Katie, Alana Fairchild, Marianne Williamson as well as the voice of Abraham and countless others. I’ve read the bible! I’ve been to church. I’ve had faith, cast out demons and lived a life of a saint (no really! I’m very disciplined and perfect!) The book describes my traits very well, “Perfectionist, do gooder and low self-esteem. I’ve done it all and still, my pain woke up with me and laid me down to sleep, night after night/ day after day. I’ve surrendered to numerous kinds of therapy; Chiropractic Acupuncture Myofascial Corrective Therapy Massage Physical Therapy Lymphatic Drainage Cranial Sacral Therapy NET – Neuro Emotional Technique Essential Oils CBD – Cannabis I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few … I’ve even visited with a psychic, a Shaman and engaged in hypnosis. I feel like I’ve done it all. Yes, there were still other options, but none that I would consider or they were not presented to me at a time that I was willing because it didn’t make sense or I was fed up! I’ve journaled faithfully for the last 6 years. I truly love to write and journaling opened up a porthole of creativity that unleashed something within me that was able to break free and yet, I still had pain. There were days that I had a break from the pain and I could not tell you why. It was always a mystery to me that left me feeling frustrated. Why would today I feel better than yesterday? What did I do differently and … I could never come up with an answer! I got tired of talking to someone who might understand my pain because guess what?! NO ONE UNDERSTOOD MY PAIN!!! NO ONE!!! If this book gave me anything and everything it is this: My pain is an illusion. It is not real even though it feels that way! It can be healed! I do not have to buy into the mind game that my body is distracting me from identifying what my feelings are and where the pain is being directed to. I get that now. I’ve been set free! I am normal! There is nothing wrong! There is hope! I started journaling in an enhanced way. Instead of trying to write my inner musings down in a way that is pleasant to read; making sure that I corrected all of my spelling and my sentences were punctuated to reflect my true feelings, I started unleashing the beast. (Yes, even my journaling needed to be perfect. I never allowed myself to misspell a word or put punctuation in the wrong place.) How do I REALLY feel? I’ve gone back to my childhood and began a sentence, only to be brought to the present moment disgusted with the Universe! I am right … everyone else is wrong … and the sooner everyone acknowledges my saintly wisdom, the better this world will be! (Just a glimpse of one of my unleashings) I’ve been afraid to admit that to myself because “What would someone think of me?! I must be a bad person!” I discovered that I get sick and tired of the bull pucky that I see and read about every day. I had a 20 minute journaling session where something broke loose and when I was finished letting it out, I went about my day. The lovely thing is, my pain has been subsided today. I let something out this morning and the rest of my day, the pain started to dissolve. The next day, I awoke in pain however, I knew that I was on to something helpful and I’ve wanted to keep exploring it. Perhaps that is the fuel that keeps us doing the work that this book suggests. It’s going to be a daily practice. It’s going to require me to take the time to scavenge, dig and unleash and I’ve discovered that the only way that is going to happen is if I begin with my first thought/sentence and let it take me from there. I’m too tired to worry about ugly emotions or feelings. I have reached a place of desperation and I’m now willing to bring my ghosts out of the closet. No more pretty sentences. No more orchestrated thoughts brought together to form a pleasing and meaningful sentence. No more telling myself it’s going to be okay and then shoving my true feelings down because it may come out and what will people think of me then?This is gut work! This is mining! This is getting dirty and taking off the controlled chains that keep me tidy, organized and presentable. Yes, this book opened up a porthole and I’ve finally been validated. I’m not sure why it took 6 years to find this work but I can honestly tell you that I’m ready. I am ready to face my fears about my true feelings and set them free. If you’re ready and fed up with not getting any answers about your pain or you have exhausted all other means of getting answers and you’re still left feeling you have not been heard, then I recommend you get the book and see what opens up for you.

The mindbody prescription The best thing about this book is Dr. Sarno's evident compassion for his patients and people in chronic pain. It is also clear how brave he has been in sticking to an approach that deals with a fluid interpretation of things, the psychological influences on the genesis of disease. Psychology depends somewhat in interpretation, and that is something that can change from one observer to the next. Doctors normally have to be good diagnosticians; they have to deal with facts and data. Psychologists have to deal with emotions, either well based on reality or not, just on the perception of it. So it is understandable how hard it can be to try to join the two areas. Nevertheless humans function within both areas, so it is irrational to think we can dispense either or the influence one has on the other. I do not believe doctors are so unaware that emotions can cause disease, as Dr. Sarno states; I just think they might not be aware of how frequent this can be, or how to deal with it. After all, patients don't come into their office with an emotional complaint, but a physical one; doctors do the best they can with the knowledge they have. When doctors sense a strong emotional state, they usually refer the patient to a psychologist- they pass it on. That can be frustrating for them, and even more to the patient, who feels his symptoms are not being taken seriously. So this is another great quality of Dr. Sarno's book: spread awareness to doctors and patients. Unfortunately, even with this awareness, there are not enough professionals specialized in mindbody diseases; you either go to a psychologist, or a doctor. Unusually, he is a doctor who uses a psychological approach: be aware of your unconscious feelings and the pain will disappear. Here comes the problem: he is not a psychologist. And the works he bases his psychological explanations are old, if not outdated. Most of the works cited are from the nineties (the most recent ones), some of the seventies, and even a lot of importance given to Freud's theories developed more than eighty years ago. Whenever I remember Freud and his penis envy theory, I feel like laughing- what a narcissistic sexist! I believe it is much more probable, if women are to envy anything on a man, is his power, not his penis. That flabby little thing that only becomes alive every now and then... be serious, guys, we know how much you love your second selves, but jealous? Naw. Your biceps could cause more envy, always big and strong. So I had to curb my impatience while reading outdated terms such as "hysterical" symptoms. Besides, "narcissistic rage" is only applicable to narcissists, according to Dr. Kohut, who coined the term, but Dr Sarno spreads it out to include anyone who has hurt self-esteem. Actually he cites it is as being universal in Western society ( why different in Eastern?). Also, perfectionism and goodism might not always be related to low self-regard; it might just be a learned behavior from children with good self regard but over-achieving parents. There is no importance given, for example, to gender differences. The hidden feeling is mainly interpreted as anger. Anger is a very testosteronic emotion. Women have testosterone too, just as anger, but I do not believe all the repressed feelings we have are linked to anger. He says loosing someone you love and depend on causes anger; well, for me it causes fear and sadness. Personally I have experienced a lot of traumatic events, and have been into psychotherapy for many years ( my uncle studied with Jung ). Being in my fifties, I have also had a chance to observe human behavior for a while. I have noticed how men are more prone to anger and women more prone to fear. If it is due to the amount of testosterone, or cultural, or both, I cannot say. Even when women get angry, after the initial release they end up falling in tears - at least I do. So our anger might be covering our sadness, frustration, feelings of powerlessness. That can come from fear too. Besides, women have been trained, culturally and emotionally, to have fear. This gender difference on the underlying feeling that might be causing the disease, which I believe is crucial, is not considered. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that his treatment includes dealing with fear. So that might explain how it works for women too. It is very important to note that he has a high success rate that can also be linked to the screening process. He purposely selects the patients he believes will be able to be open to his kind of therapy. In this case, I think he should be more careful in generalizing hidden emotions as cause for disease in so many diseases, as he does. His good results might be making him biased. I did get a strong feeling he might be exaggerating in some cases, such as Epstein-barr and fibromyalgia. But it is clear he gets it right many times in others. My favorite phrase from the book: "Further, it is demeaning to patients to suggest that they are deriving benefits from the malady". As someone who has suffered a long time with fibromyalgia, THANK YOU DR SARNO. Being sick can only, if at all, be slightly nice at the beginning, IF you have a very good support group. Still, people's affection can just counteract the unpleasantness, but not make it disappear. People tend to go on with their lives when they see they can do little to help you or it becomes unbearable for them to see you uncomfortable for so long. There is nothing fun or advantageous in depending on others for a long time, of being in pain for a long time. Not fun at all, and very scary. Chronic pain sufferers already have a good amount of guilt to deal with, by having many times to depend on others. Dr Sarno makes it very clear that the somatization of strong emotions is not a voluntary action, but an automatic reaction of the brain. Ahh, good to know. Life keeps teaching us on and on to not judge people, and judging sick people is especially cruel. Was this book worth reading? Yes, absolutely. Would I consider it the ultimate book on the matter? No. now I am looking for others with a similar view but more recent data. But that is me; I like to dive deep. If you have chronic pain, buy it, it might help. It might be exactly what you need. If I lived in the States, I would make an appointment with him and discuss my questions in person. If you have someone who should have supported you and has instead undermined your pain, buy another and send it with a tissue, so they can wipe their faces after the truth has been rubbed on it...he he he. Gee, I am angry- now, was this the cause of the disease or consequence of how people reacted? More mysteries of the mindbody connection. Good luck.

Although the book was clearly not new, it was in good condition and easily readable without the distraction of someone else's markings. It arrived in a very timely manner. I have always had good experiences with Thrift Books and look forward to doing more business with them. I must add that the content exceeded my expectations although that is not a relevant matter to the book seller.

Sarno is a revolutionary, and a discoverer, I would say on par with a Christopher Columbus. Prior to Sarno's work, I don't think the interaction between the unconscious mind and the conscious mind has been demonstrated scientifically. His books and his life's work are not mere theories, but real scientific evidence of lasting cures. In fact, he unmasks a key way in which mainstream medicine operates on blind "faith" rather than any scientific evidence. As with Christopher Columbus, it's not a matter of "believing" him, but a matter of "looking" at what he has discovered. The information that he conveys in his books - and that is what cures you, the information - has saved tens of thousands and could save millions more from debilitating chronic pain. There is only one catch- you must accept the evidence that he presents and apply it to yourself. This is true not because his methods are placebo cures (which are only temporary, whereas Sarno's cures take lasting effect) but because the specific chronic pain that he identifies operates according to your mental processing. His argument is basically this: truly chronic pain is often a "defense mechanism" your mind employs to distract you from something that the mind considers more unpleasant, something that we refuse to think about. The mind's defense mechanism "works" because your mind (i.e. you) allows you to be distracted by chronic pain which you are convinced is due to a structural abnormality. This distraction, in effect, allows you to focus on your body, rather than something that is bothering you on an emotional level. In fact, when it comes to treating chronic pain, medical doctors routinely have no rational explanation, no evidence that pain is actually generated by what they say is a "structural abnormality" in an x-ray. The problem with this explanation is that the vast majority of people have "abnormal" spines, elbows, knees, etc. without any pain. But doctors merely assume they know what is causing chronic pain. The truly sad thing is that mainstream doctors, by focussing the patient's attention only on what they consider a structural abnormality in the body, and refusing to recognize any mental or emotional interaction, actually perpetuate the brain's strategy of making you focus on the symptom, not the cause. Which is why people have chronic pain for 10 or 20 years after seeing countless doctors. Sarno argues persuasively that almost everyone has various structural abnormalities in their bodies from head to toe. But to conclude these are symptomatic of pain is not science, but "faith" on the part of mainstream medicine. In fact, as Sarno points out, what is scientifically shown to be correlated with pain in a specific area of the body is oxygen deprivation via blood-flow to particular parts of the body, which is directed by the autonomic nervous system, which in turn is directed by the brain. In other words, the mind, without consulting us, can actually restrict proper oxygen via the bloodstream to a particular part of the body. The further evidence that this is true is that Sarno cites many people's long term chronic pain ceasing almost immediately when they call to mind certain emotional issues and recognize the fact that their brain has been employing this little trick. After all, if only structural abnormalities were the cause of chronic pain, then how could people who have had chronic back pain for 20 years see it vanish almost immediately? The body's structure does not suddenly change, but the oxygen of blood flow to a particular part of your body can indeed change "on command" --by way of the brain's control over the nervous system. In the mysterious realm of mindbody interaction, your recognition that your brain is conducting this little trick, is the key that turns the lock, and disarms the brain's strategy. Unfortunately, the only way that you "unlock" the chronic pain is to endeavor to call to mind various things that your brain (you) is bothered by or anxious about, which you have not been consciously thinking about or willing to recognize. Many people have a good deal of anger, fears, anxieties etc that they've basically "stuffed into the basement" of the mind, so to speak. You can "clean it out" by being willing to at least recognize certain things, and Sarno's questions about common worries, anger, etc. are helpful in this process. But this is a key point: you don't have to solve the problems, per se, but you do have to be aware that they are there. So, in effect, Sarno does not offer a "free lunch". Take your pick: you can either be mentally aware of things that are uncomfortable to think about or process, or you can ignore them and experience chronic pain somewhere in your body. Thanks to Dr. Sarno, it's your choice. Obviously, the healthiest thing over time is to try to redress the emotional stuff, but thankfully, mere willingness to recognize these things can actually liberate the body for good.

Dr. John Sarno's book "The MindBody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain" is invaluable. I first bought Sarno's book titled "Healing Back Pain" for my mother in South Africa and learned that stress, tension and psychological factors can cause back pain and migraines. Since I have chronic migraines I bought his later book "The MindBody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain." His thinking is of course outside mainstream medicine. Sarno found that strong emotions generated in the unconscious mind, particularly rage, cause the mind to create a more socially acceptable physical distraction. The brain does this by reducing the blood flow and thus the proper amount of oxygen to the tissues involved. He says the change in the muscles, nerves and tendons account for 90% of the pain. He calls it TMS-Tension Myositis Syndrome as it is a physical disorder caused by tension in muscles, nerves, tendons and ligaments. The pain from the TMS takes our attention away from the emotional trauma and instead of dealing with our repressed feelings we focus on our body. Treatment involves looking at what was going on in our life when the pain started and identifying repressed feelings from the past. An experience I had makes me think what Sarno says is true. When my half sister and her husband, from South Africa, lived with me for five months they bought a car that had engine problems that only got seven miles to the gallon to tour America. I was concerned about their car purchase but did not say anything. I developed severe neck and back pain and could not turn my head for a week. I shared my concern about their car at a Co-Dependency group meeting and to my surprise I became very tearful. As I spoke the ache in my neck evaporated like vapor. I later joked with them and said, "You're a pain in the neck!" I fit perfectly with the personality characteristics common in people with TMS-conscientious, responsible, perfectionistic with a strong need to please and to be helpful and good. And as Sarno says these tendencies have lead to tension and anxiety and physical problems. When I looked for repressed anger when the migraines started I discovered that I felt extremely rejected, betrayed and used by my sister and brother-in-law at that time. Once I identified the repressed anger and sadness I started to grieve. It was like going through a divorce. Now I see we had different expectations for our relationship back then. I thought of us as a family. They wanted to immigrate to America and saw me as their ticket to get established. When my stepfather heard I was angry he said, "Why don't you float your negative feelings in a paper boat down your creek? I thought I had! Now I see that Sarno's views are more helpful. Sarno says, "We are frail beings with brains strongly influenced by childish, illogical, reactions and dependency needs. Most of us carry feelings of inadequacy, helplessness, humiliation, shame and anger at ourselves for not living up to our own expectations and rage at others for perceived hurt and betrayals. The brain-mind is a conglomeration of thoughts and feelings that are often at odds with each other. It is not the neat, well organized, logical organ we would like it to be." Thanks to Sarno I've decided it's all right to be illogical and childish. It's part of being human and it is universal and if it means getting rid of my migraines and rage and becoming a better person in the end, then so much the better. To help people recognize that their mind, rather than a physical abnormality is the source their pain Sarno's treatment program involves lectures, group meeting and psychotherapy, if necessary. Patients are encouraged to discontinue all physical therapy, resume all physical activity, and review the 10 daily reminders: I have no structural abnormality only mild oxygen deprivation;-I have a harmless condition caused by repressed emotion (mostly anger);-TMS exists to distract me from emotions;-I have nothing to fear;-my physical aching is not dangerous;-I will not be concerned or intimidated by pain;-I will shift my attention from pain to emotional issues;-I intend to be in control-not my subconscious mind;-I must think psychological, not physical. Sarno has treated more than 11,000 patients with chronic pain-many of whom have suffered for years. He estimates he's cured more than 90% of them and has helped thousands of patients overcome pain without drugs or surgery. I've been studying the principles in Sarno's book for two months now and, unfortunately, still have the migraines. If the migraines are caused by TMS I may be among the 5% Sarno talks about who will need to actually experience my grief and rage with a therapist to get relief. However, Sarno's book has been invaluable as I feel happier and more at peace. He has helped me realize that I need to spend more time with people that leave me feeling loved, empowered, and inspired....

Very interesting. I'm not a back pain sufferer. I deal with some other issues that I thought this might help with, and it may. But, it seems a bit more geared towards those who are dealing with physical pain, particularly muscular-skeletal. It's an in-depth book with a lot of worthwhile concepts and good science behind it. I'm a believer that his principles have merit and will indeed work for some people. My issue was that there are 8 chapters of "why you're hurting" and only one, loosely organized chapter on how to actually fix it. This is pretty common with self-help books, unfortunately. He gives you more info than you could possibly need... until it comes to actually organizing a plan to address the issue. Then, it's sort of broad ideas about what he does in "his practice." This book should have been inverted. (And could have been.) One or two chapters of why our minds create this pain... and the other 150 pages should have been on EXACTLY how to address every aspect of the solution. That said, people seem to have gotten a lot of out this judging by the reviews, so perhaps other people disagree and felt like he provided enough info on the "fix." But, for my money... any book called "healing the pain" should really focus at least 50% of its content on actually doing that, instead of the 10% or so of the book he dedicated to it. Still, it's worth a read because these are concepts you're simply never going to hear outside of this book, and I believe they are worth considering.

Background: I've had headaches most of my life, and remember them becoming a bit more consistent/intense around age 25 (I'm currently 35). I had a deviated septum and a lot of sinus issues and thought those might be a cause. Around age 31 my headaches were probably 1-1.5x weekly and quite strong, and I was determined to find the cause and do whatever I could to rid myself of them. I asked my ENT about my "sinus headaches" and he told me that these are probably tension headaches. "Do you work at a desk sitting like this all day?", "Yes", "Yeah those are tension headaches, I'll give you some exercises and also prescribe some sumatriptan for the ones that are migraines." (Important disclaimer: see a doctor and rule out serious physical causes. If your doctor diagnoses you with tension/migraine/sinus headaches, then this book might help you). Over the next 1.5 years I try everything, exercise, yoga, foam-rolling/lacrosse ball work, standing desk, special glasses, improving posture, tracking my diet for potential triggers...etc. Most of these things don't work, some, like yoga and lacrosse ball provide temporary relief, but my headaches keep getting worse. At this point they're 2-3x weekly and bad, sometimes im in bed with an eyemask on for the whole day or more, taking lots of ibuprofen, caffeine pills, excedrine migraine and occasional sumatriptan. I use mentholated pain patches on my neck/back and even temples, and I have 5+ other remedies I use. I have some form of pain or shoulder tension that precedes a headache every single day, and every single day I fear it will turn into a full blown headache. At this point it is affecting every aspect of my life. I decide to seek out a book, and come across "Heal your Headache" on Amazon as the top rated headache book. I pick up a copy and read it, cliffs are "Quit caffeine, red wine, and dark chocolate, plus a huge list of 'triggering foods', and cold turkey off medications because they do more harm than good". I read it in 2 days and find that my headaches improve somewhat just reading this book, and the stories of people who had similar or worse headache patterns being cured. This is my first clue that the condition isn't 100% physical. I also find myself reassured that the amazon 4-5 star reviews say it helped them immensely, but the 1-2 star reviews don't say "I tried this the best I could and it didn't work" but just generally say "this is too restrictive" or "this book is pseudoscience with no RCTs". I decide I'm going to try the diet and other advice of this book (I never actually tried it, due to discovering MindBody Prescription and trying that instead to great effect). It's around this time I come across a twitter thread from a guy named Josh W. Comeau, talking about his experience using Dr. Sarno's method to cure his elbow pain and avoid an extreme surgery (google 'josh w comeau personal experience with RSI'). I find the story incredibly interesting and I pick up a copy of MBP just out of pure curiosity, not even thinking that it could potentially be applied to headaches. In the book, like many people it helped, I see myself on every page. I also notice he briefly mentions headaches as a form of TMS, so I say screw it, I'll give it a shot. I start out still very skeptical that this can be applied to headaches, but I commit to at least pretending I believe it (this is essential, give yourself permission to believe). One other thing that helped me is that the skeptic in me decided to check Amazon reviews, and I found nobody who gave a 1-2 star review says "you know, I was skeptical but I gave it my best shot, and after 4 weeks it just didn't work for me". They all call it junk science, say it lacks evidence, or that Sarno doesn't tell you what to do. The first thing I do while reading the book is I stop doing any type of physical practice to try to reduce tension or improve my headaches. I even take it to the point that if I'm on the couch or seated at a desk typing, and I feel that familiar tension start to creep into my neck/shoulder, instead of adjusting or shaking it out, I intentionally remain in that position and remind myself that this isn't the cause. As I'm reading I go ahead and buy Schacter's MindBody Workbook and I make a few notion docs with Sarno's affirmations, and the stories of every person I can find who claims their headaches were improved by treating it as TMS I do the journal daily, reread the book a few more times, read the success stories every few days, reading guides and stories on tmswiki, and start doing all the things I had been avoiding for fear of causing a headache. I had stopped swimming, because getting water in my ear/nose "caused my sinuses to seal up". On flights I used special earplugs so the sudden pressure change wouldn't mess up my sinuses. Also my wife is from Mexico and, while there, if we spent too long in the 90 degree sun, I'd get a headache/migraine, so I started pushing back on that idea as well. All of these headache triggers were confirmed as valid by my ENT who advised I avoid those activities. I had listened to that point, but now I decided to try Sarno's advice and not limit myself physically. We went swimming with our nieces and I dove in the pool, did flips without holding my nose, and was intentionally reckless with ingesting water, and my sinuses stayed completely clear. In fact my sinuses stopped sealing up, and since then I've been able to breathe better than any point in my life. The experience that really sealed it for me though, was about 5 days in, I started to have a headache near my right temple. I did as advised and focused on my thoughts/emotions rather than anything physical, and I also said to my brain 'I know what you're doing and it's not going to work, now give me oxygen and open up my blood vessels near my temple', and the headache went away. Not two minutes later, I had a headache start forming at the back of my head. This is something that had never happened, my headaches didn't move, unless it was gradually over hours. I had read about this kind of transfer happening in other people's experiences, and I, now feeling more empowered, repeated the same process, and the pain dissipated. Unbelievably, five minutes later, I felt a gastritis pain in my stomach. Gastritis is something I had had 3-4 bouts of over the previous 3 years, and had treated with omeprazole. Before that point, I had never considered it as a possible manifestation of TMS, but I repeated the process and it went away. Finally, a few minutes later, I rotated my head and my neck popped and got stiff. This had happened to me roughly every other month for around 5 years, and I thought it was some form of pinched nerve or muscle injury, and would leave me unable to fully rotate my head on one side. It was super annoying and would last 1-3 days. I also hadnt consider that this could possibly be TMS. This time the pop didn't cause the full pinched nerve sensation, it was very mild, but since that moment I've never had that crick in my neck, nor have I had any type of gastritis pain. Anyways, after that extremely strange experience, I had little doubt that, if I kept journaling, believing and following the process, that I could minimize the role of headaches in my life. I had maybe 1 headache that week, and then from that point forward, roughly 1 mild headache per month (the type that I could take 2 advil for, or sleep and it would go away, not the debilitating ones I'd had in the past). Eventually, I stopped doing any kind of journaling or reading and, during a period of stress, my headaches increased to around 3x monthly. I reread the book and I added the question "Did you do anything yesterday that might cause head pain?" to a bullet journal I do most mornings, and my headaches decreased back to once a month or less. I know reading other peoples' success stories was something that helped me immensely, so I hope that reading this might help you with your headaches. You might be caught in a fear-pain cycle and be digging yourself in deeper looking for a physical solution. It scares me to think that I could have gone on for years like that! If you've seen a doctor, ruled out any serious physical cause, and been diagnosed with tension headaches, sinus headaches or migraines, then please consider giving this book a shot. If you have any questions feel free to write me at my g mail address which is "my first name + my last name + 1" (without the + of course).

Dr John E. Sarno war ein Genie. Mithilfe seiner Bűcher heilte mein Bandscheibenvorfall aus.

If you suffer lower back pain read this book before all the rest!

A great read, very in depth. It helped me deal with chronic pain issues that come and go.

Before I continue I must quickly explain why this review deserves your attention: 6 Months ago I suffered from a highly sensitive pain in both elbows which turned my life upside down, preventing me from typing and other daily activities. I am now currently working as a software engineer. That's it. That's how ridiculously quickly the situation has changed, I haven't even had a chance to take it all in and write this review until now. I still can't quite believe what has happened. The only problem is I can't CONFIRM that this book was the variable in the equation, there is a possibility it was something else. All I can promise is that this book did 'appear' to be the turning point, that is the only guaranteed truth I can offer. As ridiculous as this sounds for a review, it is not even worth me outlining as to why you should read the book. If you suffer from a chronic pain you've been unable to cure, you should read it, there is no debate there, with the low cost and high success rate there is simply no reason not to. That is not the question you should be asking, you should be wondering how much of the theory in this book works in practice. Most will agree that a psychological approach can have some mild effect in pain treatment, but few would believe it can cure an intense, life-changing injury. Read the book with a completely open mind (presumably other treatments have failed you - so clearly these accepted methods were incorrectly applied to your condition). Once you've read it, I personally believe you need to keep the following points in mind. These are simply based off my own personal experience (and testimonials from a few other cases), but I feel they are missing from the book. Please note that they may therefore not apply in all cases, and some people may have experienced recovery exactly as described by the book. 1) Arguably the most important. Do not EXPECT your life to be brilliant and "out of the nightmare" once your condition is cured. As soon as your physical pain starts to leave, all your old insecurities and problems in life will occupy the vacant space in your mind. This is so subtle that you may even fail to notice your pain dissapearing, your thoughts will simply become occupied on other matters just like before. 2) You HAVE to take the drama out of your condition. You must stop thinking about it, and especially attempting to gain sympathy with it. Don't let it distract you, and flick your attention onto something else when it comes into your head. 3) It may take a while. For me I'd say it took around 3-4 months to notice any huge difference, this is presumably because reworking your mind can take time, don't give up. 4) This is by far the hardest bit - lose the FEAR. Your brain will have associated certain words with pain: perhaps 'inflamattion', 'tendon', or 'nerve'. You need to get this fear out of your system, getting to the stage where you can go about your activities confidently and not be bullied into a weak state of mind. This step alone may take months to achieve. 5) Don't keep looking for further information or solutions afterwards. This may sound ridiculous as I'm giving you information here, but once you've read the book be confident that it's all you need. If you pursue other treatments at the same time or go looking for new cures, then you're not really showing any belief in this theory. The work you need to do is with yourself, don't look towards others for solutions. 6) For me, I'm not convinced the 'suppressed anger' had anything to do with it, but it is certainly possible it did so I don't really have a right to make any strong statements here. It should be noted that I did attempt to take everything the book said as fact whilst trying to recover. I hope to add more to this review one day, and I hope you recover from whatever issue you are experiencing. Just remember it's no big deal, we all have pain in our lives in some form, and your life was not perfect before the injury. You may get it back, but it won't be the heaven you're picturing now. That's not to be negative or pessimistic though, it's the emotional pain which makes us human.

Deze man is uniek en zo overtuigend dat je het wel moet geloven! Ben eerder na Healing Back Pain van ernstige rugklachten afgekomen alleen door het te lezen. Ik ben er helaas weer ingetrapt en monter mezelf op door weer te le,en.