Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection

I am not exagerating when I say this book literally saved my life and gave me real future to look forward to. Back in 2011, when I was 23 years old, I started having debiliating back pain just out of the blue and it took over my life. The pain felt like severe sciatica and it limited every aspect of my life every single day - up until my husband found me this book back in 2019. I suffered everyday with just about everything, from the moment I woke up until the time I went to bed, and then throughout the night lying awake with insomnia mostly from the pain and also being depressed about how I even got this pain in the first place and if I would have to suffer with it for the rest of my life. I really couldn't do much of anything. It didn't matter whether I was sitting, standing, lying down, or walking, it was always present and aside from the extreme discomfort, it limited me physically and was frustrating when I was around others due to the inconvenience. I went to several doctors and specialists, had scans done, went to physical therapy, took pain killers, went to the chiropracter, and saw an acupuncturist. Some of them helped subside the pain, but it was only temporary - nothing long term, and eventually it would return full force again. No one could figure out why a 23 year old was experiencing this at all. We all just kept thinking I must have torn a tenden or weakened my back muscles, or it really was severe sciatica. At first I was skeptical about the book helping at all. But after I read it, I learned about TCM and how the subconscious mind could have such a powerful influence over the body. Then after hearing the case studies of others who experienced the same if not similar situations, I decided to give it a try and implement what the book taught to do. Well low and behold ... it worked. For the first time in 8 years... the pain actually stopped and I felt like I started living my life again. It seems hard to believe that a book could heal me, but I figure I really had NOTHING left to lose. I was in so much pain I didn't feel like I was really living... it felt like I was a prisoner in my own body. The worst that could happen was things would stay the same and that I would just continue to live with this pain for the rest of my life... and this was the case anyways whether or not I decided to do something. And wow am I glad I decided to listen and try it. It didn't happen instantaneously, but after trying one thing and seeing some truth to it (when the pain didn't follow it's usual course of action), I decided to keep practicing it and retrained myself with what the book taught. And eventually after 2 weeks the pain really started to fade away and gradually completely disappear after 6 months or so. It was NOT easy and I had to keep reminding myself about what Dr. Sarno taught in the book, but after being in constant pain for about 8 years, this was nothing compared to what i dealt with. And the result - I was finally able to live my life pain free again. So if you're like me and you've seen doctors, gone to physical therapy, taken medication, and NOTHING actually seems to work - just give this book a read. The worst that can happen is everything stays the same as it did before. But completely worth it if you ask me. It's now the end of 2023... and, knock-on-wood, still living pain free.

Dr. Sarno, through many years of treating patients with back pain, has discovered what he considers an epidemic of back pain in the U.S. and states that usually the cause is not an accident or a degenerative disease. He attributes it to repressed emotions, usually anger or anxiety, and says that the stressful situation that causes the Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) does not always have to be resolved for the pain to go away. The patient just needs to recognize the mind-body connection that he is experiencing. I have not tried to apply Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection’s seemingly simple techniques; I have only read the book. Dr. Sarno’s detailed discussion of the failure of traditional medicine’s handling of back pain does make sense. He advises someone with back pain to consult with a doctor to get that perspective, but then evaluate their symptoms in the light of his thesis. He also says many other conditions such as eczema, headaches, and irritable bowl syndrome may be attributable to repressed emotions also. Dr. Sarno cites a lot of anecdotal evidence as well as data gained from surveys of patients to support his theory. He does not claim to understand how the brain can exert such powerful control over the body, but reminds the reader that there are many things about the way the brain works that are not completely understood yet. Dr. Sarno is a medical doctor, not a salesman, not a slick businessman ready to perform on morning TV. His background is displayed in his writing style, and my 4 star rating reflects that. His bold stance against the traditional and unsuccessful medical view of back pain and his obvious enthusiasm for helping those with back pain rates 5 stars. Additional Notes: 1.Much of the book is technical. The chapter about his technique is vague, maybe because it is so simple and we expect more bells and whistles from modern medicine. Because of these factors, I found the Appendix particularly valuable. It is comprised of “Letters from Patients” and shows concretely how various patients have applied his theory and their results. 2. Having finished this book on the mind/body connection, which deals primarily with the power of repressed emotions, I was amazed as I started a fictional book to discover at least four prominent references in the first chapter to how the characters realistically reacted viscerally in various ways to stress inducing moments. I reflected that if people instantaneously respond physically (tightening muscles, a sinking feeling in the gut) to anxiety, then Dr. Sarno’s connection of repressed emotions and body pain seems rational even if ignored by the medical community.

This editorial quote is key to understanding: "He's not saying that your pain is all in your head; rather, he's saying that the battle going on in your mind results in a real physical disorder that may affect muscles, nerves, tendons, or ligaments. An injury may have triggered the disorder, but is not the cause of the amount or intensity of the resulting pain." I can't begin to even place into words how life-changing this book was and how grateful I am that celebrities have been cured through him because that's how I heard about the book (as well as the doctor being written up in Forbes as "America's best doctor and his miracle cures")for years and, as a last ditch effort to help my chronic acute pain that I'd recently developed, even though mine was far more than back pain, I decided to read it. Let me start from the beginning, having gone through a criminal act done to me a couple years ago which resulted in temporary PTSD I thought I'd worked through, to me throwing myself more heavily into work and having recently bought my fourth company, then having minor surgery in which I was not properly anesthetized, then having a reaction to sulfa,to someone close to me giving me some digs now and again that I did not confront, I can look back now on the triggers that added up to things that I needed to deal with that would create mental and bodily stress. Collectively and individually. But I didn't think the book fit me because the pain was real and I was hospitalized twice for it, completely unable to function. My pain was not just in my back although it eventually settled there. It began as full-body acute level 9 crippling can't-function pain--part of that likely began as the sulfa allergy I had to an antibiotic, although the doctors had never seen it at the level I had it and were surprised a sulfa reaction could be so crippling although they admitted it had been documented as a possible reaction in others, but was rare. Although they tried drugs for fibromyalgia, they had no effect and eventually I was on hydrocodone, a 2nd pain killer, and steroids. With hospital visits in between for greater help. And still in crippling pain. I am very much against pain killers for anything more than a few weeks so I was very troubled, of course. Eventually I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease which they felt was likely lupus. An appointment was made with a rheumatologist to work out which one I actually had. It had been a month of crippling pain that let up for a couple days then came back. And it was acute. I eventually only wound up sleeping an hour every night. I remembered this book and finally, before my specialist visit to work out how I would be treated for the rest of my life to MASK my pain, I bought it. And then I read this book as I laid in bed, awake all night as usual. Remembering Ellen Degeneres having talked about the mind-body connection and her body shutting her down due to back pain when she was doing too much or not dealing with enough mentally, and Howard Stern's years of chronic pain that this doctor eliminated, and a few others...it was my last hope before serious drugs or surgery and a lifetime of pain pills or even a wheelchair to simply cope. I was at the point where I could no longer walk up and down the stairs in my home for any reason. My joints suddenly made creaking noises, proving it's not all in the mind but can be very much created there, leading the doctor to diagnose this as a joint-related disease, my muscles (my main source of pain) felt like I'd been beaten for days, I could feel everything on my body in greater detail--the ring on my finger, scratchy clothing, dry feet--like overactive pain receptors-- I could not work, (but I am self-employed!) I could not function. And just thinking maybe my body was doing this to myself was not enough to make it go away. I had my diagnosis. And then...that was it. It was gone. I closed the last page and I was well. That does not even seem logical does it? It's what happened. I was told I had an autoimmune disease and that my body was attacking itself and my life was going to be changed forever. I had loved ones taking care of me. And then I closed the book--got up, and walked downstairs, pain-free, effortless. Later that day, I was actually able to get on my treadmill for the first time in what felt like forever since it was once a very important part of my daily routine. I was normal. My life was back in full swing after being told it was gone for good--and everyone around me just had dropped jaws. The reality was that tension caused an oxygen deprivation to my muscles and blood vessels which is not something anyone can find or understand. And every time I'd ever had a massage I was told I had no tension. Once I recognized not only this reality but thought about the stresses leading up to it, and fully understood the process of why it happens, my body was not able to create the pain in order to mask the emotions because I knew what it was doing. Knowing what it was doing cured it. But the thing is, before I opened the book I thought about that being the case having HEARD about the book and that was not enough--I needed to fully read and understand the physical steps as to why it happens and internalize and believe them and THAT is when the cure seeped in, likely about 1/3 of the way through the book--to the point where I could close the book and then actually go workout that same DAY because i was NORMAL again. The night before I read this book I was in so much pain that I was ready to just check myself into the hospital and go stay there, medicated because I could no longer take the level of pain and I was simply constantly in a fetal position, in tears. Here is the interesting thing. When they ran the test for lupus I was told "If it comes out negative I don't want you to get too excited. This test has a very high false negative rate." Looking back, because I was told if the pain did not subside (which it did not) that it meant I did have the auto-immune disease in spite of the negative reading, I believe that it may be that there are not false negatives at all. But in Western medicine, if one is in acute ongoing pain, you have to label it something and mask it with meds. My body WAS attacking itself but not due to lupus. Due to trying to mask emotions it did not want to have brought to the surface. But that's not recognized in Western medicine where we treat the symptoms but not get to the root, especially embracing the idea that my body could create these issues due to psychological tension. Not when I am not a typical psychological "case" but a woman who is seen as "with it" enough to run 4 companies, a charity, and a social club and who STUDIED psychology in graduate school, no less! The fact is, that's not "with it" in reality, but even more of a mask and a tad over-driven. Because it's true that I prefer to work harder when I don't wish to deal with something. It seemed like a positive "outlet" but in reality it masked what I needed to deal with. I was a people pleaser, I was a "yes man", I was a work perfectionist but considered myself very laid back because I never was angry. I now know for me that is not a good thing...I was angry inside. (Actually many people with this are angry outside, but that was not me. I was always the calm one no matter what I faced in life) And rather than acting out, my body internalized it all. I now speak up and speak out, I now deal with my emotions. And I am now pain-free 100% OVERNIGHT to the shock of my family doctor and the emergency room physicians who grew to know me and my condition. We don't treat the issue in Western medicine or equate psychology with physical ailments--we simply treat the ailments. I was on high level pain killers and it would still come back. I asked my doctor before reading the book if the recent stress could cause this and he said no, it was physical and my immune system was confused and attacking my body and the flare up was triggered by the sulfa allergy but was dormant until then. They just are not trained to fully grasp the mind-body connection. And understanding what was happening DID make it go away because it was 100% my body telling me "lay down and don't think! Here! concentrate on this pain for awhile so that you don't bring those painful emotions to the surface and go batty! That will take your mind off of that stuff that is under the surface!" I have never felt the kind of pain I was in and I actually have a high tolerance for pain--I can have surgery and be back on my feet working in no time, I am tough and can deal with it--but I was 100% crippled and in bed and non-working and disabled with a diagnosis of it being the rest of my life. The more I read the more I thought of others I knew who came down with crippling back pain and how things like surgery did not help and they could not work. What's interesting is that this doctor realized that some people showed the same back deformaties in x-rays but had no pain and he looked to why for some it was crippling and for some it was nothing in spite of whatever x-rays or tests showed. Or why some got better and others did not since the body typically heals itself. I knew someone who had surgery after surgery after surgery. I can now understand why that never helped. The mind is more clever. You have to understand what it's doing to stop it. This literally changed what was about to be a lifetime of being crippled in some regard according to my doctor...I was told to accept it. Thankfully, instead I accepted with an open mind, reading this book. The irony is that before I read the book, I would have a few good days but once I was given the diagnosis that I for-sure had an auto-immune disease, that's when the pain got worse than ever. My body had tricked me. I took back that power.

this is a weird book. it's not really all that impressive, in and of itself -- a couple hundred pages of loosely sketched out theoretical ideas, and a general sort of critique of common chiropractic diagnoses. some of it makes a lot of sense, some of it seems a little far-fetched – objectively speaking, i can absolutely understand why some people dismiss dr. sarno and this (and his other similar) books as fluff/quackery. that being said – it works. or can, depending on who you are and what kind of pain you’re experiencing. i was suffering from horrible, near-disabling levels of lower back and neck pain when i first read this book, and as many others report, simply reading the book and thinking about what it had to say, made 95% of my discomfort simply vanish overnight, like magic. it was frankly shocking to me how effective it was, and i am a person who absolutely, 100% realizes how ridiculous that sounds. but that was my experience. i do still have back pain, but it is now 10 years later – just reading this book one night literally produced something like eight or nine years of very significant relief. whether the back pain i’m experiencing now is something different or just a recurrence/regression of the TMS described in this book is something i’m currently trying to figure out. the general argument put forward here is that changing the way you think about back (and certain related types of) pain can dramatically alter your experience with it, because the way we’ve been taught to evaluate this type of condition to ourselves is largely based on false medical myths that have an (unfortunately) strong influence on the way our psychology interacts with our body. sounds a little out there, perhaps, but it is – to my honest surprise – quite true. what the book offers is not a placebo effect. what's weird is that the pain a lot of people are experiencing is in itself a kind of (negative) placebo effect already – what this book can do, is sort of quickly train you to reverse the psychological processes that create that scenario. it's not that the pain you’re experiencing isn't real, or that it’s just imagined – it is very, physically real, as any sufferer knows – but in many people/cases, it's being produced and greatly exacerbated by a kind of trick of the brain that can be unlearned with surprising ease. a lot of people in the last couple of generations have, for various reasons the book gets into, unconsciously programmed themselves to be susceptible to certain types of back pain that don't have any real physical cause. most chiropractors and even physical therapists will x-ray you and explain you have a herniated disc, something out of alignment, scoliosis, etc. -- but while true, this is in most cases a very natural part of aging, and it only produces ongoing pain/discomfort in certain people. generally, they won't know exactly why – they'll theorize you have a "pinched nerve" or something along those lines, but this book explains how, in dr. sarno's opinion, that's just unethical guesswork and makes no diagnostic sense. he proposes that the pain is more akin to a negative placebo effect based on the anxiety natural to certain personality types, and nurtured by cultural conditioning. this anxiety and conditioning train the brain to deny oxygen to certain muscle groups and body areas, which produces spasms/constrictions/tension in those areas. while harmless in and of themselves, they can be very uncomfortable, and many in the medical community erroneously link this discomfort to what is actually pretty normal wear-and-tear along the spine. in turn, we (the sufferer) begin to overthink the fragility of our spine/back, and expect it to give us problems, which fuels the negative link the brain has already made to those areas. this begins to allow all kinds of personal anxieties and emotions to start registering in a very physically real way as body pain, usually in certain parts of the back or neck where we most anticipate pain to occur, and it becomes a self-fulfilling cycle that can just grow worse and worse over time. the book explains this all better and in more detail. not everything put forward in the book is 100% convincing, but dr. sarno has definitely tapped into a legitimate phenomenon – and i say that simply because the book just plain worked for me. after years of very depressing and increasingly excruciating levels of discomfort and pain that i attributed to a slipped disc, i read this book, and poof ... it was just literally gone. i couldn’t quite believe it and many people i relate the story to do not take it seriously. but my brain wised up to the trick it was playing on my body and the relief was literally an overnight phenomenon. and not only did it work – the results lasted many years. many people will blow off this book and sarno’s others as pseudo-scientific fluff – i get that. but, listen – i spent $2 on this book at the time i first read it, and got years of shockingly significant relief from it. it’s not like it’s a big expensive gamble, if you think it might help you. i also get that it won’t work for everyone – obviously there are legitimate injuries and conditions that can occur and cause pain that are unrelated to what the book describes (and which the book is very clear about). however, a lot of conditions that people think are legitimate physical problems are covered by this book, and have a far shakier medical basis than you’d think. psychology and the way your psychology programs your body and its expectations has a lot to do with a lot of the pain people suffer from. if you think there’s even a chance this book could help you, spend a couple bucks on a used copy and give it a shot. it takes a couple hours to read, and it could save you thousands in medical bills. worst case scenario, you learn a little about an alternative theory re: body pain. even if you’re skeptical, it’s sort of a no-brainer if you’re really suffering discomfort.

Fun to read. Sarno’s method really didn’t do a thing for back pain.

Years ago, I was struggling with back pain for 8-10 years when I was told I had 2 herniated discs in my back, after an MRI and needed to have surgery. The reason for the MRI was because numbness occurred in my feet and started progressing up my legs until it reached my knees along with the pain. The doctor told me if I didn't have surgery soon, I would lose the ability to control bowel movements and would be wearing diapers for the rest of my life. That was in 2001. I scheduled the surgery and was afraid of ending up in a wheelchair like a friend did. 1 week prior to surgery, another friend introduced me to the book "Healing Back Pain" by Dr. Sarno. While reading the book and applying the things Dr Sarno suggested, in about a week, the numbness started going away. Then, another week, the pain disappeared. I am 85 yrs old and have no problems with my back. Occasionally, I have felt a little pain in my back, maybe 1-2 times a year, but after applying Dr Sano"s methods, the pain goes away. I never had the surgery, and probably now have 3 herniated discs in my back. I play golf 3 times a week, go snowboarding once a year, water surf, and lift anything I can without any worries. The book talks about a Mind-Body connection, which was hard to swallow, But the alternative was surgery, which I definitely did not want. This book is amazing and Sarno"s methods are amazing. You have to believe and work hard applying them. great book.

I have read every Sarno book multiple times as well as listened to the audio versions of each many times. I truly believe his TMS theory is spot on. I wanted to share my story because I believe it aligns with everything he describes. I also know that I benefit from reading other people's reviews when they share their personal experiences with chronic pain and TMS because it helps strengthen my belief in TMS when I hear others just like me. I hope this helps someone. So here is my story. It is VERY long, but nobody is making you read it! I believe the details are all very relevant to my complete chronic pain story. I am a 43 year old male with a long history of continuous health issues for the better part of the past 25 years of “adulthood”. Only recently have I realized that these might all be related and the result of a deeper stress/tension induced psychosomatic issue. I have read 100’s of similar stories of people with “TMS” or other stress induced disorders over the years, and I believe my symptoms and traits perfectly match the typical profile. Summary of my personality traits: perfectionist, overachiever, people pleaser, want to be liked, want recognition/approval/validation, chronic worrier, anxious. Probable sources of unconscious anger & fear: years of constant, relentless worrying about career and job security, afraid of failing in my education or in my jobs, fear that work is too hard and I won't be able to handle it, fear of losing my loved ones, guilt/shame, messes/disorder (neat freak), and frustration over my chronic health issues. At the end of this, I will talk about my latest issues and current battles with all of this, but first, here is a summary of my history that may put things in better context: 1974-1992: Childhood through end of high school. Perfect childhood, parents, family, and middle class life. No traumas- physically or emotionally. Driven, perfectionist, afraid to fail. Graduated 2nd in my class of 300 students in school. Put a lot of pressure on myself to be “the best” and make everyone happy and get praise and admiration from people. 1990’s: Developed Allergies. Controlled by shots & medications. (mold, pollen, dust) 1992: 18 years old and started college. Chemical Engineering student and member of rowing team. Difficult courses and studies, and very busy schedule with sports. Started to develop constant sore throats and “sinus infections”. Many months of every kind of antibiotic. Always sick. 1993: Had tonsils removed. Sore throats were better, but still always getting sick. 1993: For 6-9 months had what was diagnosed as Carpal Tunnel syndrome from one really long day scooping Italian ice non-stop for 10 hours in my summer job. 1994: Sinus surgery. Stopped getting sick as much. 1994: After feeling a “pop” and a jamming feeling in my lower back while on a rowing machine one day, I had an “injury” and Back Pain for the first time in my life. Until then, I was in great physical condition with strength training, running, and rowing almost daily. From that day, I developed chronic low back pain which lasted 2 miserable years. -Pain was in lower back. Mostly on left and right sides of spine in the small of the back in the boney parts around the Hip/SI joint areas. Sometimes pain would be bad in the center and hurt to touch the spine, but also moved side to side throughout the day. Pain never went into legs or any numbness/tingling/burning. It was a constant, dull, but torturous aching. The pain was the worst when sitting. I couldn’t sit for a minute. I spent two years of college with an ice pack on my back to get through class to numb the pain. It also hurt to stand for too long. The only relief was walking or lying on my back, but even that hurt to some extent. -The only thing that helped with the pain was ice (which just numbed it temporarily) and Ultram (tramadol) which I lived on like candy for 2 years. -I had X-Rays, MRIs, CT Scans, Nuclear Bones Scans, and went to probably 8 different co-called “best doctors” in FL and NJ. Nobody could find anything wrong on the images or exams. Best they could say was “soft tissue” inflammation or strain. -I did months of Physical Therapy with stretching, core strengthening, walking, stairs, massage, heat/ice, and TENS unit. -I tried acupuncture (at two different places) and 3 or 4 different chiropractors in NJ and FL. -Nothing ever helped and the pain was 24/7 causing so much rage and frustration, Depression, and hopelessness. I wanted to die every day. It was so hard to go to class all day, study Chemical Engineering, and my life (which was supposed to be full of possibilities) was upside down and miserable. -Cortisone injections didn’t help, nor did any other OTC NSAID or Rx medicine. -I did meditation and self-hypnosis. -Found out about Dr. Sarno and TMS, and read all of his books at the time, and was 100% convinced I had TMS! As an Engineer with a logical, rational mind, it made perfect sense to me. Unfortunately, I was just unable to undo the pain even the slightest bit. 1996: A “so-called” top in the nation spine surgeon in North Jersey (Dr. Casey Lee) said my L3/4 disc was destroyed. He said I probably broke the vertebrae above (or below?) the disc when I “injured” it that day, and the broken bone probably destroyed the disc. Nothing bulging or herniated, but rather he said the disc has small nerves in the annulus and that was causing the pain which was “referred” to the area a few inches below it in my back. He performed a discography(discogram) the confirmed his diagnosis. For the first time I had hope that someone figured it out, and I was confident this was the answer. He proceeded to perform a discectomy and interbody spinal fusion (no metal, just hip bone graft). I had to take off a semester from college and took about 4 months to recover before I went back to finished my final semester before graduation. The surgery was a success by every measure. In fact, recent MRIs this year (2017) were reviewed by a chiropractor, and he said that he and his partner have reviewed 1000’s of MRIs over the decades, and this was by far the most impressive fusion they had ever seen! 1997: I went back to college after the recovery, and slowly rebuilt my strength and was in great shape again. For the next 20 years, I was pain free (for the most part). I definitely thank Dr Lee for the surgery. It was a success both medically and for getting rid of my pain. I was pretty much able to do anything, but I was always cautious not to lift anything too heavy. I did however lift weights regularly for years with no problems. A few times over the years, I would have the occasional back spasm or muscle strain that would go away in a few days. No big deal. A couple times over the years I had pain very similar to the pain that I had prior to my fusion surgery, which made me wonder- how could that be possible? How could I have the SAME EXACT pain in the SAME EXACT location if the problem (the disc) was removed? After a week or two, I got worried, and I immediately read Dr Sarno’s books and people’s reviews on amazon all day for weeks, and I was convinced it was TMS. Eventually the pain went away. That had me 100% a believer in the TMS diagnosis now. This made me think I probably never even needed surgery. Was it just a placebo? I couldn’t change the past, so I didn’t dwell on that thought to much. 2001- 2008 – I had a lot of career changes and stressful jobs during this time. Always still trying to be perfect and successful (like I was “supposed” to be). Always fearing losing my job as the main income provider in my family (with a wife and 2 small boys). I was in the computer/tech industry which was constantly downsizing and laying off people every few months. Lot of worrying and stress daily from that. 2006/2007: After 15 years of contact lenses, I developed Dry Eye Syndrome and have never been able to wear contacts since. 2008: Fell into a severe depression with anxiety. Spent 4 months on long term disability. Tried every antidepressant, anti-psychotic, anti-anxiety medicine in every class of meds. Eventually got better and returned to work. Been on antidepressants ever since then. 2010-2012: For about two years, I had a constant strange Stomach “tension” or nervous/butterflies feeling. Nothing would relieve it. No medication or therapy. It was not painful at all. Just a strange feeling of nervousness in my stomach which was distracting and uncomfortable. It felt like nerves. Doctors said it was not a digestive issue. 2012-2014: For no reason, out of nowhere one day, I got terrible Elbow Tendonitis pain, and the stomach issue went away! I never did anything to injure the elbow. Pain was awful. Couldn’t even lift a gallon of milk. Did a few months of PT everyday with no improvement. Spent two years getting many cortisone shots in my elbows. Elbow(s)? Oh, did I forget to mention that the pain would go away after a cortisone shot and then my other elbow would hurt just as bad a couple of months later!!! So I would need a shot in that elbow! This went back and forth from elbow to elbow, shot after shot for almost two years. Sometimes they would work, and sometimes not. Then one day the pain just stopped and never again! 2015: Lots of uncertainty about my job (my company was closing locations and might be forced to move away from our families). I developed bad anxiety with shaking arms and legs when I would lay in bed in the morning. Never had a panic attack, but just chronic general anxiety. Wound up out of work again for 4 months in a treatment program on long term disability again. 2015-2016: Developed IBS (Irritable Bowel System) with diarrhea. Many docs, colonoscopy showed a perfect colon, yet now all of a sudden I had constant diarrhea for a year! Put me on medicine (Viberzi) which helped a little. 2016: Spent about a year of intense job searching because the end was near at my job. No luck. Very discouraging. A few months later in mid-2016, the anxiety got really debilitating, and once again, I was out for 4 months in a program on disability. I should mention that for the past 8 years since 2008, I saw a great psychiatrist and therapist for the depression/anxiety. Did a lot of CBT/DPT therapies. Meditation, deep breathing, mindfulness, etc. My doctor and therapist and I believed that the job environment was toxic (60+ hour weeks, high stress because it was in nuclear power, and the impending thought of having no job in a couple of years). The belief was that if I got a new job, the anxiety would go away. November 2016: Finally got a new job!!! Was SOOOO happy for once! I felt hope and relief. I felt like my problem was solved and I could finally relax and be happy for the first time in a long time! December 2016: Started the new job. It was great. Great people, boss, the type of work, hours, etc. Couldn’t ask for anything more. Only downside was an increase from 20 mins to 60 mins each way in commute, but I was willing to live with that for all of the positives that came with it. Not a problem. I was a few weeks into my new job and all was wonderful for once! My job is not strenuous. I just sit at a computer all day in a nice ergonomic chair. A few weeks into the job, before I could barely enjoy the relief of years of anxiety, and my low back started hurting. I didn’t think anything of it. Started a little achy. Felt like I might have just strained something from bad posture as I was leaning forward and twisting to the side a lot reading and typing a bunch of reports for a few weeks. A few weeks later and it was very sharp and “spasming” on the lower right side. I could barely bend down to tie my shoes. It hurt to even breathe. I thought I must have done something serious, but how? I did nothing to injure it!! I was able to do so many physical things prior to this with no pain. What caused this? Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that the IBS that I had every day for the past year miraculously stopped ever since the back pain started! Another ailment/pain replaced by another once again! So I started the doctor/treatment/medication routine. A few weeks later, it developed into more of a dull, nagging ache. Moved from left to right sides throughout the day. I would describe it as having two dull knives stuck into my low back all day. Pain never goes into buttocks or Leg. No numbness/tingling. Unbearable pain to sit for any period of time. Relieved only when walking and lying on back. In the beginning, heat helped. Then it no longer helped. Then ice helped numb the pain for a few months. Now neither really help. I spent the next 2 months reading every TMS, mind body syndrome book, audiobook, website, testimonials etc. I was convinced this was TMS and nothing really wrong. Unfortunately nothing changed. I believed 100% in it but just like back in 1994, no luck. I immerse myself in the TMS readings all day and night, buy into fully, but never helps. I want it to help so bad, but I never feel any sign of relief to give me hope. Went to 4 MD’s and chiropractor in the 6 months since Dec 2016. An MRI showed L2/3 disc degeneration and a couple of “mild” disc bulges. Initially tried OTC NSAIDs, Flexeril, methylprednisolone, ice, heat, bed rest, pain ointments/creams, etc. Tried yoga/stretching. That didn’t help, and one day I bent and twisted the wrong way at Yoga, and got a really sharp jolting pain, and never went back. I have tried about 5 different lumbar support pillows/devices at work, in my car, and at home. They don’t help at all. The first Spinal Orthopedic Surgeon at a reputable, established Ortho/Pain center basically said it is probably soft tissue strain or an annual disc tear (but never even said which disc). She sent me for PT. I tried physical therapy – core strengthening, stretching, TENS, etc. No improvement. I then tried a supposedly reputable Chiropractor with decades of experience and he said I had two bulging discs that were pressing into nerves and causing the pain. He was 100% sure. So he started me on a fancy “VAX-D” Spinal Decompression table. I went every day for 30 mins each for about 4 weeks (~17 treatments) along with some PT there afterwards (core strength, massage, TENS). No relief at all, so I stopped going. This was really affecting my ability to work or be useful at home to my family or around the house. I have spent every waking moment at home on the couch or bed or floor. I went to a Physiatrist (gave me Ultram, Flexiril, Valium) and said probably soft tissue strain. After more weeks, no improvement. He sent me to a “top” Spine Pain Specialist MD. He scanned the MRIs and a quick evaluation and said it is most likely your facet joints (arthritic). Sounded 100% sure that was it. No question. He said we need to inject anesthetic into the medial branch nerves of the vertebrae (a medial branch block). If the pain was reduced significantly enough for a few solid hours, then it would confirm that the pain is indeed from the facet joints and the next step would be radiofrequency ablation (RFA) where they would burn those medial branch nerves to provide 3-18 months of relief until they grown back. He did the lower 3 lumbar/sacral vertebrae one week and then the upper 3 lumbar vertebrae another week. The first procedure seemed to provide some relief for a few hours, but second procedure didn’t help at all. That brings me to this past week at my follow-up again. He said they need to repeat the first procedure again!!! This was needed to confirm it works (that the relief I experienced wasn’t a fluke) before proceeding with the nerve ablation. This seemed to be his practice of ensuring success but also apparently required by my insurance (BCBS) before they will cover the ablation procedure. He said if it is confirmed, then an ablation would be recommended. If not, however, then he said it is probably the L2/3 degenerative disc causing a “referred” pain to the area a few inches down lower in the back where I feel it. That would require more consults with a separate surgeon, a discography (discogram) diagnosis procedure, and then potentially a surgery (fusion or artificial disc replacement). I do NOT want any of that! So here I am today in May 2017. 6 months of the SAME EXACT pain as 23 years ago! Just like back then, only ice, laying down, and Ultram provide any relief. Lately the Ultram (50 or 100 mg, 1-3 times per day), or the ice, or lying down don’t really help anymore. I try not to take the Ultram because I don’t want to go down the opioid addiction/narcotic path. I may be take 1 to 4, 50mg pills a week. I am 3 weeks away from that 3rd nerve block procedure. I am frustrated on how this has dragged on for 6 months now with NO IMPROVEMENT. I can’t believe I am still in pain. How could this be? The pain consumes me every waking moment (and even disturbs my sleep at times lately). Every once in while I have a better hour or day, and think I am turning the table, but then the next hour or day, I am back in the normal state of pain and misery. I really think if I didn’t have a family, I would not be alive at this point because it seems so hopeless and the thought of living the rest of my life with this constant pain is unthinkable. Because I love my family, I decided to be positive and beat this. I have to. I started a strict self-PT program this week. Every day walking 20-30 mins, and 10 mins of core strength and stretching. I go back and forth lately between thinking something must be really physically wrong to cause this kind of 24/7 horrible pain vs. the TMS psychosomatic pain theory. I don’t know what to believe. I am currently re-reading everything by Dr. John Sarno, “The Great Pain Deception” by Steve Ozanich, and now “Crooked” by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, Dr. David Schechter’s work, etc. They are all AWESOME books and I believe they describe me on every page. I just don’t know how to undo this? Are my neural pathways so strong now that I cannot reverse this after 6 months? So here’s why I think I have TMS… 25 years of constant pains or sicknesses. Always something getting my constant attention on my body- instead of letting my unconscious fear and anger surface which would be emotionally painful to face. There has never NOT been something wrong with me since I became an “adult”. It all started in college when life got stressful. One ailment moves to the next, and the next.... Pains move from Arm to Arm, side to side in lower back. How can a real physically induced problem do that? Either something is hurt or it isn’t. It is frustrating seeing 5 different medical professionals/doctors and getting 5 different diagnoses! It seems like they just guess and try things until something works. I feel like a guinea pig while they just try to make money and push meds and procedures on me. I am sure they are well-intended, but it doesn’t feel right. Each time I had confidence in their diagnoses, but each time they failed to result in any improvement. I find it hard to believe that my discs are the problem. I have seen WAY WORSE spines on MRIs! The two discs are barely bulging (probably how everyone’s discs look over 20 years old), and one degenerative disc which wasn’t even that bad from what I have also seen. Even the first two docs or radiology report said NOTHING about the discs! So I’m really wondering now where to go from here. I am reading all these books and believe so much in TMS and feel like that has to be it. However, I just don’t know how to change it? I would love a TMS expert or Mind-Body Doc to read my story and let me know what they think. How do you ignore the pain and tell yourself nothing is wrong when it hurts you 24/7? How do you unlearn that and reverse that? Would love to hear from you all. Thanks for your time. james.e.kerr (at) comcast.net

I got this book after watching a YouTube video, I thought let's give a try. I have back pain but hey it's something which comes only when I am stressed. That helped me focus on real issue that is wstress rather than my back. More of a mental issue than physical one. Everyone should have this book.

Loved the info

I have thought long and hard about writing this review as I know how it feels to spend hours trawling through the internet searching for a cure for crippling pain, and knowing how much information is out there, I have hesitated to add to it. But my sincere wish is that this post will give someone else the courage and confidence to take a chance with this book. My story: I, like many people, have suffered with back problems all my life - I'm now 43 - and had accepted that frequent bouts of pain, my back 'going' and regular trips to a much trusted and respected osteopath were just part of life. And that was fine. Until I had a really bad and prolonged bout of pain that started in Autumn 2013. I'd had 'disc issues' in the past but my pain had ALWAYS been on the left side. One morning I woke up with real soreness in my right lower back. Slightly perplexed but not unduly alarmed I went to see my osteo as usual and expected everything to be fixed in a week or two. However, It didn't get better - in fact it got progressively worse. I started to worry that it would turn into the sort of pain that I had experienced a couple of years earlier. I was told then by my osteopath that I had injured a disc. The pain at the time was excruciating, but after treatments and several weeks of rest it did get better. Well this time my pain got worse and seemed to be evolving. It had started in the back but three months later was moving to my leg and becoming far more intense. Standing and walking became very difficult, making my long commute to work on the tube a nightmare. Losing faith in my osteopath I saw other physiotherapists and tried acupuncture - all to no effect, other than to be told repeatedly that my back 'was a mess' and I could expect pain on and off all my life. Finally in desperation I went to my GP who ordered an MRI. This showed various bulges and degeneration but most worryingly, an extruded disc (where the inner material has leaked out) and this was pressing on a nerve. My GP explained all this with patience and told me that if conventional treatment didn't work, I would have to consider injections or, down the road, surgery. The pain got even worse. Then, one day I stumbled across an article about the comedian Howard Stern and his battle against pain. He seemed to have found a miracle cure in the shape of a treatment by Dr John Sarno. By this time, I was endlessly searching the internet and becoming an expert on all things disc related. Thinking more information could only be good I bought the book. I read it within 48 hours - it was the Easter holiday and I was spending most of my time horizontal anyway. After the initial excitement that I might be one of the blessed ones who start to feel the pain evaporate as they read, I had to confess that although I liked the idea, and wanted it to be true, my pain was still there. Also I had an MRI, a GP and a host of other back pain specialists telling me it was a physical problem. To cut a long story short, I suffered on for another few months, until one day I just suddenly decided that I would suspend my disbelief and - as wholeheartedly as I could manage - do some of the exercises recommended by Sarno. I even wrote the date down in my diary 'first day of TMS'. I didn't by this stage hold out much hope, but I was willing finally to give it a go. So I started writing in a journal and doing the daily reminders. I also saw a therapist to talk about emotional stuff but completely abandoned all back treatments and exercises. Within a week I was 75% better. A few weeks later I was pretty much back to normal - although I was still taking paracetamol regularly - but now at least it made a difference to the pain. A few months later and the pain was basically non-existent and any residual pain would vanish if I simply ignored it. So it did work for me. It wasn't immediate and it took a lot of soul searching to really commit to the idea. But once I did, it worked. Now I read a lot of reviews that say this approach may work for 'unexplained' pain (i.e. you don't have a real, physical problem.) But I had the worst form of slipped disc and I got better pretty damn fast once I got my head around the concept that a slipped disc might not be causing the kind of pain I was in. I have a great deal of respect for those who have tried this book and not found it to be useful, but I do believe that the premise of the book is correct and that, once you have been cleared of any disease or immune disorder etc.. the cause of ongoing and chronic pain is emotional, not physical. So my advice, in a nutshell, would be: Go to a professional and get an opinion, an MRI if necessary, if there is any lingering concern that the pain is caused by disease. Then, once you have the all clear for anything truly serious, buy this book and read it. Not once but many times. Let it sink in. Then practise the exercises and daily reminders religiously. Don't give up after a few days if things aren't improving. Work at it. I cannot guarantee I will never have back pain again, but I'm pretty sure I now know what lies behind it. Like many thousands of other people I am incredibly grateful to John Sarno for this . I wish you luck.

Lees dit boek, of kijk op google wat de Dr. ontdekte.

Good one