Day 4 Doctors

I do not have any dramatic interactions with doctors giving doom and gloom prognoses or recommending surgery. It is embarrassing, but i have put off seeing physicians for this pain for years. Periodically, I would get a massage, or mention it to a physical therapist that was treating something else, but for the most part, I either kept it to myself, or just complained at work. I do not know why, but I suspect that I felt like I just had to live with it, that I would try to tough out the next 11 years, and then I would retire, or accept that surgery and a diminished life was inevitable. Whenever someone did recommend something- back strengthening, stretching, foam rolling, dry needling/acupuncture, etc., I was discouraged, because it never produced any lasting results. I would also get more frustrated with myself for not being consistent with any of these tasks and it build on my self loathing.
I can't remember when I first heard about Dr. Sarno's books, even though it was just a few weeks ago. I think I was searching back pain in an online bookstore, and it popped up. I've mentioned before, I am fairly skeptical, and I believe in "mainstream" medicine, but I have found many similarities to the success stories so far, and the more I think about my past, the more this makes sense. Just after a few days, I feel like there is a difference!