Day 1 Going all in

I’ve been dealing with back pain on and off for the last 15 years in various forms - general back pain, muscle spasms, and sciatica. The doctors all attribute it to herniated discs, particularly a "bad" one at L4/L5. I could be fine for months or even years at a time and then have an acute attack lasting for days, weeks, or months. Over the course of the past 15 years I’ve tried just about every type of treatment and practitioner; physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopath, physiatrist, orthopedist, massage, steroid injections, pain killers, muscle relaxants, and on and on. Every time surgery was recommended I would run the other way - until last year. After a bout with sciatica that lasted months, kept me in constant pain, and left me virtually useless, I decided gave in and went in for a microdiscectomy. The moment I awoke from surgery the extreme pain down my leg was totally gone. I went through 3 months of recovery and physical therapy and was feeling great. At that point I went on a 2 week vacation and surfed every day without pain and was looking forward to playing basketball again when I got home. However, a few days after my return and getting back into a stressful work life, I noticed a small twinge in my back – like a precursor to a spasm. Having previously read Sarno’s Healing Back Pain I picked it up again and tried to tell my back I was not going to let it get me this time. Little by little my back got worse, until finally I woke up in full spasm and could barely get out of bed or walk. On the plus side, that time in bed gave me a chance to fully reread the book and now I am immersing myself on the TMS recovery path. I’m a believer, feeling optimistic, and looking forward to ridding myself of back pain once and for all.

 

Hi, EasyBeFree, all the treatments you have tried for your back and other pain have not cured you.
Some have given you only temporary relief. Even doctors telling you that you have herniated discs does
mean that is causing your pain, because Dr. Sarno says it doesn't, and he knows.
Your symptoms returned after having returned to a stressful work life. That causes TMS pain.

I hope you will really believe 100 percent that your pains are not structural but psychological, from TMS.
You will find the Structured Educational Program very helpful in leading you to discover repressed emotions
that are causing your pain. I had severe back pain so I could hardly stand or walk, but after reading
Healing Back Pain and practicing the SEP program, I did journaling and discovered how I had repressed
traumas from my boyhood. It led me to understanding my parents and older brother better and was able
to forgive them the traumas. They were deceased by then, so I forgave them mentally. It worked and my back
pain went away.

Stay optimistic, practice deep breathing, live in the present and not the past or future.
Soon you, too, will be pain-free.

 

Thanks Walt. I've started the SEP program and am looking forward to making progress. The connection between my pain symptoms and stress and repressed emotions (fear) is clear to me. That's why I am confident in the TMS diagnosis and am moving forward with the program - full steam ahead.