sjcy

I'm 61, married, a nurse and social worker, and I just discovered Dr. Sarno's books through this post on one of my favorite blogs:http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2015/12/healing-back-pain.html

I have struggled with anxiety and Depression all my life (literally, since age 5), including struggles with hypochondria that led to a lot of TMS symptoms. I had psychotherapy in my mid-30s that helped me learn self-compassion, and in the process I also learned how to avoid or abort the Panic Attacks that had plagued me since age 21.

At the present my main problems are GI symptoms, Foot pain, Allergies, and a kind of depression that is not major but that seems to paralyze me at times. I've dealt with these pretty well, I have a kind and helpful husband who is also a medical person and who has a lot of good insights about how to handle these struggles. But the light really came on when I read The Mindbody Prescription. I am looking forward to working through the programs and I feel better already. I put a huge amount of pressure on myself to be "good" and to live up to everyone's expectations. I had already dealt with some childhood issues in therapy, but I hadn't thought about the burdens I've presently been loading on myself. I get so anxious when I start working on some things that need doing at our farm that I can hardly keep myself upright, and I think my foot pain is related to this.

I will update this as I progress through the therapeutic stages.