Day 1 - Believe

Today is the first day I hope to make a change. I have had sciatic leg pain and numbness in my left foot for almost 6 months now. I have been seeing a chiropractor, physical therapist, downed advil, see-sawed on inversion tables, done stretches galore, and am finally starting, in my opinion, the one program that will help me heal. I just read Sarno's book, Healing Back Pain, and am ready to do what it says and whatever it takes.

I am 47 years old, married father of 2 kids, and I am tired of telling them that I can't walk around the block due to my pain, or I can't get up due to my pain, or I just need to sit here and let the pain subside. The pain is changing me for the worse. I don't like who I am becoming. I am binge eating junk, not hitting the gym, afraid of what the future holds - a long boring future of pain.

But I am here now...ready to make the change and figure this whole thing out. I hope that whoever reads my story will just keep me in your thoughts and provide me with the necessary nudges along the way. Cause right now...

I believe!

 

Thanks for sharing, and I'm happy for you starting this journey. I've had sciatic pain for three months, and that's more than enough for me! I too have tried all the physical treatments. Nothing keeps it away, and when I started this program, I felt (and still feel) as you do that this program could truly help me heal. It immediately inspired more confidence in me than any other treatment had.

The impacts this has on others in our life, as well as ourselves compared to who we "used to be" can be challenging. But don't be so hard on yourself. Allow yourself to dive into this program, do the work, and slowly resume your normal activities. For me, before TMS I felt I had to push through immense pain with no hope, because I was told that physical therapy might help me, but might not. Now, I feel that I do not have to push through immense physical pain to heal, but I do have to root around in my emotions a bit, and move around a little more, knowing that I am not injuring myself by doing so.

Believing is step 1, and also step 1000. Keep believing. It will grow stronger as you progress.

In strength,
Thomas

 

Thanks for responding. Like you, I am tired of the pain and want it to go away asap. I woke up today already in fear of how bad the pain will be today. I guess I have some work to do. I just don't understand how people were able to rid their pain in days??? What did they do differently? I read Sarno's book and didn't really see how to get rid of the pain. Am I missing something?

 

I think we tend to zero in on the "miracle" stories, and that can be detrimental because we start comparing our progress to everyone else's. Some people's unconscious brains get on board more quickly, others take time. When I started this program, I stopped tracking my daily pain levels (I had been writing them down), because one thing I've learned is that the more you obsess over the pain, the more you feed it and let it control you. This doesn't mean that you can just forget it and run around like new, but it does mean that you can try to think psychological, think about the mental stressors you have now that might be causing the pain, understand that your brain is causing the pain, let it know you're onto the game.

And then, be patient. I journaled furiously my first week, stopped paying attention to other responsibilities, thought about TMS all day because I just wanted to be better! But I now realize a balance is important, you need to put in TMS work daily but also forget it, try to make time for other things, don't obsess. Stick with the program, and give it time. A lot of people say they healed when they realized they started forgetting to think about the pain. While we're in acute pain, that can seem so far fetched. But give it time. Your unconscious will catch up, your fear will break down, your neural pathways will be deconditioned.

By the way, I enjoyed watching this video presentation of Sarno's lecture series (both for the information and nostalgia factor). You might want to check it out:

 

Thank you for this. It's exactly what I needed to hear. I'm only on day 2 now so I just need to trust the process and not get ahead of myself. I will check out that video this evening. Thanks again for listening.

 

justgreen, I listened to an amazing podcast by Nicole Sachs this morning that you might find helpful. There's also a podcast on March 22nd, specific to sciatica. If you read through my posts, you'll see that I also had sciatica and numbness in both feet - so I know what a beast it can be.

https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-cure-for/19-wheelchair-bound-to-total-MKAN8CsWYuG/ (19: Wheelchair Bound to Total Freedom - Mighty Mouse!)

 

Thank you for sharing the podcast. I hope to listen to it today or this weekend. I am curious about the sciatica one and if it relates to my pain. I am on Day 3 and plugging along