DAY ONE - I'm gonna give it a try

I am 37 and have suffered back/neck/hip pain and spasms (even wrist pain at times) pretty consistently for the last 15 years or so. Numerous MRI scans show nothing. 100s of appointments with physiotherapists, osteopaths, sports massage, chiropractors, accupuncturists...all give temporary relief at best. Doctors remain clueless and, in fact, quite disinterested. I have twice been referred for chronic pain treatment and was discharged twice with a sort of "Now it's up to you to keep up with the exercises and sitting upright in your chair etc" farewell. I should note that in my teens I was a track and field athlete, 6ft 2 and 200lbs when fit. Strongly built and very fast in a sprint I was a soccer goalkeeper and played at a high level. Due to recurring pain and spasms I stopped competing when I was in my mid 20s. I once left a meditation class in an ambulance due to a back spasm. I started playing soccer again occasionally in recent years but I have to weigh up in advance how my back is feeling. 2 months ago I was to play a soccer match and collapsed with a back spasm during the warm-up. I ended up in hospital on Morphine. Doctors, physio, heavy painkillers etc followed. Now back mobile again but anxious about playing any sport or doing anything active. Sex with my girlfriend has also become a source of anxiety...anything vigourous makes me nervous about a spasm. Incidentally I have also struggled with anxiety throughout these years. Depression lingered. I have had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and other bad habits as a result. In the last year I have been diagnosed with adult ADHD. Adult ADHD typically comes with certain tendencies...overtinking, anxiety, perfectionism, low self esteem, a deeply rooted sense of worthlessness. I always thought of these psychological and emotional things as separate...until a few years ago a friend recommended to me John Sarno's book "The Divided Mind". I bought the book but put it aside. Now I am definitely at a stage where medicine has ruled out everything and physio and Osteo etc seems pointless. I have turned to Sarno and TMS. What I have read so far rings very true. Here I go...

 

My son, 35 played soccer through college - his best friend (former Keeper) is an agent. I know your type. I also was an athlete, a distance runner. I'm 65 now. I finally admitted to myself that my pain issues (back, hips, GI - they moved around) were in my head. My wife had been telling me this for a couple of years. I finally saw a psychologist - and after hearing about my pains, he asked if I had read a little book he knew about: Mind Over Back Pain. I had been struggling and spiraling down for a couple of years. I looked up the book and decided to read Dr. Sarno's second book: Healing Back Pain (he learned a few things in the intervening 7 years). Unbelievably I was 80% better in a week, and I'm totally back to full workouts on my road bike, I'm swimming almost every day, I pick up luggage and other heavy things (to the amazement of both of my kids), and I'm back working in the garage on projects that require physical labor (I had given that up for about a year). Read the Dr. Sarno books - and look throughout this forum. And believe ... it's really easy but you have to keep working on that subconscious of yours - and help him understand that you are in charge and that you know there is nothing physically wrong with you.

 

Welcome! I had Sarno’s books for years before I was willing to delve into them. They helped! As does the Structured program Alan created.
Stick around. We get better!

 

And believe ... it's really easy but you have to keep working on that subconscious of yours - and help him understand that you are in charge and that you know there is nothing physically wrong with you.[/QUOTE]

Robc1123, Dsurfs success can be yours too.
IMO it's not always easy, but it can be done. Sometimes it takes more time than we think it should.
You may want to check out the Success Stories forum and read the entry in "Four Years Pain Free" by Whitacre. He is evidently an active and athletic man who had TMS and found his way out of this. He also gives a link to his blog that I found very inspiring and interesting.
I've attached it here:
http://www.livebreathemove.com/2018/03/06/my-personal-experience-healing-chronic-pain/ (My Personal Experience Healing Chronic Pain - Live, Breathe, Move) (My Personal Experience Healing Chronic Pain - Live, Breathe, Move)

Kindly
Lainey