The information and practices that cured my 8/10 back pain in a few days.

I had been doing mind-body work for a while, but it just wasn’t clicking. I was still sure that something was physically wrong with me and I needed to find the right protocol or treatment to get out of pain and other symptoms. I had had chronic pain and other symptoms all over my body for years, but for the last two years, I had been suffering with 8/10 nerve pain in my lower back and hips that there wasn’t any good explanation for besides some disc compression and spine narrowing.

I had spent thousands of dollars on an MRI and hundreds on seeing two PTs that had different approaches. I was turning down lucrative photo shoots because of the pain and staying home from events I would have had fun at because I couldn’t stand without excruciating pain. I was limited and I was sad and angry. I had heard of Dr. John Sarno before, but had a background resentment to his approach before I knew much about it because I knew he was saying that my pain was coming from my brain. I had heard in so many ways over the years, “there’s nothing wrong with you—it’s all in your head,” which feels infuriating to a person who is really suffering.

But in a moment of desperation I decided read one of Dr. John Sarno’s books, Healing Back Pain. I took it on vacation with me and read it in a couple of days. Dr. Sarno says that real pain and symptoms can come from repressed emotions. As a self-proclaimed olympic level crier, I never thought this could be me, but I was missing some things (that’s why the subconscious is sub-conscious.) By the time I was a third of the way through the book my back pain was down 75%. What I was doing was so simple. He says in the book to start telling your brain that you want to process your stored emotions instead of feeling the pain.

The first thing that came up was anger. Anger like I’d never felt before. I was irritated, I was angsty. As a people-pleaser who grew up in a home where everyone else was acting out anger, I think I decided at a young age that I just wasn’t going to do that. Well, turns out anger is a basic emotion that needs to be expressed! Or there are consequences like pain and symptoms. I was shocked at what was happening in my body when I acknowledged my anger. The pain disappeared from my back.

The month after that vacation was intense. I had to learn how to deal with anger in healthier ways. I journaled, I twisted towels, but there were moments of rage that were utterly terrifying to me. And it clicked why I would rather carry physical pain than deal with those intense emotions that we never learn to hold in a healthy way.

If you’re interested in learning more about TMS and pain as stored emotions, I recommend checking out the video and the work of Dr. Sarno and Nicole Sachs. If you’ve been suffering a long time without answers, this could be a break through for you too!